Duke, NC State Face Each Other In The Quarterfinals Of The Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament In Greensboro

Duke and the team located in North Carolina’s state capital faced each other twice during the regular season with each team winning on their home court.

NC State won the first matchup in North Carolina’s state capital.

 The NC State men's basketball team never trailed in defeating sixth-ranked Duke, 88-66, in front of a sold out PNC Arena crowd Wednesday evening. “according to https://gopack.com/news/2020/2/20/mens-basketball-career-highs-from-daniels-and-johnson-spark-pack-to-big-win-over-6-duke.aspx
 

Devon Daniels (25 points) and Markell Johnson (28 points) both had career-highs while D.J. Funderburk added 21 points.”according to
https://gopack.com/news/2020/2/20/mens-basketball-career-highs-from-daniels-and-johnson-spark-pack-to-big-win-over-6-duke.aspx

While Duke won the second matchup in Durham.

 Freshman Cassius Stanley scored 14 of his 18 points after halftime as No. 12 Duke took over in the second half to beat North Carolina State 88-69. “according to https://goduke.com/news/2020/3/2/mens-basketball-no-12-duke-rolls-past-wolfpack-88-69.aspx

Fellow rookie Vernon Carey Jr. added 17 points for the Blue Devils, who shot 63% after halftime and had a run of 17 straight scoring possessions to build a big lead. Duke also dominated the Wolfpack on the glass (46-27), while its move away from its man and pressure defenses to deploy a zone late in the first half took N.C. State out of its early aggressive rhythm. “according to https://goduke.com/news/2020/3/2/mens-basketball-no-12-duke-rolls-past-wolfpack-88-69.aspx

On Thursday afternoon Duke who is the fourth seed will face NC State who is the fifth seed for the third time this season. This time in the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament in Greensboro where the two point guards who lead the Atlantic Coast Conference in assists this season will matchup for the third time in Tre Jones who is second in assists with 6.4 and Markell Johnson who leads the league in assists with 6.8. “according to http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/conferences/statistics/_/id/2/acc-conference

Duke comes into the quarterfinal game yet to play a game and comes in with a record of 25-6 while NC State comes into the game with a record of 20-12 and has already played a game in the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament in Greensboro as they beat Pittsburgh in the second round to advance to the quarterfinals.

As for Duke’s previous game,

They earned a sweep of North Carolina in the regular season.

Vernon Carey Jr. had 25 points and 10 rebounds, while graduate reserve Justin Robinson offered a huge spark to help 12th-ranked Duke beat rival North Carolina 89-76 in Saturday's regular-season finale. “according to https://goduke.com/news/2020/3/7/mens-basketball-no-12-duke-sweeps-unc-with-89-76-win.aspx

Robinson -- the son of retired NBA great David Robinson -- matched career highs with 13 points and six rebounds to go with a career-best four blocks for the Blue Devils (25-6, 15-5 Atlantic Coast Conference). They never trailed in this one but didn't put away the Tar Heels until the final six minutes.”according to https://goduke.com/news/2020/3/7/mens-basketball-no-12-duke-sweeps-unc-with-89-76-win.aspx

Point guard Tre Jones added 21 points. “according to https://goduke.com/news/2020/3/7/mens-basketball-no-12-duke-sweeps-unc-with-89-76-win.aspx

Like Duke,

NC State won their previous game but unlike Duke they won in the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament as they beat Pittsburgh in the second round to advance to the quarterfinals of the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament .

 Devon Daniels helped the Pack get off to a hot start scoring 15 of NC State's first 31 points of the game. He scored 10 consecutive points midway through the first half, capping off his run with a three-pointer with 7:21 left in the half to give NC State a 31-21 lead. “according to https://gopack.com/news/2020/3/11/mens-basketball-pack-pulls-away-from-pitt-to-advance-in-acc-tournament.aspx

On the next possession, Daniels picked up his second foul and sat for the rest of the half. Pitt closed the half on an 11-4 run to cut the Pack's lead to 35-32 at the break.”according to https://gopack.com/news/2020/3/11/mens-basketball-pack-pulls-away-from-pitt-to-advance-in-acc-tournament.aspx

NC State came out of the halftime locker room and scored the first four points of the second half to force an early Pitt timeout.”according to https://gopack.com/news/2020/3/11/mens-basketball-pack-pulls-away-from-pitt-to-advance-in-acc-tournament.aspx

The Pack eventually stretched the lead out to 11 points on a C.J. Bryce three-pointer with 13:01 remaining. The Panthers made one last run, cutting the deficit to six (55-49) with 9:20 to play.”according to https://gopack.com/news/2020/3/11/mens-basketball-pack-pulls-away-from-pitt-to-advance-in-acc-tournament.aspx

NC State responded with the next six points and Pitt never got within single digits again.”according to https://gopack.com/news/2020/3/11/mens-basketball-pack-pulls-away-from-pitt-to-advance-in-acc-tournament.aspx

In the final 10 minutes of the game, Pitt only made three field goals.”according to https://gopack.com/news/2020/3/11/mens-basketball-pack-pulls-away-from-pitt-to-advance-in-acc-tournament.aspx

Joining Daniels in double figures was Bryce with 13 points and D.J. Funderburk and Braxton Beverly each added 10 points. Bryce also pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds to register his fifth double-double of the season.”according to https://gopack.com/news/2020/3/11/mens-basketball-pack-pulls-away-from-pitt-to-advance-in-acc-tournament.aspx

Markell Johnson passed out 11 assists and added seven points and two steals. The 11 assists are the second-most for an NC State player in the ACC Tournament. Lorenzo Brown had 12 assists in the Pack's first round 80-63 win over Virginia Tech on March 14,2013. “according to https://gopack.com/news/2020/3/11/mens-basketball-pack-pulls-away-from-pitt-to-advance-in-acc-tournament.aspx

Which team will execute their game plan and advance to the semifinals of the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament?

Tip-off is set for 2:30pm from the Greensboro Coliseuim. The game will be televised on ESPN.