Duke basketball: Predicting every win and loss this season
By Matt Giles
Game 18: Duke basketball versus NC State
The Duke Blue Devils will host the NC State Wolfpack, unranked to start the year, on Jan. 15 at 2 p.m. ET (ABC) in Cameron Indoor Stadium.
As has become routine in the five-year tenure of head coach Kevin Keatts, NC State has a reason for optimism while also presenting a reason for doubt. Chances are the Wolfpack will do what they’ve done pretty much this entire century: finish right around the middle of the pack in the ACC.
Remember, though, while hovering around the .500 mark in conference play over the years, NC State has managed to stun Duke on several occasions. Although Mike Krzyzewski’s teams have won the last two meetings, Keatts has beaten the Blue Devils in two out of five attempts.
And in all, NC State has been victorious in three of the last six contests between the Tobacco Road foes and should have enough talent to compete with any ACC squad this go-round, home or away. But in the end, expect the Wolfpack to finish where the conference media members predicted: at No. 9, also known as roughly the middle of the pack.
Predicted final score: Duke 80, NC State 68
The Blue Devils improve to 16-2 overall (6-1 ACC) on the season.