Duke continues to seem impervious to so-called trap games. A week ago in South Bend, the Blue Devils throttled Notre Dame on the road by 44 points just two days after a marquee out-of-conference win over then-No. 1 Michigan.
After rolling to a 27-point win over Virginia on Saturday to earn a share of the ACC regular season title - and with a get-back opportunity coming the following weekend at home against North Carolina, Duke could have been forgiven for looking past NC State.
Instead, Duke continued to look like a team hyper-focused, totally locked in, and prepared to dominate anyone in its path. The Blue Devils annihilated the Wolf Pack in Raleigh, rolling to a 93-64 win to clinch the outright league crown.
Duke players and head coach Jon Scheyer talked about how they didn't like to share after clinching the shared title on Saturday. They looked like a team that embodied that philosophy on Monday night.
Cameron Boozer, the Wooden Award favorite, led Duke as he typically does with 26 points and 9 rebounds. NC State tried to take him away with an aggressive zone defense, but some hot shooting by Dame Sarr and Isaiah Evans in the first half made that a deadly mistake by Will Wade.
Duke's throttling of NC State is further evidence that it is college basketball's best team
It wasn't just Boozer. Sarr, Evans, and Patrick Ngongba II all finished in double-figures scoring. Duke's offense was efficient, shooting 55% from the floor and 39% from three-point range. But again, it was the defensive effort that remains the team's calling card.
NC State came into the game as a Top 25 offense in KenPom and was completely overwhelmed by the Blue Devils' defense. The Wolfpack were held to just 35% from the floor and 24% from three-point range.
Maliq Brown had four of Duke's five stocks, but it was an all-around effort as it always is. The connectivity on defense is a sight to see - everyone moving in unison with a purpose. Everyone can switch, everyone is disciplined, and everyone makes life hell on opponents.
Duke is now 28-2 on the year and 16-1 in ACC play. It will almost certainly be the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament. The only thing left before the ACC and NCAA Tournaments is righting one of the season's only wrongs and getting payback on North Carolina this Saturday at Cameron Indoor.