Duke (7-8, 5-6) vs. North Carolina State (8-8, 4-7)
PNC Arena, Raleigh, North Carolina; Saturday, 4 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: Two forwards will be on display as Matthew Hurt and Duke will face Jericole Hellems and North Carolina State. The sophomore Hurt has scored 23 percent of the team’s points this season and is averaging 14.2 over his last five games. Hellems, a junior, is averaging 17.2 points over the last five games.
VARYING EXPERIENCE: North Carolina State has relied on senior leadership this year while Duke has been fueled heavily by freshmen. Seniors Hellems, Devon Daniels, D.J. Funderburk and Thomas Allen have combined to account for 56 percent of North Carolina State’s scoring this season. On the other side, freshmen Hurt, DJ Steward, Jalen Johnson, Wendell Moore Jr. and Jeremy Roach have combined to account for 79 percent of all Duke scoring.
ACC ADVANCEMENT: The Blue Devils have scored 77 points per game to Atlantic Coast opponents thus far. That’s an improvement from the 73.5 per game they managed against non-conference opponents.MIGHTY MATTHEW: Hurt has connected on 40.3 percent of the 77 3-pointers he’s attempted and has made 5 of 22 over his last five games. He’s also made 69.4 percent of his foul shots this season.
WINLESS WHEN: Duke is 0-5 when scoring fewer than 73 points and 7-3 when scoring at least 73.
STREAK STATS: Duke has lost its last four road games, scoring 70 points, while allowing 75 per game.
STINGY STATE: North Carolina State has forced opponents into committing turnovers on 23 percent of all possessions, the highest rate among all ACC teams.
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