Next up for Duke is a quick rematch with the Wolfpack.
The teams are playing what is, sadly, now a rare home-and-home. The teams played in Raleigh just three games ago on January 23rd but a lot has happened since then.
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Cat Barber banged his knee in that game and it affected him. State can't afford to have less than full effort from Barber. He's that critical to them.
You'll remember also that the governor, citing a wicked snow and ice storm, urged fans to stay home. That won't happen this time. The weather is fine and it's in Cameron. There will be a crowd.
In Duke's last game of course, Coach K had to stay home after his blood pressure had a severe spike. That's resolved now and he'll be with the team.
After the win in Raleigh, Krzyzewski said his young team was growing up. That continued in Atlanta, where Duke had a sensational game from Grayson Allen and lesser but still impressive performances by the three freshmen who play a good bit, Brandon Ingram, Derryck Thornton and Luke Kennard.
Thornton had one of his best games at Duke on both ends. Ingram did not shoot well but made up for it on the foul line (7-8) and with his overall play, including 10 rebounds and four blocks.
And Kennard continues to impress as a very savvy overall player.
Duke is playing on a much higher level than they were just two weeks ago.
Thing is, so is State.
Barber in particular is playing brilliantly. He's justified everything everyone said about him coming out of high school. He's been tremendous.
Because of State's woes, Barber has had to play almost 39 mpg and he's handled it. Only UNC has held him below double digits and since then, he's averaged 29.4. He's a load.
And Abdul-Malik Abu is emerging as a real force down low who can make up for some of Beejay Anya's shortcomings.
Freshman Maverick Carter isn't all the way there yet but he's not bad and certainly dangerous. And then there are the Martin twins.
Caleb and Cody have been a revelation this year. They're versatile, active, and can defend well and shoot from basically anywhere. Rebounds, steals, assists - they've become a real asset.
So it's a pretty cool situation actually: both teams have some adversity - Duke is missing Amile Jefferson, State Terry Henderson - both have limited depth and both have guards who are capable of huge scoring nights.
Barber's been great, but not many players have had better nights than Allen had at Georgia Tech. He finished with 27 points and shot 7-10 from deep.
There is one key difference between the teams. At 12-10, State would have to go on an unholy roll to make the NCAA field without winning the NCAA Tournament. At 16-6 now now and at 17-6 and 6-4 in the ACC should they win, Duke is still in range.
The main thing though is that both teams are very well coached and both teams are showing significant signs of improvement.
It should be a good one.
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