When NC State defeated Duke in the quarterfinals of the ACC Tournament, it gave the Wolfpack confidence it could beat nearly anyone.

Little did NC State expect to play Duke again, this time with the Final Four on the line. The Wolfpack (25-14) play the Blue Devils (27-8) at 5:05 p.m. today on CBS.

Duke won the regular season meeting 79-64 on March 4. The Wolfpack tried to slow it down and played through senior center D.J. Burns, who had 27 points in the loss. Duke pulled away over the last 10 minutes and were led by senior point guard Jeremy Roach’s 21 points, plus 19 offensive rebounds.

NC State opened up the offense and played faster in the ACC Tournament rematch to win 74-69 in Washington, D.C. on March 14. Senior shooting guard D.J. Horne came off the bench for 18 points and the Wolfpack had five players in double figures.

Duke sophomore post player Kyle Filipowski has been the centerpiece, but it has been the Blue Devils guards who usually decide how well they play.

Roach, freshman shooting guard Jared McCain and sophomore point guard Tyrese Proctor of Australia, surround Filipowski. Sophomore power forward Mark Mitchell is the X-factor and NC State preferred for him to go unguarded along the perimeter.

Rankings

Duke is No. 10 in the NET rankings, and NC State is No. 63.

ESPN’s College Basketball Power Index (BPI) has the Blue Devils ranked No. 5 overall, and the Wolfpack are No. 45.

KenPom.com has Duke at No. 5, and NCSU checks in at No. 49.

Shooting

Duke is averaging 79.0 points per game, and shooting 48.0 percent from the field, 38.0 percent on three-pointers and 72.0 percent from the free-throw line.

Roach leads the Blue Devils at 43.2 percent on three-pointers, and McCain is at 41.2 percent.

Rebounding

The Blue Devils are averaging 36.5 rebounds per game, with 337 on the offensive boards and a plus-5.1 rebounding margin.

Filipowski is averaging 8.3 rebounds per game, and Mitchell is second on the team with 6.0 a contest.

Defense

Duke is allowing 66.0 points per game, with opponents shooting 42.9 percent from the field and 32.0 percent on three-pointers.

Filipowski has a team-high 54 blocks and 40 steals, and Mitchell has 23 blocks and 26 steals.

Depth

Duke has settled in with senior center Ryan Young, freshman power forward Sean Stewart and freshman forward TJ Power.

Young is averaging 2.9 points and 3.4 rebounds in 11.9 minutes per contest. Duke freshman guard Caleb Foster has been out with an injury since Feb. 24.

Duke sophomore Kyle Filipowski had one of his best games of the season against NC State, but it still resulted in a loss in the ACC Tournament.

Filipowski had 28 points, 14 rebounds and went 10 of 17 from the field in the 74-69 upset loss March 14 in Washington, D.C. It was a stark contrast to the first meeting against the Wolfpack, where he got into first-half foul trouble and finished with nine points and two rebounds in 22 minutes March 4.

The 7-foot, 248-pound Filipowski is averaging 16.6 points, 8.3 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per contest, and is shooting 51.2 percent from the field and 35.8 percent on three-point shooting.

Filipowski has 33 points, 26 rebounds and 10 assists in the three NCAA Tournament games. He has nine double-doubles for points and rebounds this season, and scored at least 20-plus points in 12 contests. He had 30 points and 13 rebounds, and went 4 of 5 on three-pointers in a 84-79 win vs. Georgia Tech on Jan. 13.

ESPN.com had Filipowski as the seventh-best NBA Draft prospect in the NCAA Tournament.

Filipowski was the Rivals.com No. 5-ranked overall player in the class of 2022, and he went on to average 15.1 points and 8.9 rebounds per game last year.

NC State

PG — 12 Michael O'Connell (6-2, 195, Sr., 5.8 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 3.2 apg)

SG — 0 DJ Horne (6-1, 175, R-Sr., 16.8 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 2.1 apg, 1.3 spg)

G — 14 Casey Morsell (6-3, 200, R-Sr., 11.5 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 1.6 apg, 1.1 spg)

PF — 23 Mohamed Diarra (6-10, 215, Jr., 6.5 ppg, 7.9 rpg, 0.6 apg, 1.1 bpg)

C — 30 D.J. Burns (6-9, 275, R-Sr., 12.6 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 2.8 apg)

Duke

PG — 3 Jeremy Roach (6-2, 180, Sr., 14.0 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 3.3 apg, 1.1 spg)

SG — 5 Tyrese Proctor (6-5, 183, Soph., 10.8 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 3.7 apg)

G — 0 Jared McCain (6-3, 197, Fr., 13.8 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 1.9 apg, 1.1 spg)

PF — 25 Mark Mitchell (6-9, 232, Soph., 11.8 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 1.1 apg)

C — 30 Kyle Filipowski (7-0, 248, Soph., 16.6 ppg, 8.3 rpg, 2.8 apg, 1.1 spg, 1.5 bpg)

4 Former McDonald's All-American's on the roster — Jeremy Roach, Mark Mitchell, Jared McCain and Sean Stewart.

13 Duke jerseys retired with the last two coming in 2007, when JJ Redick (No. 4) and Shelden Williams (No. 23) had their numbers retired.

17 Final Four appearances for Duke, with the last one coming in 2022.

Duke sophomore power forward Mark Mitchell has been guarded by NC State senior center D.J. Burns during key stretches in the previous two matchups.

The 6-foot-9, 232-pounder is averaging 11.8 points and 6.0 rebounds per game, and he is shooting 53.8 percent from the field. Mitchell was given the three-pointer by NC State, and he’s going 11 of 40 from beyond the arc for 27.5 percent.

Mitchell made both three-point attempts and had 18 points and eight rebounds in the 74-69 ACC Tournament loss. He was a non-factor in the first meet with freshman Sean Stewart taking his minutes. Mitchell had five points and six boards in 19 minutes played in the regular-season win.

Mitchell has 19 points and 13 rebounds in the three NCAA Tournament games, and he’s coming off of getting just two points and three rebounds in the 54-51 win over Houston.

Burns won’t like guard Filipowski, though both post players will likely guard Burns. He had 27 points in the first meeting and then had 10 points and four assists in the ACC Tournament win. Burns is averaging 12.6 points and 4.1 rebounds per game this season.

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