Duke lost three out of four games to end February, including a blowout loss at NC State on Feb. 19

The Wolfpack drilled the Blue Devils 88-66 at PNC Arena, with senior point guard Markell Johnson scoring 28 points. Duke responded to losses at NC State, at Wake Forest and at Virginia with a pair of home wins against NCSU and North Carolina in March.

NC State controlled the first half in the rematch at Cameron Indoor Stadium, but Duke pushed the transition game in the second half and turned to a zone defense to pull away for a 88-69 victory March 2.

NC State (20-12 overall) plays No. 10-ranked Duke (25-6) in front of friends and family only today in the ACC Tournament at the Greensboro Coliseum. The game will tip off after 2:30 p.m. on ESPN.

Duke sophomore point guard Tre Jones was named the ACC player of the year this past week, along with winning the league defensive player of the year honor.

Jones, who is the younger brother of former Duke point guard Tyus Jones, is averaging 16.2 points, 4.2 rebounds and 6.4 rebounds per game, and he’s shooting 36.1 percent from the field.

Freshman center Vernon Carey Jr. is a force in the low post, and the Blue Devils play at a higher level when freshmen wings Cassius Stanley and Wendell Moore Jr. are playing well. Stanley had 14 of his 18 points in the second half during the second game against NC State, sparking the transition game.

Rankings

In the newly established NET rankings done by the NCAA, Duke is ranked No. 6 in the country this season.

ESPN’s College Basketball Power Index (BPI) has Duke ranked No. 2, and KenPom.com has the Blue Devils at No. 5.

Duke is ranked No. 10 in the old RPI formula used by the NCAA — according to RealTimeRPI.com.

Shooting

The Blue Devils led the ACC in scoring (82.5 points per game) and field-goal percentage (47.0), and second in three-point field-goal percentage (35.2).

Duke has tried to use strength in numbers in filling the three-point shooting void. Freshman power forward Matthew Hurt is second on the team with 39.3 percent, bug has made a team-high 42 three-pointers. Duke has seven players who have made at least 17 three-pointers, and walk-on post player Justin Robinson has emerged as a three-point threat the last three games.

Rebounding

Duke is second in the ACC with 40.1rebounds per game, third in rebounding margin (5.7) and second in offensive boards a contest (12.7).

The Blue Devils lean on Carey to gobble up the rebounds, and he’s leading the way with 8.8 rebounds. Stanley is second with 4.9 rebound a contest, followed by Jones and Moore at 4.2 apiece.

Defense

The Blue Devils are eighth in the ACC in allowing 68.0 points per game, ninth with opponents shooting 41.7 percent from the field, and third in allowing 29.9 percent on three-point field goals.

Duke leads the league and fifth in the league with 6.0 blocks per game, and are second with 8.41 steals a contest. Carey leads the way with 49 blocks, five other players have at least 17. Jones has 49 steals and junior guard Jordan Goldwire is right behind with 47.

Depth

The emergence of Robinson in the post has deepened Duke’s bench to six players that coach Mike Krzyzewski could turn to. Goldwire has bounced between starting and coming off the bench this season, and he allows Jones to play off the ball. Goldwire is averaging 4.7 points and 2.3 assists in 24.1 minutes per game this season.

Wings Alex O’Connell and Joey Baker, and post players Robinson, Javin DeLaurier and Jack White provide the deep bench, with all averaging at least 12.1 minutes per game.

The one-two punch of freshman center Vernon Carey Jr. and sophomore point guard Tre Jones drives the boat for the Blue Devils.

The 6-10, 270-pound Carey is a gifted low-post scorer, who has a combined 44 points and 19 rebounds in two games against NC State this season. Conversely, the Wolfpack have tried to attack Carey on the defensive end, which forced the Blue Devils to play more zone defense in the second contest.

Carey’s other impact comes in forcing opposing centers to get into foul trouble, though he fouled out of three ACC games this season (four total). Duke pushed Jones for ACC player of the year honors, but Carey leads the team with 17.8 points and 8.8 rebounds per game. He 15 double-doubles this season for points and rebounds.

Carey has been held to single digits just twice this season — nine points vs. Boston College on Dec. 31 and eight points vs. Wake Forest on Jan. 11. He had a season-high 31 points and 12 boards in 22 minutes of action in the 87-52 win over California on Nov. 21.

Rivals.com ranked Carey the No. 5 overall player in the class of 2019, and NBADraft.net has him as the No. 12 pick of the upcoming NBA Draft. His father was a first-round NFL Draft pick out of Miami (Fla.) by the Miami Dolphins on the offensive line.

NC State

PG — 11 Markell Johnson (6-1, 175, Sr., 12.8 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 6.8 apg, 1.9 spg)

SG — 13 C.J. Bryce (6-5, 210, 5th-Sr., 13.3 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 2.1 apg, 1.3 spg)

G — 24 Devon Daniels (6-5, 205, R-Jr., 12.7 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 2.2 apg, 1.7 spg)

PF — 4 Jericole Hellems (6-7, 205, Soph., 9.5 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 1.0 apg)

C — 0 D.J. Funderburk (6-10, 225, R-Jr., 12.8 ppg, 6.1 rpg, 0.3 apg)

Duke

PG — 3 Tre Jones (6-3, 185, Soph., 16.2 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 6.4 apg, 1.8 spg)

SG — 2 Cassius Stanley (6-6, 193, Fr., 12.6 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 1.0 apg)

SF — 0 Wendell Moore Jr. (6-6, 213, Fr., 7.4 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 1.9 apg)

PF — 21 Matthew Hurt (6-9, 214, Fr., 9.7 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 0.9 apg)

C — 1 Vernon Carey Jr. (6-10, 270, Fr., 17.8 ppg, 8.8 rpg, 1.0 apg, 1.6 bpg)

13: Freshman in ACC history who have earned first-team all-league honors, with Duke freshman center Vernon Carey Jr. the latest.

17: Wins when Duke has four players score in double figures, going 17-2.

21: ACC Tournament titles for Duke, with head coach Mike Krzyzewski winning 15 of them.

It’s not often we’d be writing about a player that is averaging 2.8 points per game, but the bottom line is that Duke senior post player Justin Robinson could be a real factor Thursday.

The 6-9, 202-pound Robinson, who is the son of legendary NBA player David Robinson, has been a revelation of late for the Blue Devils. It started Feb. 25 when he came off the bench to get six points, two rebounds and three blocks before fouling out in 15 minutes in the loss against Wake Forest on Feb. 25.

Robinson followed up with a major impact in the 88-69 win over over NC State on March 2 at Cameron Indoor Stadium. He drained a pair of three-pointers to finish with 10 points and six rebounds in 14 minutes in providing a first half spark. Robinson didn’t even play in the first meeting against the Wolfpack.

Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski rewarded Robinson with a bigger role in the 89-76 win over North Carolina at home. Robinson had 13 points, six rebounds, three assists and four blocks in 25 minutes played. He drained an astounding 4 of 6 on three-pointers against the Tar Heels. He entered that game with five made three-pointers on the season.

NC State sophomore power forward Jericole Hellems has started and come off the bench this season, but started against Pittsburgh on Wednesday. He is averaging 9.5 points and 3.4 rebounds per game, and will need to keep a much closer eye on Robinson.

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