Blue Devils Gear Up for Thursday Night Showdown at NC State

Thursday, December 29

Raleigh, N.C.

8 p.m.

Duke University

NC State

Photo by: Duke Athletics

Blue Devils Gear Up for Thursday Night Showdown at NC State

12/28/2022 12:31:00 PM | Women's Basketball

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THE OPENING TIP

After enjoying some time off for the holidays, Duke is back in action this weekend as the Blue Devils resume ACC play with a Thursday night showdown with in-state rival and sixth-ranked NC State on Dec. 29 at 8 p.m., to close out the calendar year.
Jenn Hildreth and Debbie Antonelli will call the action on ACC Network while Chris Edwards calls the game on the radio on the Blue Devil Sports Network from Learfield.
Defense has been the calling card for the Blue Devils this season as the team has won each of their games by an average of 27.3 points and held each of their opponents below their season scoring average, including eight of the 12 to 50 points or less.
Duke has held its foes to 49.2 points per game on 31.9 percent shooting from the floor, marks that currently rank second and fourth in the NCAA, respectively, as well as first in the ACC (as of 12.28.22).
The Blue Devils also check in at 17th and 24th, respectively, in the NCAA in scoring margin (+22.7) and rebounding margin (+10.4).
Duke is currently ranked No. 11 in the 2022-23 NCAA NET Rankings.
Redshirt junior Jordyn Oliver is No. 3 nationally and first in the ACC with a 4.09 assist-to-turnover ratio (as of 12.28.22).
She has totaled 45 assists to just 11 turnovers and leads the team with 3.75 assists per game.
The Blue Devils have received a huge lift from its reserves, averaging 32.9 points off the bench.
Thursday's game marks the 86th all-time meeting between Duke and NC State at the varsity level, with the Wolfpack leading 48-37.
The teams also battled on the hardwood back on Feb. 15, 1974, prior to the Wolfpack reaching varsity status, with NC State tallying a 64-44 win.
The Wolfpack won both meetings during the 2021-22 season, including a 77-62 win at Cameron Indoor Stadium in the most recent contest.
Duke's last win against NC State occurred on Feb. 24, 2020, at Reynolds Coliseum -- Duke 70, #8/10 NC State 65

SHARING THE WEALTH

The Duke starting five of senior Elizabeth Balogun, junior Kennedy Brown, sophomores Shayeann Day-Wilson and Reigan Richardson and senior Celeste Taylor have provided a steady hand for the Blue Devils this season, combining for 61.4 percent (44.1 points) of the team's 71.8 points per game.
Taylor has reached double digits in eight of the 12 games this season followed by Balogun's and Brown's six. Richardson has tallied five double-figure scoring games while Day-Wilson has turned in four of her own.
Taylor leads the offensive charge for Duke, averaging 11.3 points per game with Balogun (9.8) and Brown (9.2) right behind in second and third. Day-Wilson and Richardson round out the group with 7.2 and 6.6 points a contest, respectively.
Duke's depth has been on full display as the Blue Devils have featured seven different leading scorers through 12 games this season, with Balogun (4) and Taylor (2) finishing with the team high on multiple occasions.
Compared to teams ranked in the top 25 of the NET Rankings, the seven different leading scorers is tied for second with Stanford -- only NC State has featured more (8).
The squad features 11 players averaging at least 13 minutes per game with three of them averaging 20-plus minutes a contest -- Celeste Taylor (25.9 mpg), Kennedy Brown (22.6 mpg) and Shayeann Day-Wilson (22.0 mpg).
As a team, Duke ranks sixth in the ACC in field goal percentage (.452) and has assisted on 204 of its 332 made field goals (.614) for an average of 17.0 dimes per game -- No. 2 in the ACC.

DISRUPTING THE PEACE – ELITE BLUE DEVIL DEFENSE

Disruptive defense has been the calling card for the Blue Devils early in the season as the team ranks among the nation's elite, having held its opponents to 49.2 points per game on a 31.9 percent clip from the field.
Those marks check in at second and fourth in the NCAA, respectively, while ranking first in the ACC (as of 12.28.22).
Duke is also slotted eighth in Defensive Rating, allowing its opponents just 0.628 points per possession.
Through 12 games this season, Duke held the opposing team to 50 points or less eight times.
The Blue Devils are second in the ACC in Defensive Rebounding Percentage, grabbing 346 defensive boards while allowing only 108 offensive rebounds, as well as fourth in Rebounding Defense with an average of 31.00 defensive boards a game.
Duke also checks in at third in the league in turnover margin (+4.73).

LAST TIME OUT

Behind four double-figure scorers, the Duke women's basketball team opened ACC play with a 70-56 victory over Virginia Wednesday night at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
Junior Vanessa de Jesus led all scorers with 15 points off the bench, including a huge triple from the far-right corner in the fourth quarter that halted the UVA rally pushed the lead back to double digits.
Senior Celeste Taylor and junior Kennedy Brown both stuffed the stat sheet, as Taylor finished with 13 points, a team-high eight boards and four steals while Brown tallied 12 points, four assists and a career-high five blocks.
Sophomore Shayeann Day-Wilson rounded out the quartet of double-figure scorers with 11 points, also registering two assists and two steals.
Check out the full recap here.

SCOUTING THE WOLFPACK

NC State comes into the matchup with an 11-1 overall record and 1-0 mark in ACC action. In their conference opener, the Wolfpack posted a 77-59 victory over Clemson at Reynolds Coliseum.
NC State has been ranked in the top 10 in six of eight AP polls this season, including a season-best and current ranking of No. 6.
Diamond Johnson leads the offensive charge for the Wolfpack averaging 13.9 points. Jada Boyd and Jakia Brown-Turner also contribute double-figure scoring with 10.9 and 10.5 points per game, respectively.
River Baldwin leads the team in rebounding average with 5.8 boards in 15.2 minutes off the bench.
NC State is led by head coach Wes Moore, who is currently in his 10th season with the Wolfpack.
Moore's 791 career wins rank fifth among active NCAA Division I women's basketball head coaches while his .768 career winning percentage ranks ninth nationally among active coaches.

UP NEXT
Duke returns to Cameron Indoor Stadium, opening 2023 with a New Year's Day matinee against Louisville at 12 p.m., live on RSN.

To stay up to date with Duke women's basketball, follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook by searching "DukeWBB."

#GoDuke