NC State Wolfpack: Smith leads Pack to win over Blue Devils
After last night’s game, NC State Wolfpack point guard Dennis Smith, Jr. was trending on Twitter and became a household name.
Smith finished the game with 32 points, six assists, four rebounds and two steals. His impressive array of skills helped N.C. State defeat the Duke Blue Devils 84-82 in Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham, North Carolina.
In addition, Abdul-Malik Abu added 19 points and nine rebounds along with Ted Kapita‘s 14 points and 10 rebounds.
I was probably one of the few people who gave the Wolfpack a fighting chance in this game. I expected the Wolfpack to give Duke some competition last night simply because of Smith.
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Some people wrote N.C. State off after their 107-56 thrashing from the North Carolina Tar Heels.
Despite Torin Dorn, Terry Henderson and Omer Yurtseven having less than stellar performances, N.C. State defeated the Blue Devils.
One player can make a difference in basketball. This holds true for Dennis Smith, Jr. He was the difference-maker in the game against Duke. As the best player and star of the Wolfpack, Smith showed the world why he will be a top-five lottery pick in the 2017 NBA Draft. The Blue Devils have nobody on their roster who can guard Smith. Smith had his way against Duke. He scored at will and got his teammates involved.
The Wolfpack went on a 20-5 run after trailing 68-59 with six and half minutes left in the game. During this run, it became the “Abu, Kapita and Smith” show. The three of these players were close to unguardable during this brief amount of time.
The trio of Abu, Kapita and Smith scored 65 of the Wolfpack’s 84 points against Duke. Although Duke out-rebounded N.C. State 38-35, Abu and Kapita outscored Duke’s low post 33-31.
By now, people should realize that N.C. State has a good team; a streaky team, but a good team. When they assert themselves, the Wolfpack are one of the better teams in the ACC and the nation. The Wolfpack are not a team you want to face if you are high seed in the NCAA Tournament.