Another Brutal Blue Devil Beatdown!

We were a little wary about the trip to Raleigh, because State is a tough place to play. And when Ven-Allen Lubin opened with a dunk and Darrion Williams hit a couple of early shots, it looked like it might be one of those nights.

Didn’t last long.

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Behind a great first offensive half from Dame Sarr, who racked up 14 before the break, the Blue Devils got some early separation, going up 13-8. State fought back but the Blue Devils pulled away again, building a 24-18 lead and just overwhelming the Pack from there, ultimately winning, 93-64. The win also guaranteed the Devils the ACC regular season championship.

State tried to zone Duke to compensate for its lack of size, but it didn’t work. Lubin only played 12 minutes and had four fouls. Scottie Ebube fouled out in just 11. Musa Sagnia played 17 minutes and had three fouls.

And Duke shot holes in the zone early, hitting 8-17 in the first half, with Sarr hitting three of those.

Sarr’s performance could change things.

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He’s carved out a role as a defensive savant, but his offense has been hit or miss, if you’ll pardon the expression. Against State, he even took off and hit a dunk in the half court. Earlier in the season, he just couldn’t do that.

If he becomes a reliable offensive presence, Duke has another weapon to wrap around Cameron Boozer.

The zone was to slow down Boozer and Pat Ngongba, of course, and it worked for a few minutes. Boozer started drawing fouls though and had 11 at the break.

But as much fun as the offense was, as steady as it was, the story, again, was the defense.

Duke put a hurting on State. Williams, who was grinning and having a good time after hitting a couple of early shots, lost that cockiness. Early on, Quadir Copeland had something to say to his old Syracuse teammate, Maliq Brown. That cockiness didn’t last long either.

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Williams got 11 points in the first half, but shot 4-10/3-7. Copeland meanwhile had 4 points, but shot just 1-5/0-1 and had 3 assists and…

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Publish date : 2026-03-03 03:11:00

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