Duke basketball suffered a pair of postseason losses to N.C. State last season, including a season-ending defeat in the Elite Eight of the 2024 NCAA Tournament.
The second-ranked Blue Devils (17-2, 9-0 ACC) will get their shot at revenge against the struggling Wolfpack (9-10, 2-7) on Monday (8:30 p.m., ESPN) at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
Duke, which hasn’t lost to N.C. State in Durham since 2017, had to watch the Wolfpack celebrate a Final Four berth in Dallas after a 12-point loss in 2024.
But the Tobacco Road rivals are moving in opposite directions this season as Duke chases its 10th straight win to start ACC play and N.C. State tries to avoid a fifth straight league loss.
Here are some other things to know and a score prediction for Duke vs. N.C. State.
Tyrese Proctor bounce-back shooting for Duke basketball vs NC State
Junior guard Tyrese Proctor had a scoreless game, missing each of his nine shot attempts, in Duke’s Elite Eight loss to N.C. State last season. As if that wasn’t enough motivation for Monday, Proctor is coming off a 2-for-12 shooting performance in the Blue Devils’ win at Wake Forest. One of the most consistent 3-point shooters in the ACC this season, Proctor has knocked down multiple treys in 12 of 19 games. Last season, he finished with multiple 3-pointers in 15 of 32 games.
NC State defense has been solid, but shooting struggles continue
The Wolfpack’s defense has been good enough to win games of late, limiting opponents to an average of 67 points across the last five games. But N.C. State has averaged 64.4 points in that stretch, with an average effective field goal percentage of 45.2%. The Pack has made just five of its last 34 shots (14.7%) from 3-point range. Jayden Taylor, the Wolfpack’s second-leading scorer at 12.8 points per game and best 3-point shooter at 36%, has made 5 of 19 shots from 3-point range (26.3%) in the last three games. If N.C. State is going to have a shot at knocking off the Blue Devils, it has to make some shots from long range.
Duke’s Mason Gillis, NC State’s Paul McNeil as X-factors
Duke loses at Wake Forest without Mason Gillis and N.C. State doesn’t challenge SMU without Paul McNeil Jr. A Purdue transfer who scored eight points against the Wolfpack in the 2024 Final Four, Gillis has reached double-digit points in two of his last three games with the Blue Devils. He had 11 points, including three 3-pointers, and six rebounds at Wake Forest. McNeil didn’t play in three of the four games ahead of the Wolfpack’s game against SMU. He had eight points and three assists in 15 minutes against the Mustangs. Both players likely earned themselves more minutes in Monday’s game.
Duke vs NC State score prediction
Duke 74, N.C. State 52: Tyrese Proctor and the Blue Devils had a rough shooting night at Wake Forest. With that in mind, plus the added fuel from last season’s losses to the Wolfpack, Proctor will light it up in a revenge game and Duke will experience a comfortable win at Cameron.
Rodd Baxley covers Duke, North Carolina and N.C. State for The Fayetteville Observer as part of the USA TODAY Network. Follow his ACC coverage on X/Twitter or Bluesky: @RoddBaxley. Got questions regarding those teams? Send them to rbaxley@fayobserver.com.
This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Duke basketball vs NC State: Score prediction, scouting report
