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Duke-N.C. State Preview

Jan 20, 2010 - 2:35 AM By MATT BECKER STATS Senior Writer

Duke (15-2) at North Carolina State (12-6), 9:00 p.m. EDT

Even if Jon Scheyer has an off night, Duke has several other scoring threats. North Carolina State knows all about Duke's offensive depth.

Scheyer looks to bounce back from one of his worst offensive performances of the season and help the seventh-ranked Blue Devils beat the Wolfpack for the fourth straight time Wednesday night at the RBC Center.

Scheyer is the focal point of Duke's high-powered offense, averaging 18.9 points per game, but Wake Forest was determined to stop the ACC's second-leading scorer Sunday at Cameron Indoor Stadium. The 6-foot-5 senior shot 3 of 11 and was limited to a season-low nine points, but his teammates picked up the slack and led the Blue Devils (15-2, 3-1) to a 90-70 victory - their ninth win in 10 games.

"Obviously, I didn't play as well as I could to help the team, but that just shows us a lot," Scheyer said. "I didn't play that well, and so many guys stepped up."

Kyle Singler had 21 points and a season-high 15 rebounds, while the Plumlee brothers also provided a big lift.

Sophomore Miles Plumlee had career highs of 19 points and 14 rebounds, while freshman Mason Plumlee added 11 points and seven boards. The brothers combined to shoot 10 of 15 from the floor while scoring in double figures in the same game for the first time with the Blue Devils.

"That makes us a complete team," Miles Plumlee said. "Our perimeter's been there, and they're always going to be there for us. Now that we've got that real strong inside game, there's not many people that can stop that."

The Blue Devils, whose rotation also includes Nolan Smith - fourth in the ACC in scoring (18.3 points per game) - and Singler, eighth with an average of 15.7 points, lead the conference with an average of 84.6 points per game.

They could be too much for North Carolina State (12-6, 1-3), which ranks last in the ACC with 70.7 scoring average.

In the only meeting between these teams last season, the Wolfpack limited Scheyer to three points, but still lost 73-56 at Cameron. Singler finished with 17 points and Smith added 13 for Duke.

The Blue Devils have won three straight over the Wolfpack and seven of the last eight meetings. They've also won three in a row at N.C. State since a 78-74 loss to the then-No. 21 Wolfpack on Feb. 15, 2004.

N.C. State, which is set to face its third straight ranked opponent, has dropped three of its last four at home.

After defeating then-No. 25 Florida State last Tuesday, the Wolfpack lost to then-No. 24 Clemson 73-70 at home Saturday.

N.C. State trailed the Tigers by as many as 21 points before cutting the deficit to just one following a Tracy Smith free throw with 1:52 remaining. The Wolfpack couldn't complete the comeback, though, as Julius Mays' desperation 30-footer went off the front of the rim at the buzzer.

"We dug ourselves a big hole," coach Sidney Lowe said. "I'm very proud of the way they continued to fight and try to get back into the ballgame."

Mays had another impressive outing Saturday, finishing with a season-high 17 points. The sophomore, who has come off the bench in each game this season, has scored at least 12 in three of the last four games after reaching the 12-point mark just once in his first 14 contests.