NC State dropped to 11-9 overall and 1-6 in the ACC in the season that we are choosing to write off as the Mark Gottfried has earned after two Sweet 16s as a part of four consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances.
The Wolfpack led by 10 points in the first half and took a seven point lead into halftime, but Gottfried’s brand of defense was in full effect in the second half as the Blue Devils shot an amazing 71% from the floor and outscored State by 17 points to end their three game losing streak.
From my point of view, the most notable thing about this game was its reflection on the historical positioning of the NC State basketball program. I am 44 years old. When I was a teenager following ACC Basketball some 30 years ago, NC State had a WINNING RECORD over Duke in ACC play. We also were one of the Top 15 to 20 winningest programs in college basketball history. At the time, we held almost twice as many ACC Tournament Championships as the Blue Devils and claimed two national championships to their NONE. Then, in 1990 we choose to castigate and terminate our wildly popular and successful coach…and..the rest is history.
Yesterday, NC State could’ve won its 100th game over Duke in 243 tries. Instead, State lost its 1,000th game in the program’s history, dropping our all-time men’s basketball record to a respectable 1,658-1,000 since the 1910-11 season. Since the end of the 1989-1990 season, NC State is only 10-44 against Duke. That is absolutely staggering.
