Cameron Boozer scored 26 points and No. 1 Duke won its final road game of the season by drilling North Carolina State 93-64 to claim the outright Atlantic Coast Conference regular-season championship Monday night at Raleigh, N.C.
Duke (28-2, 16-1 ACC) had wrapped up the top seed for the ACC tournament with Saturday’s romp past then-No. 11 Virginia and now the Blue Devils have added to that.
Dame Sarr poured in 16 points to go with eight rebounds, Isaiah Evans notched 12 points and Patrick Ngongba II provided 11 points for the Blue Devils, who shot 32 for 58 (55.2%) from the field. Boozer, who made eight of 10 shots from the field, also pulled in nine rebounds.
Darrion Williams provided 17 points and Quadir Copeland had 11 points for NC State (19-11, 10-7), which has lost three games in a row and five of its last six. The Wolfpack were considered a team safely in place for an NCAA Tournament bid just a couple of weeks ago, but that status is sliding in the wrong direction.
The Blue Devils were efficient enough in the first half to prevent the home crowd from roaring consistently as NC State was seeking its second late-season triumph against a nationally ranked neighboring school after toppling North Carolina last month
For Duke, it was an ideal tune-up for Saturday night’s rematch with rival North Carolina, which handed the Blue Devils their only ACC defeat.
Duke was so crisp that it collected 21 assists on 32 baskets, though it was a pedestrian 18 for 27 on free throws. Caleb Foster provided seven assists. The Blue Devils were charged with seven turnovers.
NC State shot 35.4% from the floor.
The Blue Devils finished with 11 baskets from 3-point range, while the Wolfpack went 7 for 29 from beyond the arc. Williams was 3 for 11 on 3s.
Duke built a 47-30 halftime lead. The margin grew to 62-36 in the first five minutes of the second half.
–Field Level Media
