Duke faces NC State in ACC quarters

No. 5 seed North Carolina State (20-12, 11-10) vs. No. 4 seed Duke (25-6, 15-5)

Atlantic Coast Conference Tourney Quarterfinals, Greensboro Coliseum, Greensboro, North Carolina; Thursday, 1:30 p.m. EDT

BOTTOM LINE: North Carolina State is set to face Duke in the quarterfinals of the ACC tourney. The teams split the regular season series at one win apiece. The teams last went at it on March 2, when the Blue Devils outshot North Carolina State 47.6 percent to 43.3 percent and made 11 more free throws en route to an 88-69 victory.

VARYING EXPERIENCE: North Carolina State has been fueled by senior leadership this year while Duke has depended on freshmen. For the Wolfpack, seniors Markell Johnson, Devon Daniels, C.J. Bryce, D.J. Funderburk and Jericole Hellems have combined to account for 78 percent of the team’s scoring. In the other locker room, freshmen Vernon Carey Jr., Cassius Stanley, Matthew Hurt and Wendell Moore Jr. have combined to account for 55 percent of Duke’s scoring this season, including 58 percent of the team’s points over its last five games.

OFFENSIVE THREAT: Johnson has either made or assisted on 45 percent of all North Carolina State field goals over the last three games. The senior guard has 12 field goals and 28 assists in those games.

UNDEFEATED WHEN: North Carolina State is a perfect 8-0 when the team makes nine or more 3-pointers. The Wolfpack are 12-12 when the team hits fewer than nine threes.

PASSING FOR POINTS: The Wolfpack have recently used assists to create buckets more often than the Blue Devils. Duke has an assist on 37 of 73 field goals (50.7 percent) across its past three contests while North Carolina State has assists on 50 of 89 field goals (56.2 percent) during its past three games.

DID YOU KNOW: Duke is ranked second among all Division I teams with an average of 82.5 points per game.