NC State bids to continue ascent in encounter vs. Duke

North Carolina State and Duke have been going in opposite directions in recent weeks heading into their Atlantic Coast Conference game Saturday afternoon in Raleigh, N.C.The Wolfpack (5-4, 2-3) have won two in a row to get their season back on track going into their home finale.”We have 20 players on our team that are out of eligibility,” North Carolina State coach Dave Doeren said. “After this game, they’ll never walk through that tunnel with their uniform on again to play a game.”The Blue Devils (6-3, 2-3) have lost back-to-back games against nationally ranked opponents, falling to SMU and Miami.”I think we’ve shown that in spurts we can play with anybody,” Duke coach Manny Diaz said.The Blue Devils led in the second half of both of their most recent ACC road losses, to Georgia Tech and Miami (53-31 last Saturday). So there’s plenty to build on for Duke.”To go challenge ourselves to go be in this position again,” Diaz said.North Carolina State’s last two games have resulted in triumphs against ACC newcomers Cal and Stanford, but now the Wolfpack have a date with a neighboring rival.Last year, Duke defeated the Wolfpack 24-3 at home, though North Carolina State responded by winning its next five games.