#2 seed Duke led by 27 at the half and coasted to a 77-53 win over #7 seed NC State in the ACC Tournament quarterfinals on Thursday in Greensboro.
Duke (29-3, 16-3 ACC) never trailed, jumping out to a 7-0 lead in the opening 2:30 and opening up a 17-point lead midway through the half, leading 49-22 at the break on the strength of 58.6 percent shooting from the field.
State (20-13, 11-9 ACC), which had defeated Duke in Raleigh by double digits in January, shot 35.7 percent for the game.
The Blue Devils had six players in double figures, led by Quinn Cook’s 15.