Paolo Banchero scored 21 points and Mark Williams contributed 19 as No. 8 Duke feasted on the interior in an 88-73 victory against visiting North Carolina State on Saturday at Durham, N.C.

Wendell Moore Jr. added 15 points and Trevor Keels 12 as the Blue Devils (14-2, 4-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) shot 58.3 percent from the field in their first home game since a loss to Miami a week earlier. Theo John had 10 points for Duke on Saturday.

The game marked the return to the bench of Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski, who is in his final season before retirement but missed Wednesday's victory at Wake Forest because of a non-COVID illness.

Terquavion Smith scored 19 points despite 1-for-9 shooting on 3-pointers for NC State (9-9, 2-5). Dereon Seabron had 16 points and Ebenezer Dowuona 10.

NC State was hindered by 5-for-19 shooting on 3-pointers and by attempting only 10 free throws.

Duke built its lead to 51-38 less than two minutes into the second half. From there, the lead grew to 19 points before a Wolfpack rally closed the gap to 80-71.

A Williams dunk with 2:56 left helped stem that momentum.

NC State went up 15-10 slightly more than five minutes into the game. Another 10 minutes passed before the Wolfpack scored another 15 points, trailing 36-30 at that juncture. Duke led 45-36 at the break, shooting 57.6 percent from the field.

The Wolfpack was without reserve post player Ernest Ross, who was out due to an ankle injury. NC State won Wednesday night at Louisville, but it hasn't posted back-to-back wins since a three-game win streak from Nov. 21-Dec. 1.

This was the only scheduled meeting of the season between the in-state rivals located about 20 miles apart. Krzyzewski is 58-25 all-time against the Wolfpack.

NC State's Kevin Keatts holds a 2-4 coaching record against Duke, with both wins coming when the Blue Devils were ranked in the Top 10, but his team couldn't duplicate one of those results this time.

--Field Level Media