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Late Afternoon Snacks: Wolfpack savages Duke; Temple tests Billikens

Duke v North Carolina State

RALEIGH, NC - JANUARY 12: Mason Plumlee #5 of the Duke Blue Devils posts up against C.J. Leslie #5 of the North Carolina State Wolfpack during play at PNC Arena on January 12, 2013 in Raleigh, North Carolina. North Carolina State won 84-76. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images)

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Game of the Day

No. 20 NC State 84, No. 1 Duke 76: So, if you were waiting for an answer to the question “how do you beat Duke?”, the answer is “wait for guys to get hurt.” OK, that’s not fair, but Duke did suffer a bit without Ryan Kelly, and when Seth Curry went down near the end of the game, any comeback hope was snuffed out. C.J. Leslie scored 25, Lorenzo Brown had 13 assists and Scott Wood was impeccable from deep. But the real story was Richard Howell’s 16/18 double double inside against Mason Plumlee. Howell is the kind of junkyard dog any title contender needs.

Meaningful Results

No. 5 Indiana 88, No. 8 Minnesota 81: If this were the Billboard charts, Minnesota would have been “No. 8 with a bullet,” coming into this game. The bullet signifies a fast-rising single. In this case, it was the Gophers who were on an eleven-game win streak coming in. The Hoosiers faded badly down the stretch, staking the Gophers to a 19-7 second half run, but survived on the strength of Victor Oladipo’s 20 points and Yogi Farrel’s 8 assists.

No. 18 Kansas State 65, West Virginia 64: West Virginia may not be “all that” this season, but for K-State to head to Morgantown, play a tight game against Bob Huggins’ team and come away with a one-point win is a serious gut-check. With Oklahoma busting Oklahoma State’s chops 77-68 today, and Kansas showing some vulnerability in Allen Fieldhouse recently, every Big 12 win carries a lot of meaning. This was a big one for the Wildcats, who were paced by 17 points apiece from Rodney McGruder and Shane Southwell.

UConn 65, No. 17 Notre Dame 58: Shabazz Napier and Ryan Boatright are the heart of this year’s team of Huskies, but they needed a little help from forward Tyler Olander to upset the Irish. Olander had 16 points and hauled down 7 boards against a team that plays rough on the interior. Kevin Ollie continues to show why Connecticut’s AD favored him with a new contract in spite of limited head coaching experience. His kids play hard and don’t give up.

Games of the Night

6:00 Temple at St. Louis, ESPNU

8:00 No. 4 Arizona at Oregon State, ESPNU

8:00 Missouri at Ole Miss

8:00 Colorado State at No. 16 San Diego State, NBC Sports