And now, a history lesson from the Triangle courtesy of the Raleigh News & Observer's Joe Giglio:
Over the past 20 years, N.C. State has 14 regular-season wins over Duke and UNC. The Wolfpack's record in the next ACC game after a win over Duke or UNC is 1-12.
And wouldn't you know it, the Wolfpack are coming off a victory over Duke and will play at Maryland on Wednesday.
Granted, this is a more talented N.C. State team than most (if not all) of the squads the Wolfpack has fielded over the last two decades. But if there is something in the program's DNA over that time, it is an inability to handle (to borrow one of Giglio's most apt lines) a "reload the musket" game.
Of course, if Maryland can't get decent point guard play and run its offense with any semblance of organization, N.C. State's erratic history won't warrant a mention around 9 p.m. tomorrow.
Another Terps-related side note: They've dealt the Wolfpack five of those 12 losses over the years, though two came after N.C. State defeated Duke in 1994-95 (aka The Year Duke Was Bad) and two came after the Wolfpack handled the 2002-03 North Carolina team that didn't reach the NCAA tournament.
--- Patrick Stevens
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