North Carolina State started losing its key players to fouls. Not long after that, the Wolfpack lost their huge lead – and the game, too. NC State let a late 20-point lead slip away against No. 5 Duke Thursday in a 78-73 loss that marked its 14th straight defeat at Cameron Indoor Stadium. This one got away largely because the Wolfpack (18-8, 7-4 Atlantic Coast Conference) was forced to play important stretches with some important players stuck on the bench in foul trouble. Guard C.J. Williams barely got in the flow, managing just three points – he averages 11 – while playing just 12 minutes before fouling out. Two key members of NC State's front line – Richard Howell and C.J. Leslie – sat during parts of Duke's rally with four fouls. Both fouled out in the final 2 minutes. “It made it difficult, and we lost our aggressiveness when we got so many guys in foul trouble,” first-year coach Mark Gottfried said. Seth Curry scored 21 of his season-high 26 points in the second half, Austin Rivers added 16 points on 4-of-13 shooting and the Blue Devils (22-4, 9-2) erased that 20-point deficit with 11 and a half minutes left. They trailed by 16 points at halftime – the largest deficit they have ever overcome to win under Hall of Fame coach Mike Krzyzewski. No. 7 Michigan St. 69, No. 15 Wisconsin 55: Jordan Taylor has carried Wisconsin through its comeback this season, helping his team win seven of eight games after a rough start in the Big Ten. But he was no match for Michigan State Thursday. Taylor made just three shots and was held to 13 points as the seventh-ranked Spartans beat the 15th-ranked Badgers comfortably. The Badgers (19-7, 8-5 Big Ten) had won their previous four road games and were on a roll — home and away — after opening the Big Ten season with three straight losses. No. 20 Florida St. 48, Virginia Tech 47: Michael Snaer's 3-pointer with 2.6 seconds left capped Florida State's rally from a 15-point deficit with 14 minutes to play and kept the Seminoles in a first-place tie in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Florida State (18-7, 9-2) trailed 45-37 with 1:29 left in the game, but Virginia Tech missed 5 of 6 free throw attempts over the final 1:09. In another game, Gonzaga downed Santa Clara 73-62.
