Seth Curry left the N.C. State game with an ankle injury, but he should be ready to go for Thursday. Credit: CHUCK LIDDY

Saturday’s loss at N.C. State cost Duke its top spot in the rankings, but the Blue Devils did avoid losing another key senior for an extended period of time.

Seth Curry suffered a slight left ankle sprain in Saturday's loss to N.C. State, but he should be ready to go for Duke's next game, head coach Mike Krzyzewski said on the weekly ACC coaches teleconference. Duke, now ranked No. 3 in the polls (15-1, 2-1 in the ACC) plays Georgia Tech (10-5, 0-3) Thursday at 9 p.m.

“There wasn't a lot of swelling after the game, and yesterday it looked pretty good,” Krzyzewski said. “He won't practice today, but unless something else happens, he'll be available for Thursday.”

As N.C. State head coach Mark Gottfried said, Duke vs. the Wolfpack was "a grown-man's game. Credit: CHUCK LIDDY

RALEIGH—Duke didn’t play bad in its 84-76 loss at N.C. State. The Wolfpack simply played better.

“They played a heck of a game,” Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski said of the Wolfpack. “We fought like crazy throughout the game and gave ourselves a chance to win. State played outstanding basketball.”

Lorenzo Brown and Richard Howell drew extra praise from Krzyzewski, as he said both were among the best in the country at their positions. Both were able to win their individual matchups with Quinn Cook and Mason Plumlee, two of Duke’s top performers this year. Here’s a closer look at how each individual matchup played out.

Quinn Cook (6-1, 175) vs. Lorenzo Brown (6-5, 186)

N.C. State scored 22 fast-break points, and that, in Krzyzewski’s mind, was the difference in the game.

Despite his recent drop in offensive production, Mason Plumlee is still Mike Krzyzewsi's guy. Credit: CHUCK LIDDY

Every Saturday, the News & Observer takes a look around the ACC. That also provides an opportunity to check in with the Blue Devils and look for any emerging trends.

After establishing himself as the front-runner for national player of the year honors, Mason Plumlee has cooled off in Duke’s last three games. Against Davidson, Wake Forest and Clemson, Plumlee has had his three lowest scoring outputs (10, 13 and eight, respectively), and also set a new-season high with six turnovers against the Wildcats and Tigers.

Part of the slow down, in head coach Mike Krzyzewski’s opinion, is due to the extra time opponents have had to game plan for Plumlee—Duke had eight days off for the holidays, and most other teams took a break from games, too. Also, both Davidson and Wake Forest constantly double-teamed Plumlee in the post, a strategy teams didn’t use earlier in the year.

Duke, minus the injured Ryan Kelly, is ready to go in a marquee matchup against N.C. State. Credit: CHUCK LIDDY

Duke at N.C. State
When: 12:02 p.m.
Where: PNC Arena, Raleigh
TV/Radio: ESPN/WKIX-102.9 FM
How does Duke replace Ryan Kelly? On offense, it all starts with Quinn Cook.

Projected starting lineups:

No. 1 Duke (15-0, 2-0 in the ACC)
G Quinn Cook, So., 11.4 ppg, 6.1 apg
G Seth Curry, Sr., 16.0 ppg, 1.8 rpg
G Rasheed Sulaimon, Fr., 11.2 ppg, 3.7 rpg
F Josh Hairston, Jr., 1.7 ppg, 2.1 rpg
F Mason Plumlee, Sr., 17.7 ppg, 11.4 rpg

No. 20 N.C. State (13-2, 2-0)
G Lorenzo Brown, Jr., 13.1 ppg, 6.7 apg
G Rodney Purvis, Fr., 10.0 ppg, 3.0 rpg
F Scott Wood, Sr., 12.1 ppg, 3.1 rpg
F C.J. Leslie, Jr., 15.6 ppg, 7.3 rpg
F Richard Howell, Sr., 12.7 ppg, 9.9 rpg

Who has the edge:

Starters

Quinn Cook (6-1, 175) vs. Lorenzo Brown (6-5, 186)

Ryan Kelly, Duke's most effective offensive option over the last three games, will be sidelined until further notice. Credit: CHUCK LIDDY

Duke forward Ryan Kelly will be sidelined indefinitely with a right foot injury, the school announced in a statement. He will not play Saturday against N.C. State.

“We feel very badly for Ryan,” Mike Krzyzewski said in the statement. “He is playing the best basketball of his career and this is a tough setback for him. We’re hoping for a good recovery and we are optimistic about his return.”

It’s the same foot that kept Kelly out of the ACC and NCAA Tournaments at the end of last season. Kelly had surgery late last March and started this season completely healthy. Krzyzewski announced after the Wake Forest game that Kelly had tweaked his right foot during the holidays, and at that point he was thought to be back to full strength.

Kelly has been Duke’s most effective offensive weapon of late, as he is averaging 17.3 points per game in the Blue Devils last three games, despite playing an average of 24 minutes. Kelly scored a season-high 22 points in 18 minutes against Wake Forest, as foul trouble kept him out the majority of the game, and he put up 12 points in 19 minutes against Clemson. Kelly did not play in the second half.

Kelly, who was last week’s ACC player of he week, leads Duke in 3-point shooting percentage (.521) and is 15-of-20 (75 percent) from behind the arc in Duke’s last six games. For the season, Kelly is averaging 13.4 points, 5.4 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.7 blocks per game and is on pace to set career highs in those four categories.

Amile Jefferson played well in limited action against Clemson. With Kelly's injury, his playing time will likely increase. Credit: CHUCK LIDDY

DURHAM—A few more thoughts from Duke's 15th win of the year, a 68-40 victory over Clemson :

Sometime in the first half—Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski isn’t sure when—Ryan Kelly hurt his right foot. That’s the same foot he sprained during the Blue Devils’ December holiday break, and it’s the same foot that caused him to miss the ACC and NCAA Tournaments. He did not play in the second half.

Kelly had surgery on that foot last March and said he was completely healed at the beginning of the season. Krzyzewski didn’t know the extent of the injury after Duke’s 64-40 win over Clemson and said Kelly would have a CAT scan and X-rays Wednesday.

“We’re hopeful that it’s not real serious,” Krzyzewski said. “But for precautionary reasons, we felt that it wasn’t good to play him in the second half.”

Kelly came out of the locker room a few seconds after the second half started, and he went to the locker room before the end of the game. He stood up and walked in and out of huddles during the second half and didn’t give any outward signs of pain.

Defense was the theme of the game in Duke's win over Clemson. Credit: CHUCK LIDDY

DURHAM—After Quinn Cook failed to hit any of his 11 shots against Wake Forest, he went back on the floor and shot extra shots after the game. He came back that night, too, and shot some more in attempt to clear his head. And then he received an extra mental boost from Mason Plumlee, who was the first one to text him after his tough shooting game.

“He just told me, you’re a great shooter, just keep shooting, we believe in you,” Cook said. “For your best player to tell you that, that’s the ultimate confidence builder.”

Cook game back and scored a career-high 27 points in Duke’s 68-40 win over Clemson. Cook finished 12-of-16 from the floor, a night-and-day difference from his 0-for-11 performance against the Demon Deacons.

“You obviously think about it, but the next time in practice you have to move on,” Cook said. “Great shooters always move on to the next shot.”

Quinn Cook and Tyler Thornton have been quite the pair for Duke this season. Credit: CHUCK LIDDY

Stop me if you’ve heard this before.

Tyler Thornton is Duke’s unsung hero.

I wrote about this after the Temple game when head coach Mike Krzyzewski mentioned that Thornton plays the role of Seth Curry in practice. Curry can’t practice much due to his lingering right shin injury but he hasn’t had any problems getting into a rhythm with his teammates on the floor.

Curry isn’t the only benefactor from Thornton’s team-first mentality. Thornton has also helped developed Quinn Cook, a friend of his since middle school, even though Cook’s rise meant less playing time for Thronton. I wrote about the dynamic of that relationship for today’s paper.

“Any time he can help Quinn, that's what he tries to do,” associate head coach Chris Collins said of Thronton. “They work out together, they get extra shots up, they watch film, all the things that a good leader does, that is what Tyler has done for Quinn.

“Tyler has an amazing security with who he is as a player. He's one of those rare guys where it really doesn't matter if he starts or comes off the bench. He knows what his role is. He knows he is good at it. He's confident in who he is.”

Quinn Cook will look to find his shot against Clemson, Credit: CHUCK LIDDY

Duke vs. Clemson
When: 7:02 p.m.
Where: Cameron Indoor Stadium, Durham
TV/Radio: ESPNU/WKIX-102.9 FM

Projected starting lineups:

No. 1 Duke (14-0, 1-0 in the ACC)
G Quinn Cook, So., 10.3 ppg, 6.2 apg
G Seth Curry, Sr., 16.6 ppg, 1.8 rpg
G Rasheed Sulaimon, Fr., 11.9 ppg, 3.5 rpg
F Ryan Kelly, Sr., 13.5 ppg, 5.4 rpg
F Mason Plumlee, Sr., 18.4 ppg, 11.3 rpg

Clemson (8-5, 0-1)
G Rod Hall, So., 6.5 ppg, 4.0 apg
G Damarcus Harrison, So., 5.8 ppg, 3.2 rpg
G/F K.J. McDaniels, So., 11.4 ppg, 4.6 rpg
F Milton Jennings, Sr., 10.1 ppg, 5.2 rpg
F/C Devin Booker, Sr., 11.1 ppg, 7.5 rpg

Player to watch:

Devin Booker, Clemson

DURHAM—After Duke’s thoroughly dominant 80-62 win over Wake Forest, Mason Plumlee sat with a towel draped over his legs and addressed the media.

First he was asked about not getting a ton of touches (“guys were taking jump shots, that’s all”). Then he was asked about slow starts—after Duke had led the Demon Deacons by 11 at the half (“We’ll start coming out better”). And finally, he was asked about runs the Blue Devils let the Demon Deacons make in the second half, like when Wake Forest cut a 25-point Duke lead to 14 points against Duke’s reserves, well after the game had been decided.

“I mean, we won the game,” Plumlee said. “We can talk about all the negative things, but, at the end of the day, guys stepped up.

“I feel like, talking to you guys here, that lost,” he said with a laugh and a smile.