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)

The ACC released league matchups for next football season Friday. Actual dates for the games will be released in February. Here's what is on tap for Duke:

2013 ACC home games (not in chronological order): Georgia Tech, Miami, Pittsburgh and N.C. State

2013 ACC Road games (not in chronological order): North Carolina, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest

For North Carolina:

2013 ACC home games (not in chronological order): Boston College, Duke, Miami, Virginia

2013 ACC road games (not in chronological order): Georgia Tech, N.C. State, Pittsburgh, Virginia Tech.

For N.C. State:

2013 ACC home games (not in chronological order): Clemson, Maryland, North Carolina, Syracuse

2013 ACC road games (not in chronological order): Boston College, Duke, Florida State, Wake Forest

Initial thoughts:

Duke head coach David Cutcliffe already has a jumpstart on next season with four early enrollees on campus now. Credit: CHUCK LIDDY

Duke head coach David Cutcliffe announced in a statement Wednesday that four incoming players have enrolled early and started taking classes. They are:

Parker Boehme, a three-star, dual-threat quarterback, who threw for 3,202 yards and 40 touchdowns as a junior and earned all-state recognition. His senior season was cut short due to a toe injury. Boehme, who measures 6-foot-2, 220 pounds, hails from Jacksonville, Fla., and attended Sandalwood high school.

Defensive back Evrett Edwards is a three-star recruit from Woodbridge, Va. The 5-foot-11, 175 pound Edwards also played wide receiver in high school and posted career totals of 107 tackles, 10 interceptions and 21 pass breakups.

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

Former Duke quarterback Thad Lewis made his first career start in the last week of the NFL's regular season. Credit: Joshua Gunter, The Plain Dealer

Last week, on his way from Cleveland back home to Miami, former Duke quarterback Thad Lewis stopped by campus to speak with the media. He was all smiles, not surprising considering he was a few days removed from his first NFL start.

As the Browns third-string quarterback, Lewis realized that he would have to wait patiently for his opportunity. But he never doubted that it would come.

“In the back of my mind, I knew that everything would present itself at the right time,” he said. “The only thing I kept telling myself is that it’s not my time. When the time comes, it will present itself, and I just need to make sure that I’m ready. A lot of guys do, they go in a shell and forget who they are.”

When Brandon Weeden and Colt McCoy both were sidelined with shoulder injuries, Lewis started the Browns final game against the Pittsburgh Steelers and their No. 1-ranked defense. In a 24-10 loss, Lewis completed 22 of 32 passes for 204 yards, one touchdown (to UNC alum Greg Little) and one interception.

“Lewis performed reasonably well and better than most expected,” wrote Dennis Manoloff of the Cleveland Plain Dealer.

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.