Duke basketball captain Jeremy Roach steadily leading the team, just in time for March

When Duke and N.C. State played basketball on Jan. 4, Jeremy Roach sat on the bench most of the second half watching his team absorb an 84-60 beating.

On Tuesday night, a rejuvenated Roach continued his tear toward March, leading his Blue Devils to a thrilling 71-67 win and feeling of revenge.

Duke’s lone returning starter from last season’s Final Four team, the only player who played meaningful minutes on that 32-7 squad, Roach is playing his best basketball when the games take on extra meaning. While it’s exactly what Duke first-year coach Jon Scheyer expects from his most experienced player, he’s also thrilled to see it all come together.

“Jeremy’s a winner,” Scheyer said. “He’s been through it. It reminds me of last year, at the end with Jeremy in the (NCAA) tournament. He’s done that for us in stretches all year long. But this is the most consistent that he’s played.”

In last season’s NCAA tournament, Roach was clutch. He averaged 11.8 points and 2.8 rebounds with three assists per game, making the NCAA tournament all-West Region team, leading Duke to its first Final Four since 2015.

Last fall, preparing for his first season as head coach following Mike Krzyzewski’s retirement, Scheyer declared Roach could be one of the better guards in the country.

At times this season, he was, like when he scored 22 points in Duke’s 74-62 win over Iowa at Madison Square Garden in New York on Dec. 6.

But a month later, during that humbling defeat to the Wolfpack, Roach played 23 minutes. He scored four points — all on free throws — while going 0 for 8 from the field.

He sat out the next four games, resting a toe injury on his right foot he first suffered in November.

He’s not 100% healthy, since he’s still susceptible to tweaking it when he steps on that foot wrong, as happened Tuesday night against N.C. State.

But Roach is giving 100%, and willing Duke on its climb up the ACC standings — and the NCAA tournament seed lines.

During Duke’s current five-game winning streak, Roach is averaging 15.8 points per game. That includes 19 in Duke’s 81-65 win over Virginia Tech on Saturday night, and 20 the Blue Devils’ satisfying win over N.C. State on Tuesday.

“On offense,” Scheyer said, “we need him to score and create. He just has a knack for making timely baskets.”

Duke (22-8, 13-6 ACC) has won eight of its past 10 games and Roach has scored in double-figures in nine of those games. Three times he’s reached or surpassed 20 points.

“There’s just a confidence out there,” Roach said. “My teammates are finding me when I’m open. We are moving the ball, sharing it.”

Surrounded by freshmen and transfers in Duke’s eight-man rotation, Roach winds up with the ball in hands at crucial times. That’s by design, of course.

On Tuesday night, N.C. State cut what had been a 12-point Duke lead with 2:05 to play down to 65-61 with 52 seconds to play.

On Duke’s possession, the Blue Devils passed the ball around to burn some clock before Roach received the ball and drew a foul.

With 40.3 seconds left, he sank two free throws, pushing Duke’s lead to 67-61.

“Down the stretch, to carry us, and finish the game,” Scheyer said. “That’s just who he is. He’s done it really since high school and we need him to continue to do it.”

Duke enters March playing as well as any team in the ACC. January league road losses at NC State, Clemson and Virginia Tech knocked the Blue Devils from the national rankings but they are now playing like a team no team wants to match up with in tournament play.

Roach is a major reason why that’s true. It’s just as Scheyer and his staff expected even after Roach’s mid-season injury scare.