Duke and Wake Forest are meeting for the 252nd time in a series that dates to the 1905-06 season. The Blue Devils lead the series 173-78, including 62-16 at Cameron Indoor…Duke has won 10 straight in the series -- its second-longest active ACC winning streak behind 13 consecutive wins over Georgia Tech…The Blue Devils got 28 points from RJ Barrett, but had to survive a missed shot at the buzzer by Wake to win 71-70 in last year's meeting at Cameron Indoor on Senior Night…Each of Duke's last 10 leading scorers in a Duke-Wake game are now playing in the NBA.
Wake Forest and North Carolina are Duke's most-frequently played rivals, with each series standing at 251 previous games…Duke's 248 games versus NC State are next most.
The Opponent
Wake Forest is 8-6 overall and 1-3 in the ACC, with its three conference setbacks coming by a combined 21 points (7.0 per game). Brandon Childress leads the Demon Deacons in scoring (16.0) and assists (4.6), while Olivier Sarr is just short of averaging a double-double at 12.3 points and 9.2 rebounds off the bench. Wake Forest had won 3 in a row before losing to FSU by 10, the Demon Deacons erased a 7 point half time lead before eventually falling to the Seminoles while playing without starter Chaundee Brown.
Wake Forest is 37th in free throw attempts and 17th in free throw makes so far on the season in the nation and first in the ACC in both categories.
Duke
The Blue Devils will be without freshman starter Wendell Moore Jr. who underwent successful surgery on Monday to repair a broken fourth metacarpal in his right hand. He is out indefinitely, but expected to return this season. Moore, who sustained the injury late in the game at Miami on Saturday night, had played in all 14 games, with five starts. The Charlotte, N.C., native was averaging 7.4 points and 3.9 rebounds in 22.2 minutes per game.
Duke enters the game against Wake Forest on a 8 game winning streak. The Blue Devils come in at 14-1 and 4 & 0 in the ACC. The Blue Devils have relied heavily on their defense so far this season and are 4th in the nation in blocked shots, 24th in steals and 50th in rebounding.
Duke has held six consecutive opponents to less than 65 points, and two of the last four have scored 50 or less. The Blue Devils are allowing just 61.0 points over their eight-game winning streak. Duke is ranked No. 3 in KenPom's defensive efficiency, with top-20 ranks in both defensive steal percentage (12.5; 18th) and blocked shots percentage (15.4; 15th) -- one of five teams nationally in the top 20 for both. Duke's 75-50 win over Brown and the 88-49 BC win marked the first time since the 2010-11 season that consecutive Duke foes scored 50 or less -- 83-48 vs. Bradley (Dec. 8) and 84-47 vs. Saint Louis (Dec. 11).
Vernon Carey Jr. leads the Blue Devils in both scoring and rebounding, nearly averaging a double-double with 18.1 points per game and 8.8 rebounds. Carey also leads the team in blocks at 2 per game. Tre Jones leads the Blue Devils in assists at 7.2 per game, he also averages 14.3 points and a team leading 2 steals per game. Cassius Stanley and Matthew Hurt round out the double figure scorers for the Blue Devils with 11.2 and 11.6 points per game respectively. The Blue Devils are 29th in the nation in assists.
Synopsis
I expect a spirited game from Wake, a team definitely looking to build on a signature win against Xavier and a huge comeback win against Pitt. The key for Duke in my opinion is to keep the Demon Deacons off of the free throw line. Wake is at or near the bottom in most offensive categories except for free throws and they are middle of the pack in 3-point shooting. If Duke does a good job of keeping Wake in front they should be able to handle any offensive pressure put on them. Penetration from the Wake guards will be Duke's main area of focus.
Offensively Duke has to get off to a much better start than they did against Georgia Tech, Duke needs to establish Vernon Carey Jr. early and often. It was clear despite Duke's depth that Wendell Moore was missed on both ends of the floor if Duke can find points from Cassius Stanley, Matthew Hurt and either Alex O'Connell or Joey Baker then that should take some of the pressure off.
