Blue Devils prepare for No. 9 Demon Deacons

With winter in full force, a substantial portion of the student body huddles outside Wilson Recreation Center looking for new and inventive ways to avoid the ever-present dangers of freezing to death or drowning in rain-flooded tents.

Inside, the men's basketball team prepares for an equally formidable foe.

Tonight at 9 p.m. in Cameron Indoor Stadium, the No. 2 Blue Devils (17-1, 5-0 in the ACC) square off against the ninth-ranked Wake Forest Demon Deacons (14-3, 3-3).

"They are one of the top teams in the country," Nate James said. "We are doing our best to get ready for them."

Wake Forest arrives in Durham on the heels of a 71-63 win over Clemson. That victory broke a two-game slide during which the Demon Deacons lost an overtime game at Georgia Tech before losing to Maryland at College Park. Wake Forest's other conference loss came at the hands of North Carolina in Chapel Hill.

Those three games leave the Demon Deacons entering the hostility of Cameron with an 0-3 road record in conference play. Despite the Demon Deacons' recent troubles, the Blue Devils are not looking past Wake Forest to Maryland and North Carolina.

"[This game is] huge," Shane Battier said. "They are coming in with a lot of confidence. We aren't focused on anyone else."