Nearly one year ago, Duke had no trouble putting away a Wake Forest squad that won just eight games all season as it finished in the basement of the ACC. The Blue Devils dismantled the Demon Deacons 83-59 on the road, but Duke expects more of a challenge this year.
“They’re more cohesive as a unit,” Blue Devil associate head coach Chris Collins said. “Those guys have been able to get experience and are playing better basketball, and that’s why their confidence level is higher.”
Second-year head coach Jeff Bzdelik’s squad has already surpassed its win total from last season, and after three conference games this year the Demon Deacons have accumulated as many ACC wins as they did in all of 2011. No. 4 Duke (15-2, 3-0 in the ACC) takes its first shot at new-look Wake Forest (10-7, 1-2) tonight at 7 p.m. at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
Although Wake Forest is coming off a lopsided 76-40 loss against N.C. State, it still has the potential to play spoiler to any of the top teams in the ACC, as Virginia Tech found out Jan. 7 when it was upended in Winston-Salem 58-55.
Key to the Demon Deacons’ better performance this season has been the reliability of two of the conference’s top scorers. Guard C.J. Harris’ 17.3 points per game rank second in the ACC, just one spot ahead of teammate Travis McKie and his 17.1 points per game.
Both are among the conference’s more aggressive players, as Harris makes the second-most free throws per game, while McKie drains the sixth-most.
“They both do a great job of getting to the free throw line. They initiate contact,” Collins said. “So you really have to make them take tough shots…and keep them away from getting layups and free throws which would enable them to have big games.”
For Duke, an emphasis on forcing Wake Forest into more difficult shots will be critical to limiting the Demon Deacon offense. Duke enters tonight’s game having allowed opponents to shoot 43.6 percent, the highest opposing field-goal percentage in the ACC.
Duke makes up for its defensive shortcomings with high-percentage offense, shooting 49.6 percent from the floor—best in the conference, and the program’s best since 1999. But the Blue Devil scorers will face a tough challenge in the Demon Deacons’ two 7-foot centers, Carson Desrosiers and Ty Walker. Each averages over 2.4 blocks per game and could limit Duke in the paint.
Nevertheless, with both Miles and Mason Plumlee shooting over 60 percent, the Blue Devils will not back down from attacking the rim.
“You have to be aggressive,” Collins said. “You can’t let great shot blockers affect your ability to attack around the basket…. We have to be physical. We have to get the ball inside, use our strength, which is Mason and Miles.”
The offensive efficiency of both Plumlees in the paint in turn opens up Duke’s perimeter attack.
“We want to have great spacing in what we do—that puts a lot of pressure on the defense when you can have an attack that can be inside and out,” Collins said.
Coming off three consecutive single-digit victories to open conference play, however, the Blue Devils will have to be ready for another challenging ACC opponent from the start as they return to Durham.
“In the [last] game, we got off to a slow start and had to play catch-up,” Collins said. “[Changing] that is going to be an emphasis in this game—getting out of the gate well and starting strong and hopefully setting the tone for the rest of the game.”
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