For the second time in as many games, Duke will take the court without its full roster.
Blue Devil freshmen Dereck Lively II and Dariq Whitehead will miss No. 14 Duke's Tuesday tilt at Wake Forest "due to non-COVID illness," per a team release Tuesday afternoon. The contest, set to tip off at 6:30 p.m. at Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Winston-Salem, N.C., is the Blue Devils' ACC road opener and first game action since Dec. 10.
Lively, the ACC Preseason Rookie of the Year, has started nine consecutive games for the Blue Devils after returning from a preseason calf injury. He is averaging 4.4 points and 3.7 rebounds, and is coming off of a career-high five blocks in Duke's last contest, an 82-55 win against Maryland Eastern Shore.
Whitehead, on the other hand, made his first collegiate start in place of injured guard Jeremy Roach against Maryland Eastern Shore and scored a career-high 15 points in the outing. While Whitehead and Lively will be sidelined Tuesday against Wake Forest, Roach is set to return to the lineup for the first time since tying a career-best with 22 points in Duke's Dec. 6 win against Iowa at Madison Square Garden.
In a Monday media availability, Scheyer said that Whitehead (foot), Lively (calf) and Roach (toe) are each overcoming their respective injuries, while noting that Duke has dealt with illness during its 10-day break for final exams.
"We're getting better. Jeremy's in good shape. He'll be ready to go for tomorrow night and Dariq, Dereck, the same," Scheyer said Monday. "We're fortunate to be able to have that; I think every team probably is going through it a little bit. There was some sickness that we've had this past week. I'm sure that's what every team goes through. ... For us, we're as good health-wise as we've been all season, so I'm happy to say that."
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Jonathan Levitan is a Trinity senior and was previously sports editor of The Chronicle's 118th volume.