Still waking up
Due to the winter storm forecasted to hit Durham this weekend, today’s contest was moved up from its original 5:45 p.m. tipoff. It seems that the Blue Devils haven’t made the adjustment all too smoothly, especially off the heels of their two-game West Coast trip.
On the game’s opening possession, Patrick Ngongba II dribbled off his foot — leading to a jump ball and Wake Forest possession. Turnovers have plagued this underclassmen-heavy Duke squad at times, much to the chagrin of head coach Jon Scheyer. Later in the half, an errant pass from Dame Sarr in transition gave away an opportunity for the home team to take the lead. While the Blue Devils seemingly solved their starting woes against Cal and Stanford, they trailed the Demon Deacons for the majority of the first 20 minutes before pulling ahead.
Demon Deacons on fire from range
Although Wake Forest ranks near the bottom of the ACC in 3-point percentage, the Demon Deacons show no fear from beyond the arc. Their 175 triples rank sixth in the conference, and their willingness to fire away worked in the visitors’ favor throughout the first half. Three of Wake Forest’s first four baskets were 3-pointers, as head coach Steve Forbes’ team regularly generated clean looks in the opening minutes.
Juke Harris and Tre’Von Spillers led the way despite neither being particularly strong shooters. Spillers’ two 3-pointers were only his fourth and fifth makes from deep on the season, while Harris’ bucket was a team-leading 49th. Even though the away team cooled down after starting 3-of-3 — going 6-for-18 for the half— the fast start gave the Demon Deacons an early cushion.
Can’t buy a triple to start
For Duke players not named Cameron Boozer, it’s often been a struggle to score early. Against Wake Forest, even Boozer found himself searching for answers. In the first 11 minutes, the Blue Devils scored just 11 points, as nothing fell for Scheyer’s squad outside of the paint. Duke couldn’t find the bottom of the net until a Cameron Boozer make with 6:02 remaining in the period.
The cold shooting didn’t last for long, however, as Isaiah Evans and Maliq Brown also got in on the action. Thanks to the sudden surge, the Blue Devils built a double-digit lead and seized control of the contest. Duke finished the half with a 3-of-16 line from deep — not pretty, but enough to head into the break with an advantage.
Sticky hands
The Blue Devil defense is back and here to stay. After statement performances facing the Golden Bears and the Cardinal, Duke stymied the Wake Forest offense to close the half. On back-to-back possessions, Nikolas Khamenia and Cameron Boozer ripped the ball away from Demon Deacons — generating fastbreak opportunities almost at will. Scheyer’s squad swarmed opposing ball-handlers and picked up five steals, most of which came late in the period.
Player of the half: Cameron Boozer
Despite a less efficient showing than usual, Cameron Boozer still led the Blue Devils in scoring. The freshman’s 10 points, four rebounds and three assists represented another all-around performance from the Miami native. His lone triple of the half was a major momentum-shifter for his squad, which he then followed up with an and-one in transition that brought Cameron Indoor to its feet.
