Live Blog: Duke at Wake Forest
Duke looks to move back above .500 for the first time since Feb. 1 with a game at Wake Forest. It’s the second straight in-state road game for the Blue Devils, who blew out NC State in Raleigh on Saturday, 69-53. The Blue Devils stand at 8-8, 6-6 in the league and would like to put together a season-ending winning streak to get in position for a possible NCAA Tournament bid
Duke will be making its late season run without its top scoring freshman. Jalen Johnson left the team on Monday and is opting out of the remainder of the season to prepare for the NBA Draft. The last time Duke had a rotation player leave the team in the middle of ACC season was 2015, when Rasheed Sulaimon was dismissed from the team at the end of January. Duke went on to win the NCAA championship that season.
In order to do that this year, Duke will need some wins, and it starts with what will be a Quad II game in Winston-Salem.
The Demon Deacons are 6-9, 3-9 in the ACC. They’ve split their last six games however, including an overtime loss at Florida State on Saturday.
Duke will likely utilize its newfound inside game as freshmen Mark Williams and Hank Coleman have seen their minutes and production increase in recent games. Williams had 13 points and five blocks against the Wolfpack and will be defending the rim against a Demon Deacons team that has a blocked shot rate of 15.3 percent on offense, which is No. 347 in Division I
Your starters: Moore, Hurt, Steward, Roach, Williams
Three turnovers in first four possessions for Duke, although a Hurt three gives them the early 3-0 lead.
Williams commits an and-one foul at the rim. Wake will shoot to tie it at 8 after the under 16.
Brakefield with some fire off the bench. He gets seven quick points to put Duke up four.
Brakefield draws a foul to take us to the under 12. Duke is up 17-13 with the ball.
Coach K is wearing a towel over his shoulder in honor of the late Hall of Fame coach John Thompson.
Duke now on a 12-0 run to go up 16. Wake calls its second time out to try to stop it. First didn’t work. This should be the under 8. Duke up 29-13
Wake coach Steve Forbes was on the court yelling at refs as Duke was running its offense. He got hit with a one-two technical foul from the ref. He’s been ejected
he must have said something very harsh after the first T because that was a quick hook on the second
And we head to the half with Duke in control, 45-26
Steward took a three, immediately followed his shot and got the rebound, leading to a Baker three. Duke is up by 29.
Wake not going down without a fight. 8-1 run cuts it to a 20-point Duke lead.
And Duke dribbles out the clock to move back above .500 with an 84-60 win over Wake
