Two Duke basketball freshmen won't play at Wake Forest

When the Duke basketball team faces the unranked Wake Forest Demon Deacons (8-4, 0-1 ACC) in Winston-Salem at 6:30 p.m. ET Tuesday (ACCN), the No. 14 Blue Devils (10-2, 1-0 ACC) will be without two members of their most recent starting lineup in small forward Dariq Whitehead and center Dereck Lively II.

Both freshmen, who ranked No. 1 and No. 2 on the 247Sports 2022 Composite but missed time in the preseason and at the start of the regular season with injuries, are recovering from non-COVID illnesses, the program announced on Tuesday afternoon.

NEWS: Dariq Whitehead and Dereck Lively II will miss tonight’s game at Wake Forest due to non-COVID related illness.
— Duke Men’s Basketball (@DukeMBB) December 20, 2022

Lively has averaged 4.4 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 2.0 blocks across his 11 outings thus far. As for Whitehead, he is fresh off his first start and best performance as a Duke basketball player: 15 points, two rebounds, two assists, two steals, and a block in the Blue Devils' 82-55 home win over the Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks on Dec. 10.

Duke has won four straight. Meanwhile, the Demon Deacons have lost three of their past four outings but are undefeated at home this season and 1-0 against teams currently in the AP Top 25.

Fortunately for the young Blue Devils, they have 10 days off to regain their strength after the Wake Forest game. They host the Florida State Seminoles at 1 p.m. ET on Dec. 31.

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