Wake Forest @ Duke preview
Cameron Indoor Stadium
Last Meeting ( Jan 12, 2022 ) Duke 76, Wake Forest 64
No. 9 Duke will look to extend its winning streak to three games and remain atop the Atlantic Coast Conference standings with a season sweep of visiting Wake Forest on Tuesday in Durham, N.C.
The Blue Devils (21-4, 11-3 ACC) are coming off a 72-61 win at Boston College on Saturday. Wake Forest (20-6, 10-5) suffered a 76-72 loss to visiting Miami on Saturday to end a three-game winning streak.
Duke, which has won seven of its past eight games and is tied atop the league standings with Notre Dame, was led by Paolo Banchero, who had 16 points and 14 rebounds. Wendell Moore Jr. added 14 points, Trevor Keels had 13 points and Mark Williams and AJ Griffin both had 10 points for the Blue Devils, who were playing their third game in six days.
"Paolo established himself early," Moore said. "When we needed it the most, he came through. He was really strong in what he did. We ran basically iso for him. He made strong drives every time."
Duke has five players averaging nearly 10 points per game, led by Banchero's team-high 17.0 points and 8.7 rebounds per game. Moore averages 13.7 points, 5.6 rebounds and a team-high 4.4 assists per game, while Keels averages 12.1 points and Williams chips in 10.4 points and 6.7 rebounds per game.
Griffin averages 9.6 points per game, but he's averaging 14.3 points per game over his past six contests.
Wake Forest, which squandered a 40-33 halftime lead on Saturday, committed 17 turnovers that Miami converted into 19 points. However, the Demon Deacons couldn't turn any of Miami's seven turnovers into points in their first home loss to the Hurricanes since February 2011.
The Demon Deacons were led by Alondes Williams, who had a game-high 25 points on 9-for-15 shooting from the field, including 3-for-6 on 3-pointers, but he also committed seven turnovers. Daivien Williamson added 12 points for Wake, which also made just seven of its 12 free-throw attempts.
Williams has been a one-man show for Wake Forest this season, leading the team in points (19.8), rebounds (6.9) and assists (5.2) per game. Jake LaRavia averages 14.4 points, 6.5 rebounds and 3.8 assists game, with Williamson adding 12.8 points per game.
Wake Forest has won seven of its past nine games and has already secured its first 20-win season since 2010.
"We haven't accomplished anything. There's a lot of season left," Wake Forest coach Steve Forbes said. "We're not in the NCAA Tournament. We haven't got a seed in the ACC Tournament. Those are all left to be earned."
Duke posted a 76-64 victory over host Wake Forest on Jan. 12 behind Banchero and Griffin, who scored 24 and 22 points, respectively.
Griffin hit eight of 11 shots from the field, including three 3-pointers, while Keels added 11 points for the Blue Devils.
Williams led Wake Forest with 25 points on 11-for-21 shooting, outscoring the other four starters, who totaled 23. He also recorded seven rebounds and four assists.
LaRavia scored 14 points for Wake Forest, with no other Demon Deacon scoring more than six.
--Field Level Media