Duke Blue Devils take on Wake Forest live on Wednesday night in ACC College Basketball action at 8:00 PM ET.
Duke has been one of the most impressive teams early in the NCAA season, but two recent losses in ACC conference play has the Blue Devils on edge. The team will try to rebound on Wednesday night on the road against Wake Forest.
Last year the team went undefeated on the road in the ACC, but after a blowout loss at Miami and a defeat at North Carolina State, Duke now sits third in the conference. Miami has taken advantage of the 90-63 win and is undefeated at 6-0 atop the standings.
Duke was 8-0 in road ACC games last year, but dropped to 0-2 after an 84-76 at then-No. 20 North Carolina State on Jan. 12 and the loss to Miami soon after. According to the Associated Press, The loss to the Hurricanes was the third-worst by a No. 1 team, Duke's worst in the regular season since 1984 and caused rumors of an overnight practice by Mike Krzyzewski that the coach denied.
"Winning on the road is not passed down," Krzyzewski said. "You have to be able to be tough enough to win on the road. With us, we usually play in a very upbeat atmosphere. Teams are even more ready to play us."
Duke picked the right team to right the ship against, as the Blue Devils have won six straight games against the Demon Deacons, including an 80-62 victory in its ACC opener Jan. 5. The Blue Devils will try to keep that streak up, but it may be a little harder without third-leading scorer Ryan Kelly, who is out indefinitely with a foot injury.
Wake Forest realizes it's getting a break, but knows Duke has a very talented roster that can pick up the slack.
"Obviously Ryan Kelly's presence allows them to space the court better, but they're going to do what they do," coach Jeff Bzdelik said. "They're going to defend and they're going to move the ball, and they're going to be aggressive with their mentality."
Wake Forest has been solid through the first part of season, going 8-2 at home with a 3-0 ACC record. The Deacons will be looking to bounce back after Saturday's 82-62 defeat at Georgia Tech. The team will rely on senior CJ Harris, who averages nearly 14 points against Duke, as well as junior forward Travis McKie, who combined with Harris to score 41 points in the last game against the Blue Devils.
Duke has had to change things up a bit without Kelly, but it all seemed to workout well on Saturday when the team defeated Maryland 84-64 behind freshman Rasheed Sulaimon, who scored 25 points. Duke has relied heavily on senior forward Mason Plumlee, who had 19 points in the victory.
"It's a period of adjustment," Krzyzewski said. "You'd rather not go through it, but we're going through it. We saw some progress on Saturday."
Plumlee has been the most consistent player for the Blue Devils and is leading the team in scoring and rebounding with 17.4 points and 11.2 rebounds.
Last season Duke went 27-7 and finished in second place in the ACC behind North Carolina with a 13-3 record. The team reached the semifinals of the ACC tournament and earned a No. 2 seed in the NCAA tournament, but lost in the first round in an upset 75-70 loss to No. 15 Lehigh.
The Blue Devils are still one of the favorites in the ACC, but it will be much tougher depending on how long Kelly will be out of the lineup.
"The team had a whole new identity when we lost Ryan," he said. "Losing him, you almost have to change to continue to have the same sort of success that we had when he was here."
Wake Forest has struggled lately, losing three of the past four games after winning five of six before that. The team has tough matchups against Maryland, North Carolina and Boston College on the road up ahead, as well as home games against Miami and Florida State.
CLICK HERE for the NCAA live schedule from the main organization website.
