Game Blog: Duke falls to Wake, 70-68

By Jake Lloyd
Jan 28, 2009

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8:55 p.m., Missed opportunities for Devils: Duke has certainly had its chances to close the deficit and try to take the lead here in the last few minutes, but it hasn't capitalized on opportunities.

Scheyer missed an open 3-pointer. Henderson missed a wide-open midrange jumper. That's been the story of late for the Devils.

But Wake hasn't been able to extend its lead, not helping itself by missing consecutive front ends of one-and-one opportunities.

It's 67-60 with 3:38 to play. A lot can still happen. A notable statistic is Duke's assist-to-turnover ratio. Last I checked, the Devils had six assists to 12 TOs. They've had to go one-on-one way too often for K's liking.

8:41 p.m., Wake is the better team ... for now: It's pretty simple, really. In the second half, Wake has been the better team. And it all starts with its defense.

I can't remember the last time Duke had a wide-open shot. Wake has contested everything, done a better job boxing out on the defensive end and then run up court.

And Ish Smith has been the catalyst for the Demon Deacons. While Teague has been quiet, with just 10 points, Smith has constantly penetrated Duke's defense and found open men.

Duke faces a steep task to come back.

8:28 p.m., Wake blocks then runs: The Deacons just displayed why they're on top, now 52-43. As Henderson was going in for one of his customary dunks, in came David Weaver to snuff his attempt.

Ish Smith picked up the loose ball, dribbled to the other end and fed the ball between his legs to the trailing Aminu for a thunderous fast-break dunk.

The place is going nuts, the momentum is clearly on Wake's side. Yet the margin is still single digits. Let's see what Coach K stewsed up during the timeout.

8:23 p.m., Duke getting to the line: Duke is almost in the bonus, folks, and there are still 15 minutes to play ... and counting.

The Devils are doing a great job this half of pump-faking and getting to the free-throw line, where they're converting most of their opportunities. That'll be key — obvious fact of the night — in a close game down the strech.

8:15 p.m., Internet back up, Wake still up: This is a great venue, but the wireless Internet is off and on. Anyway, while I've been away, Wake has extended its lead to as much as eight, getting out in transition and getting easy layups.

Wake leads 44-36 right now, with Duke just barely hanging on. The first 4 minutes of the half have already featured huge dunks by Duke's Henderson — a one-handed slam while getting fouled — and by Wake's L.D. Williams off a nice pass form Aminu.

7:58 p.m., Halftime, Wake 33-28: In a game like this, what transpired at the end of the first half could be the difference. If Wake ends up winning by three points or less, think back to Teague catching a pass in the corner in front of the Duke bench, turning to his left as he was swarmed by two defenders and knocking down a huge 3-pointer.

He caught the pass with 3 seconds left on the shot clock, and to me the 3 ticks seemed to take an eternity. But give the guy credit — he made a great play that could be huge come the waning minutes.

And I really think this game will go down to the last couple minutes. Because as dominant as the half seemed for the home team, the Devils never got phased, never let Wake put together a big make-the-crowd-go-nuts run. Duke played like the veteran team that it is.

Waiting for the halftime stats. More analysis in a minute.

7:43 p.m, Rough first half for Zoubek: Brian Zoubek has had a nightmare of a first half for the Devils. Three times he's gotten the ball just inches from the basket. All three times, he's had his shot swatted by a plethora of Wake defenders.

Because of Zoubek's inability to finish and foul trouble — Nolan Smith, Gerald Henderson and Lance Thomas all have two fouls — coach Mike Krzyzewski has had to go deep into his bench, even inserting freshmen Elliot Williams and Miles Plumlee. I didn't expect to see the freshmen tonight in this environment.

But Plumlee's already done more than Zoubek, rolling off a screen, receiving a pass from Scheyer and dunking to pull Duke within 26-24.

Every time it looks like Wake will extend its lead, Duke charges back.

7:32 p.m., Duke crashing the boards: So how is Duke staying in this game, trailing just 21-18? You might not expect it, considering Wake's size advantage, but the Devils are crashing the offensive boards.

Eight of Duke's 18 points are on putbacks, which is equally amazing considering Wake's always such a big threat to push the ball in transition. The Demon Deacons have scored a couple fast-break baskets — more on the secondary break than the primary break — but Duke's rebounding has been a much bigger factor.

Duke already has five offensive rebounds.

7:24 p.m., Wake's size and speed: It's already clear that Wake's length is giving Duke problems when the Devils try to finish baskets. Here at the 11:11 mark, the Deacons already have three blocks — all near the basket — and Duke hasn't gotten an easy basket, save for a Singler putback.

On the other end, Duke is having a rough time trying to keep up with Teague and Ishmael Smith — especially when they're both on the floor Usually, Duke is able to switch on all screens. But a player such as Lance Thomas simply can't stay in front of Teague, and when the Wake sophomore draws the defense, he finds the open man.

It's 14-9 Wake. Could be worse for the Devils.

7:13 p.m., Sluggish start: As is often the case in big games like this, both teams have gotten off to a sluggish start and Wake leads 6-4 at the first media timeout.

A couple patterns have developed, however. When Wake has the ball, they are using ball screens set by Chas McFarland to try to free Jeff Teague from ball-hawking defender Nolan Smith. They've worked to some extent, with Teague scoring a runner and feeding Al-Farouq Aminu for a layup.

On the other end, Duke is trying to free Gerald Henderson from the 6-9 James Johnson — and his long arms — by screening with Brian Zoubek It hasn't worked so far, with Henderson struggling.

7:04 p.m, Pregame intros: You can’t beat Wake’s pregrame introductions routine. Hype-inducing music, darkness with lights beaming on different parts of the arena, the mascot on a motorcycle, the student section behind the basket near Duke’s bench jumping up and down, a great P.A. announcer.

And a pair of inflatable people — I think — that are about 20 feet tall waving back and forth.

As if this place needed to get any more excited.

Let’s play ball.

6:57 p.m., Place is rocking: This isn't as small and loud as Cameron, or as big and cavernous as the Dean Dome, but Joel Coliseum isn't a bad place to watching a basketball game — I know that, and the game hasn't started yet.

Almost the entire crowd is decked out in yellow and black — guess not too many Dukies got tickets — flags bearing Wake's letters are being waved by cheerleaders throughout the lower section, and there's but a few empty seats as tipoff nears.

I wonder how much tickets were going for. If you've got inside information feel free to reply.

And Bill Cowher, former Steelers coach, is in the house, as he was just shown on the jumbotron. A game featuring a Super Bowl-winning coach during SB Week? Not bad.

6:45 p.m., Defensive matchup?: Normally, when you think of Duke and Wake Forest, you think of explosiveness. And, don’t worry, both of these teams have players who can light up the scoreboard. But this game might be more defensive — and more nitty-gritty — than ESPN wants it to be.

That’s because Duke and Wake are the ACC’s best defensive teams. They use different schemes, with the Blue Devils heavily pressuring the ball on the perimeter and the wings while the Deacons pressure the ball but make sure to stay between their men and the basket.

The results, however, are similar.

Duke hasn’t allowed 70 points since its lone loss of the season, 81-73 to Michigan on Dec. 6. The Devils (18-1, 5-0 ACC) have given up just 56.2 points per game since that loss and in ACC play lead the league in points per game (51.6 ppg) and field-goal percentage defense (35.7 percent).

Wake Forest (16-1, 3-1), on the other hand, leads the league in field-goal percentage (.368) and 3-point field-goal percentage (.284) for all games, not just ACC games.

But the Deacons aren’t resting on any laurels. They played what coach Dino Gaudio called their worst defensive game a week, losing their No. 1 ranking in a 78-71 home loss to Virginia Tech.

Now Duke is No. 1 for the first time since the end of the 2005-06 season.

Will the Devils stay in the top spot? Both teams’ defenses will have a lot to say about that.

6:33 p.m., Big-time matchup: It’s no surprise that the pressroom here in Winston-Salem is packed tonight and features several national writers such as Dick “Hoops”Weiss, ESPN.com’s Pat Forde and Jeff Goodman of Fox Sports.

This, to put it simply, is a big game, the biggest college basketball game of the week.

No. 1 Duke at No. 6 Wake Forest, which is No. 4 in the coaches’ poll.

Last year the teams met just once, with the Demon Deacons stunning No. 2 Duke in this very venue, 86-73. That loss was the beginning of a disappointing end to the season for the Blue Devils, who lost five of their last 11 games.

The crowd might not be as loud as the Crazies inside Cameron, but it should be a voluble atmosphere. Thirty minutes until the tip.

Most Recent Comments

RE: Game Blog: Duke falls to Wake, 70-68

I wouldn't say "handily". There was a brief stretch where they were puttin' it to em good...but they couldn't keep it up...great game Wake.

RE: Game Blog: Duke falls to Wake, 70-68

After handily beating Duke for 37 minutes, Wake almost gave the Blue Devils the game. Still though, the better team prevailed. Go Wake!

Congrats to WAKE!

A very good game! I thought Wake would win.

What a game!

No Smack talk tonight from me. That was a great game! Time to switch to my Heels!

Sorry Dick and Mike

Overtime will favor Wake because of foul trouble if it goes that far.

WRAL Sports Fan

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