#2 Duke Blue Devils (26-3, 17-1 ACC) vs. Wake Forest Demon Deacons (20-9, 12-6 ACC)
Monday, March 3 • 7:00 p.m. ET
Cameron Indoor Stadium (9,314) • Durham, NC
TV: ESPN
The No. 2 team in the nation, Duke Blue Devils end a 2-game home stand battling the Wake Forest Demon Deacons in Cameron Indoor Stadium Monday night.
Broadcast Information
TV/Video Stream ESPN
One the call: Dave O’Brien and Cory Alexander
Radio Blue Devil Sports Network
On the call: David Shumate and John Roth
This Series
Overall Duke leads, 181-81
In Durham, NC Duke leads, 82-18
at Cameron Indoor Stadium Duke leads, 67-16
In Winston-Salem, NC Duke leads, 53-42
at LJVM Coliseum Duke leads, 20-14
Neutral Sites Duke leads, 33-9
Last Meeting Duke 63, @Wake Forest 56 (Jan. 25, 2025)
Wake Forest Demon Deacons
The Wake Forest Demon Deacons currently sit at 20-9 on the season and 12-6 in conference, good for 4th. In their latest outing, they defeated Notre Dame 74-71. Senior guard Cameron Hildreth finished with a team-high 28 points. Wake Forest is first in the ACC in free throws made per game and also attempts. They are 4th in league play in steals and 3rd in 2-point field goal percentage.
Senior guard Hunter Sallis leads a trio of double figure scorers for Wake Forest at 18.5 points per game. Cameron Hildreth, another senior guard checks in at 15.5 points per game for the Deacs and Tre’Von Spillers at 10.1 points a game rounds out the double figure scorers, he also leads the team in rebounds at 7.6 per contest. Sallis, Hildreth and sophomore Ty-Laur Johnson all average 2.8 assists per game, co-leading the team.
Duke Blue Devils
Duke owns the second-highest net rating (39.08) in the history of KenPom (since 1996-97 season). Only the 1998-99 Duke Blue Devils have achieved a higher net rating (43.01). The Blue Devils lead the country in scoring margin (+22.0) and rank second in the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio (+1.84), fifth in effective field goal percentage (.577), fifth in field goal percentage defense (.384), sixth in scoring defense (61.1), 11th in three-point percentage (.386), 13th in field goal percentage (.490), ninth in rebound margin (+8.4), 11th in assists per game (17.2), 14th in scoring offense (83.2), 18th in three-pointers per game (10.3) and 34th in three-point percentage defense (.305) – all top marks in the ACC. Duke is the only team in the country ranked among the top-four in both offensive (2nd) and defensive efficiency (4th), according to KenPom. Duke is the only Division I team to score 80 points or more per game (83.2) and hold its opponents to fewer than 62 points per game (61.1). The Blue Devils nine conference wins of at least 25 points are the most by any team in a season in ACC history.
Cooper Flagg became the first ACC player to amass 500 points, 100 assists and 30 blocks in the regular season in the last 25 years. Flagg ranks among the ACC’s top-10 in four of the five major statistical categories – scoring (3rd), rebounding (9th), assists (8th) and steals (10th), and is 13th in blocked shots. Flagg leads a trio of double figure scorers with Flagg averaging a team best 19.3 points per game, he also leads the Blue Devils with 7.5 boards and 4.1 assists per game. Kon Knueppel is averaging 16.5 points in the last four games, connecting on 21-of-39 (.538) from the field and 9-of-17 (.529) from long range. Tyrese Proctor who recently went over a thousand points for his career comes in behind Knueppel at 11.8 points per game. In the last 12 games, Sion James has distributed 45 assists to just 12 turnovers, a 3.8 assist-to-turnover ratio. James ranks third in the ACC in that category (2.7). Isaiah Evans has averaged 17.3 points in the last four games, shooting 22-of-42 (.524) from the field, including 17-of-32 (.531) from long distance.
Stats Comparison
| G | MP | FG | FGA | FG% | 2P | 2PA | 2P% | 3P | 3PA | 3P% | FT | FTA | FT% | ORB | DRB | TRB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | PF | PTS | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Duke | 29 | 40.0 | 29.0 | 59.2 | .490 | 18.7 | 32.4 | .575 | 10.3 | 26.7 | .386 | 14.9 | 19.1 | .782 | 11.3 | 27.4 | 38.7 | 17.2 | 7.0 | 3.6 | 9.3 | 16.0 | 83.2 |
| Wake Forest | 29 | 40.0 | 25.0 | 55.1 | .454 | 19.5 | 35.9 | .544 | 5.5 | 19.3 | .286 | 15.4 | 20.3 | .756 | 8.6 | 24.1 | 32.7 | 11.5 | 7.2 | 3.9 | 11.3 | 16.6 | 71.0 |
Stats Comparison (CONFERENCE)
| G | MP | FG | FGA | FG% | 2P | 2PA | 2P% | 3P | 3PA | 3P% | FT | FTA | FT% | ORB | DRB | TRB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | PF | PTS | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Duke | 18 | 40.0 | 29.2 | 57.8 | .504 | 19.0 | 32.2 | .591 | 10.2 | 25.7 | .396 | 15.6 | 19.2 | .812 | 9.3 | 25.3 | 34.7 | 17.3 | 6.1 | 3.7 | 8.3 | 15.7 | 84.1 |
| Wake Forest | 18 | 40.0 | 25.6 | 53.9 | .475 | 20.7 | 38.2 | .543 | 4.9 | 15.7 | .311 | 16.9 | 21.9 | .770 | 6.2 | 22.6 | 28.8 | 10.9 | 7.1 | 3.2 | 10.2 | 17.1 | 73.0 |
Duke Projected Starters
PG Sion James 6’6, 220lbs – Grad Transfer
SG Tyrese Proctor 6’6, 183lbs – Junior
SF Kon Knueppel 6’7, 217lbs – Freshman
PF Cooper Flagg 6’9, 205lbs – Freshman
C Khaman Maluach 7’2, 250lbs – Freshman
Wake Forest Projected Starters
G Ty-laur Johnson 6’0, 170lbs – Sophomore
G Cameron Hildreth 6’4, 195lbs – Senior
G Hunter Sallis 6’5, 185lbs – Senior
F Tre’von Spillers 6’7, 215lbs – Senior
C Efton Reid III 7’0, 250lbs – Senior
Final Thoughts
Wake Forest played the Blue Devils tough in their first matchup. The Blue Devils held a 35-29 lead at halftime that the Demon Deacons erased in the second, taking the lead 37-36 lead. Wake would eventually go up 6 points, but 15 second half points from Cooper Flagg helped fuel Duke to the win. The Blue Devils, defensively, were fairly stout in the game but suffered offensive lulls that aided Wake. Duke also turned the ball over 16 times in the game and shot just 28% from 3 point range and under 37% overall.
For Duke, the recipe for a victory becomes fair simple. Take care of the basketball and you should win this game. I expect a spirited effort from the Demon Deacons as this is one of their last shots to secure a spot in the NCAA tournament. With this being the last home game for several Duke players, the Blue Devils will have to manage emotions in this one as well.
