Duke’s problems with consistency and intensity were on display in its 78-74 overtime loss to Miami on Sunday, when the Blue Devils fell behind by double digits in the first half against the Hurricanes and couldn’t quite come all the way back for the victory.

It would be a surprise if either was an issue tonight against the Tar Heels.

In a sense, the rivalry game comes at a perfect time for the No. 10 Blue Devils (19-4, 6-2), who have needed multiple shots in the arm this season. With UNC on the docket, motivation shouldn’t be an issue.

As No. 5 North Carolina prepares for Wednesday’s grudge match with No. 10 Duke, it’s undoubtedly noticed in film sessions that the Blue Devils have trouble defending tall, athletic perimeter players.

So a key component of Wednesday night’s game (9 p.m., WRAL) between the Tar Heels (20-3, 7-1 ACC) and the Blue Devils (19-4, 6-2) will be whether Harrison Barnes’ ankle injury compromises his ability to get to the basket or to pull up for jumpers. If the sophomore forward can play effectively, he fits the mold of the type of player Duke has struggled with this season.

“We have a small perimeter,” Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said. “We don’t have the versatility – we either have big guys or perimeter guys.”

From the state of his current Duke team to the Blue Devils' rivalry with Maryland, Mike Krzyzewski touched on a couple of different topics on Monday’s ACC teleconference.

Here are some of the highlights of what he had to say.

On his team: “Overall, our team has done a good job, being 19-4. In our league, we’re two possessions from being undefeated and we’re two possessions from being 4-4, on the other side. These games, especially in conference, turn out to be attention to detail where you have to make a play. Yesterday’s game still boiled down to you have to hit a free throw. When you win a number of games, sometimes your attention to detail is not where it needs to be. The games where we’re involved in now it will be for the rest of the year.”

The ACC announced on Friday new scheduling formats that will take effect when Pittsburgh and Syracuse begin league play, officially making the ACC a 14-team conference. Among the changes:

-A nine-game conference schedule in football.
-And an 18-game conference schedule in basketball, in which each of the 14 teams will play twice a year against one permanent partner. Games between permanent partners are only ones that will be guaranteed to happen twice per season. Given that North Carolina’s permanent partner is Duke, that means that in two out of every three seasons North Carolina and N.C. State will play just once during the regular season.

John Swofford, ACC Commissioner, spoke on Friday with The News & Observer about several issues related to the announcement of the new scheduling formats. Here’s the Q-and-A:

BLACKSBURG, Va. – While Virginia Tech coach Seth Greenberg lamented Austin Rivers’ four 3-pointers, it was a different play that Rivers made that caught Mike Krzyzewski’s eye Thursday night.

The Blue Devils’ freshman guard fed Josh Hairston for an alley-oop midway through the second half when Virginia Tech pressed Duke for the first time.

“We broke it at half court,” Krzyzewski said. “Austin had confidence and gave (Josh) a great pass – it’s not like he’s been throwing a lot of lobs to Josh – and Josh finished it. They’re reluctant to press again after that because of that play.”

Two days after expressing disgust at Duke’s second-half effort against St. John’s, Blue Devils coach Mike Krzyzewski was more sanguine Monday in his assessments about his team.

Krzyzewski was most explicit when discussing Duke’s defense.

“Overall, we’ve had to play pretty (darn) good defense in order to have the record we have against the competition we have,” Krzyzewski said. “I don’t care what stats there are out there.”

DURHAM -- Based on the tenor of Mike Krzyzewski’s press conference after Duke’s uninspiring 83-76 win over St. John’s on Saturday, it seems a safe bet the Blue Devils will feel the reverberations of their lackluster second half for days to come.

While putting this game in perspective, it’s worth remembering this game could have lasting effects for the upcoming weeks. Here are three final thoughts:

1. Is this year’s Duke team wearing Coach K out?

There are a lot of words one could use to describe Krzyzewski’s mood when he talked about Saturday’s game, but the most apt one might be “fatigued.” Krzyzewski almost seemed to be at the end of his rope, saying that he’s tried all the things he can think of to improve the team’s defense and intensity to no avail.

Quinn Cook’s recent issues with his knee are not related to the trouble he had this summer, when Duke doctors shut the freshman point guard for the better part of three months.

Instead, Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said Cook’s suffering from a knee bruise that he sustained in practice last week.

The freshman point guard only played one minute in the Blue Devils’ 76-73 loss to Florida State on Saturday.

After Florida State’s Michael Snaer hit his game-winning 3-pointer, Austin Rivers crumpled onto the Cameron Indoor Stadium court. Seconds earlier, it looked like he’d hit the shot that would send Saturday’s game between the Seminoles and the Blue Devils into overtime.

Instead, Snaer’s shot ended Duke’s 45-game home winning streak and left Rivers feeling worse for wear.

As the drama of the game subsides, here are three things to take from the Blue Devils’ loss:

Three final thoughts on Duke’s thorough 91-73 win over Wake Forest on Thursday night.

1. It’s probably prudent not to make too much of the Blue Devils’ starting lineups

While Austin Rivers definitely took note of the fact he wasn’t starting against Wake Forest, saying that he was angry, Mike Krzyzewski doesn’t see what the big deal is.