Rasheed Sulaimon had a career day last time out against Maryland. Tonight, he'll attempt to outshine Wake Forest's freshmen as well. Credit: CHUCK LIDDY

Duke vs. Wake Forest
When: 8:05 p.m.
Where: Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Winston-Salem
TV/Radio: WRAL-ACC Network/WKIX-102.9 FM
Storyline: Mike Krzyzewski said the Maryland win was step one in finding the team's new identity. Playing at Wake Forest is step two.
Last time: Duke rolled to an 80-62 win in Durham

Projected starting lineups:

No. 5 Duke (17-2, 4-2 in the ACC)
G Quinn Cook, So., 11.1 ppg, 6.2 apg
G Seth Curry, Sr., 15.7 ppg, 2.1 rpg
G Rasheed Sulaimon, Fr., 12.0 ppg, 3.4 rpg
F Amile Jefferson, Fr., 4.6 ppg, 3.1 rpg
F Mason Plumlee, Sr., 17.4 ppg, 11.2 rpg

Wake Forest (10-8, 3-3)
G Codi Miller-McIntyre, Fr., 8.3 ppg, 2.8 apg
G C.J. Harris, Sr., 14.8 ppg, 2.2 rpg
F Arnaud William Adala Moto, Fr., 5.3 ppg, 3.9 rpg
F Devin Thomas, Fr., 7.5 ppg, 7.6 rpg
F Travis McKie, Jr., 15.1 ppg, 8.0 rpg

Player to watch

There has been plenty to smile about during Duke's 17-2 start to the season. Credit: CHUCK LIDDY

Nineteen games into Duke's season, what have we learned?

Well, Monday morning, I chatted with Aaron Torres for 32 minutes about the state of the Blue Devils, and you can listen to a recording of that conversation here . Topics include a big-picture look at the season thus far, what I call the Duke "standard of excellence," the impact of Ryan Kelly's and Seth Curry's injury, the emergence of Amile Jefferson and Rasheed Sulaimon, and a current power ranking of the big three in the ACC (that would be Duke, N.C. State and Miami, in alphabetical order).

I did get the chance to share an anecdote I hadn't written up yet. When talking with Duke alum (and current Portland Trailblazer) Nolan Smith about what it's like to bounce back from a loss at Duke , he mentioned that he keeps in touch with a few guys on the current team regularly: Quinn Cook, whom he calls his "little brother," Tyler Thornton, Josh Hairston and, on occasion, Seth Curry. And when talking to Curry, Smith likes to keep it on the lighter side.

Duke fell just four spots after taking a beating at Miami and giving one to Maryland. Credit: CHUCK LIDDY

The voters didn't judge Duke too harshly for what happened in Miami.

After losing by 27 at Miami and beating Maryland by 20 at home, Duke was ranked No. 5 in the latest AP poll. Michigan is the new No. 1 team, followed by Kansas, Indiana and Florida. The Blue Devils have been ranked in the top 10 of the AP Poll for 106 straight weeks, dating back to Nov. 2007. The record is 155 weeks by UCLA from 1966-1976.

Duke (17-2, 4-2 in the ACC) was ranked anywhere between No. 3 and No. 13 on the 65 AP ballots. Four voters had the Blue Devils at No. 3—Kevin Dunleavy of the The Washington (Va.) Examiner, Roger Clarkson of the The Athens (Ga.) Banner-Herald, Ryan Thorburn of the Daily (Col.) Camera and Ryan Wood of the Opelika-Auburn (Ala.) News.

Two voters—Tom Keegan of the Lawrence (Kan.) Journal World and Seth Davis of Sports Illustrated—had Duke out of the top 10. Keegan had them at No. 11 and Davis at No. 13.

DURHAM—Right from the start, the win over Maryland was different for Duke.

When the referee threw up the ball to begin the game, Mason Plumlee didn't even jump, and Alex Len easily directed it the Terrapins way. Plumlee ran back, with the rest of the Blue Devils, and set up the defense.

That wasn't a mistake—that was Duke's plan.

"We knew it was going to be a defensive game, and we wanted to come out and get a step right away and let them feel us," Plumlee said.

He had also told Amile Jefferson to take a charge, and that almost came true—but Jefferson was called for a block instead.

Miami's Shane Larkin (0) was the one who relayed the message to slap the floor on defense to the rest of the Hurricanes. Credit: CHUCK LIDDY

DURHAM—After Duke had dispatched of Maryland with a 84-64 win, Quinn Cook called it a “program game.” And he wasn’t the only one who referenced what had happen to Duke in its previous game in Miami.

“Everyone has to look in the mirror and say, ‘what do I have to do?’” Mason Plumlee said of the team’s response to the loss in Coral Gables. “We hate losing, naturally.”

It was the way Duke lost, though, that made the trip especially painful. The Hurricanes embarrassed Duke in a 90-63 win, and, late in the second half, they taunted the Blue Devils, too.

Leading 72-44, the Miami players slapped the floor after the set up on defense, mocking the Duke tradition that dates back several decades. Hurricanes guard Shane Larkin told the South Florida Sun Sentinel that Warren Sapp, a Miami legend, had told him to do that while he was shooting free throws on the previous possession.

Larkin said the next day that the Hurricanes didn’t mean to be disrespectful. But it was too late for that.

Rasheed Sulaimon felt like he couldn't miss in Saturday's win over Maryland. Credit: CHUCK LIDDY

DURHAM—Rasheed Sulaimon had hit a wall after the holiday break. The freshman, who had been a constant presence for Duke on both sides of the ball, struggled to make shots and defend effectively.

And in the opening minutes of No. 1 Duke’s 84-64 over Maryland, it appeared like his struggles may continue. Dez Wells, Suliamon’s defensive assignment, pulled down three offensive rebounds and scored his team’s first seven points, and head coach Mike Kryzewski took Sulaimon out and voiced his unhappiness.

“He really got on me,” Sulaimon said.

His response, though, couldn’t have pleased his veteran coach more.

Head coach Mike Krzyzewski has seen hesitancy in his shooters lately. Credit: CHUCK LIDDY

Every Saturday, the News & Observer takes a look around the ACC. That also provides an opportunity to check in with the Blue Devils and look for any emerging trends.

A few minutes after Duke had been run off the court by the Miami students rushing the floor, Mike Krzyzewski couldn’t find any silver linings in the 90-63 loss.

“I can’t think of any, no,” he said when asked.

There really was no sugarcoating the 27-point loss, one of the worst in the Krzyzewski era. Duke shot below 30 percent from the field for the first time since Feb. 21, 2010, but the Blue Devils won that game against Virginia Tech. There was no such solace Wednesday night.

Mason Plumlee has a chance to asset himself against another potential lottery pic in Maryland's Alex Len.

Duke vs. Maryland
When: 1:00 p.m.
Where: Cameron Indoor Stadium, Durham
TV/Radio: CBS/WKIX-102.9 FM
What: Duke has to rebound from a loss. Two players from the 2009 team that lost by 27 at Clemson—Nolan Smith and Gerald Henderson—reflect on that. And Jay Williams talks about a particularly disappointing loss in 2002.

Projected starting lineups:

No. 1 Duke (16-2, 3-2 in the ACC)
G Quinn Cook, So., 11.1 ppg, 6.1 apg
G Seth Curry, Sr., 15.9 ppg, 2.0 rpg
G Rasheed Sulaimon, Fr., 11.3 ppg, 3.5 rpg
F Amile Jefferson, Fr., 4.2 ppg, 2.7 rpg
F Mason Plumlee, Sr., 17.3 ppg, 11.4 rpg

Maryland (15-4, 3-3)
G Seth Allen, Fr., 5.7 ppg, 2.5 apg
G Nick Faust, So., 8.7 ppg, 4.1 rpg
G/F Dez Wells, So., 11.8 ppg, 4.4 rpg
G/F Jake Layman, Fr., 4.5 ppg, 2.9 rpg
C Alex Len, So., 13.5 ppg, 8.2 rpg

Player to watch:

Mason Plumlee, Duke

Seth Curry never found his shot against the Hurricanes, and he finished with zero points. That's not a recipe for success. Credit: CHUCK LIDDY

CORAL GABLES, Fla.—How did that happen?

Duke rarely loses regular season games by more than 20 points—it’s actually only happened eight times while Mike Krzyzewski has been at the helm. On Wednesday, >No. 1 Duke lost by 27 at No. 25 Miami, 90-63. There’s a link to the game story here, and I also shared a few other postgame thoughts here.

As I said in the story, the reason for the loss was simple: Miami hit a lot of shots. Duke didn’t. On a basic level, the Hurricanes shot 56.9 percent from the floor, a season-high for a Duke opponent. Their shooting performance reminded me of another head scratching Duke loss, Jan. 20, 2010, when an unranked N.C. State shot 58.2 percent in an 88-74 triumph.

A look at the advanced stats reveals even more of a disparity. Miami’s effective field goal percentage—a measure that gives 50 percent more credit for 3-pointers since they account for more points—was 64.7 percent, virtually double Duke’s 32.4 percent (the Blue Devils shot a season-low 29.7 percent from the field and 17.4 percent from deep). The Hurricanes also did a much better job getting to the free throw line, which, in theory, leads to more points. Even though Duke did hold a slight edge in the two other “four factors to winning,” (see the chart below) Miami’s shooting was so superior that it was irrelevant. And, naturally, a team as more chances at offensive rebounds when it misses more shots.

The Blue Devils can only count down the minutes until the game's end in a blowout loss to Miami. Credit: CHUCK LIDDY

CORAL GABLES, Fla.—A few more thoughts and notes from Duke's historic loss at Miami:

***Duke’s loss was the third worst for a No. 1-ranked team and the worst in 45 years. ULCA beat No. 1 Houston by 32 points in 1968, and Kentucky beat No. 1 St. Johns by 41 in 1951. In those respective years, UCLA went on to win the championship, and Kentucky ended the season ranked No. 1.

***The Duke coaches never screamed or stomped their feet on the sideline. They spent most of the game seated. Mike Krzyzewski did get up to tell Mason Plumlee to dunk to ball early in the second half and later appealed to referee Karl Hess, “We’re losing by 30 points, give us some free throws,” after contact was ignored under the basket. But mostly, they just sat and watched. There wasn’t much to say as the shots—most of them coming off of good looks—continued to miss.