ACC action opens up for Duke with a tilt against Wake Forest. Credit: CHUCK LIDDY
Duke vs. Wake Forest
When: 12:02 p.m.
Where: Cameron Indoor Stadium, Durham
TV/Radio: ESPNU/WKIX-102.9 FM
Motivation? Get back to winning conference games at home
Projected starting lineups:
No. 1 Duke (13-0)
G Quinn Cook, So., 11.1 ppg, 5.6 apg
G Seth Curry, Sr., 16.2 ppg, 1.8 rpg
G Rasheed Sulaimon, Fr., 11.8 ppg, 3.5 rpg
F Ryan Kelly, Sr., 12.8 ppg, 5.5 rpg
F Mason Plumlee, Sr., 18.8 ppg, 11.2 rpg
Wake Forest (7-5)
G Codi Miller-McIntyre, Fr., 8.5 ppg, 3.0 apg
G C.J. Harris, Sr., 14.3 ppg, 1.7 rpg
F Arnaud William Adala Moto, Fr., 4.9 ppg, 3.3 rpg
F Devin Thomas, Fr., 6.6 ppg, 6.1 rpg
F Traivs McKie, Jr., 14.5 ppg, 7.9 rpg
Player to watch:
Travis McKie, Wake Forest
If Wake Forest takes a page out of Davidson’s playbook and tried to double-team Mason Plumlee, Travis McKie will likely be one of the defenders. At 6-foot-7, he is significantly shorter than the 6-foot-10 Plumlee. But McKie is the second-tallest starter for the Demon Deacons. Freshman Devin Thomas is 6-foot-9, but will he really be able to contain Plumlee, the frontrunner for national player of the year, by himself?
Observations
***The Duke-Wake Forest series is the oldest in the ACC, dating back to 1906. The first meeting between the two programs was the inaugural game for each, with Wake Forest winning 24-10. The Blue Devils have played the Demon Deacons 237 times, more than they’ve played any other opponent. N.C State (236) and North Carolina (234) are the next most-frequent opponents.
***Duke has won the last five meetings between the two teams. The last Demon Deacons win (Jan. 28, 2009) was a memorable one, though—with 0.8 left on the clock, James Johnson laid in an inbounds pass to give No. 6 Wake Forest a 70-68 win over No. 1 Duke.
***There haven’t been many highlights during the Jeff Bzdelick era—a 28-47 overall record and 5-27 ACC mark will make sure of that. But Wake Forest is currently on a three-game winning streak with its best win of the year coming in its most recent game, a 66-59 come-from-behind win over Xavier.
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