After a startling 0-2 beginning to conference play, Duke went back to the basics.
The Blue Devils recommitted themselves to practice, resulting in one of their finest performances Sunday at Miami.
No. 14 Duke (14-3, 1-2 in the ACC) will try to preserve that momentum, particularly on the offensive end, when it hosts Wake Forest (9-7, 1-3) Thursday night at 7 p.m.
The Blue Devils broke out of their season-long offensive mire against the Hurricanes, shooting 68.3 percent and scoring 85 points. Duke missed just four shots while scoring 49 points in a blistering first half.
Wake Forest, on the other hand, comes into Cameron Indoor Stadium riding a two-game losing streak and struggling on the defensive end. The Demon Deacons have not won in Cameron in their last nine trips, and Duke has averaged more than 90 points per game during that span.
After the Blue Devils' win over Miami, freshman Jon Scheyer credited Duke's preparation and renewed focus for the team's highest offensive output since its 86-43 season-opening win over Columbia Nov. 12.
"We really learned that we had to practice harder," sophomore forward David McClure said Wednesday. "We were out there practicing to practice, rather than practicing knowing we were going to go into a war everyday. You have to go out there and compete every play, and we know that every possession and every play is valuable."
The Blue Devils have worked on integrating a new offensive set all season, and they finally looked in rhythm Sunday night.
Greg Paulus was able to push the tempo without forcing the ball, allowing Scheyer to spot up on the perimeter. The freshman hit four three-pointers en route to a career-high 25 points.
"I believe [we've grasped the offensive set]," McClure said. "It's just really getting consistent with it and comfortable with it. It's kind of a free-flowing offense-it's very much set up for us to make reads. We're going to break plays a lot and make a lot of good reads."
Duke remained balanced, however, with Paulus chipping in 15 points and DeMarcus Nelson and Josh McRoberts also scoring in double figures.
The Blue Devils, above all, were efficient on the offensive end, capitalizing on open looks and constantly applying pressure on the Miami defense. Duke responded whenever the Hurricanes tried to get back in the game, using a 14-4 run in the first half to build the lead and a 19-5 run to start the second half to put the game out of reach.
"We just have to be confident," McClure said. "We have to realize we are very good players."
The Blue Devils will try to maintain that offensive output against a Wake Forest team that ranks last in the ACC in field goal percentage defense.
The Demon Deacons are coming off a disappointing 88-74 home loss to N.C. State last Saturday. Wake Forest has struggled since a 5-0 start to the season, with its lone ACC victory coming in a one-point win at Miami.
The Demon Deacons rely heavily on senior center Kyle Visser, who ranks fourth in the conference in both scoring and rebounding. In order to contain Visser, Duke will need to improve its post defense after being dominated inside in its loss at Georgia Tech Jan. 10. In that game, Yellow Jacket center Ra'Sean Dickey scored 21 points and routinely forced double-teams on the block.
Freshman point guard Ishmael Smith leads the ACC in assists with more than six per game. Smith is joined in the starting lineup by fellow freshmen L.D. Williams and Jamie Skeen, making Wake Forest one of the youngest teams in the ACC.
Duke is in the midst of a stretch in which it faces the three teams selected to finish at the bottom of the conference. The Blue Devils hope to use these games to build momentum before entering the brunt of the conference schedule.
"We're really approaching these games to keep building on the Duke standard," McClure said. "That's one thing we had let slip a little bit, and we really have to go into these games just expecting to play great. We need to be precise, execute well and just fight every play."
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