It wasn't pretty. It was actually quite ugly at times as Duke trailed late.
But the No. 5 Blue Devils pulled out their first road win of the season, taking down Wake Forest 75-70 at the Joel.
Here’s your postgame recap:
Revisiting the three keys to the game:
- Quinn Cook vs. C.J. Harris: Cook didn't have his best shooting night, going 1-of-5 from deep, but finished with a respectable 12 points and seven assists. Considering he didn't make a bucket when these two teams first met, it was certainly a marked improvement. C.J. Harris finished with 14 points but just one assist and five turnovers. Cook has been able to harass opposing guards all season and tonight was no different.
- Can the Blue Devils reverse the road curse? It was ugly, the crowd was loud, but yes. Duke broke the seal, so to speak.
- A dominant freshman duo: Well, not quite. Rasheed Sulaimon, coming off a dominant, 25-point performance against Maryland, was timid and in foul trouble for much of the game. 'Sheed finished with just six points, but two of them were key—he hit a jumper in the final minute with Duke up three, extending it to a two possession game. Fellow freshman Amile Jefferson had his quietest game since Ryan Kelly's injury, recording 0 points and just three rebounds.
Three key plays of the game:
- 19:45, second half: The two teams went into the half tied at 40, but Seth Curry made a statement with the first possession of the second period. Moving smoothly off the dribble, he created separation for a jump shot that put the Blue Devils up 42-40. The Blue Devils proceeded to go on an 8-0 run with the Demon Deacons not scoring until 16:57 in the second period.
- 14:19, second half: A rare veteran on this young Wake Forest squad, Travis McKie brought his team back within four with a monstrous fastbreak slam, making the score 52-48. Duke had been leading by eight earlier in the half and the dunk make The Joel rock, energizing his team. The energy lasted, with the Demon Deacons eventually taking a 60-58 lead.
- 3:10, second half: Curry didn't have his shooting stroke for much of the evening but with the two teams tied at 66, he nailed a 3-pointer, putting Duke up for good.
Three key stats (Mason Plumlee edition):
- 32 points: Plumlee finished with a career-high 32 points on a super-efficient 12-of-15 shooting. Although he was shut down for periods of the second half, he was able to put it home nearly every time he touched the rock. The Demon Deacons really had no answer for him, even if they were able to score a lot against him.
- 8-of-10 free throws: Plumlee entered play hitting just 62.9% of his shots from the charity stripe but made it clear that a hack-a-Mason strategy wouldn't work. His free throws added to his uber efficient offensive performance.
- Seven turnovers: Despite Plumlee making seemingly every shot, he also coughed it up seven times. Overall, his offensive performance was undoubtedly a net positive and the turnovers are a by product of how often the ball was in his hands during points of the game. But seven is still too many, something he will surely admit needs to improve.
And the Duke game ball goes to … Mason Plumlee. 32 points? 12-of-15 shooting? A no-brainer.
And the Wake Forest game ball goes to … Devin Thomas. The freshman forward exploited Plumlee and the Duke post defense all evening, hitting 7-of-10 field goals and finishing with 15 points. He battled foul trouble in the second half and spent a lot of time on the bench—he could've easily finished with 20 if he stayed on the court.
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