The wait is over to see how the Blue Devils' highly-touted freshmen will perform in a true road game.
No. 1 Duke will pay its first visit to another team's home gym when it travels to Winston-Salem, N.C. at 7 p.m. Tuesday to play Wake Forest at Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum. The matchup against the worst team in the ACC according to KenPom.com gives the Blue Devils a golden opportunity to win their first conference road opener in three years, and it should also serve as a productive tuneup before a top-15 matchup vs. Florida State in Tallahassee Saturday afternoon.
"It’s going to be a different atmosphere. The crowd is going to be against us," freshman forward R.J. Barrett said. "But those are the games as a player you live for. It’s going to be a lot of fun."
The Demon Deacons (7-6, 0-1 in the ACC) are one of the only two teams in the conference nobody on Duke's roster has lost to along with Georgia Tech, and it would take a massive upset for them to snap an eight-game losing streak to the Blue Devils (12-1, 1-0) this year. Wake Forest has dropped three of its last four games, including a home loss to Gardner-Webb, and its resume also includes an ugly home defeat against Houston Baptist.
The Demon Deacons' top three scorers last season all transferred or turned pro, and a mediocre program that finished 4-14 in conference play has sunk even further this year. Junior Brandon Childress has nearly doubled his scoring output to lead the way with 17.3 points per game and five-star freshman Jaylen Hoard has added 15.5 points and 7.7 rebounds per contest, but the duo isn't getting much help.
Childress will have to deal with his toughest matchup of the season to date in Duke freshman Tre Jones, who limited veteran Clemson point guard Shelton Mitchell to 4-of-12 shooting in the Blue Devils' ACC opener Saturday night.
On the offensive end, Jones could have another field day against a Wake Forest defense that gives up 73.7 points per game. With nine assists and no turnovers against the Tigers, Jones tied Duke's career record with four games dishing out at least seven dimes with no turnovers, matching iconic point guards Tommy Amaker, Bobby Hurley and Steve Wojciechowski who all played at least 100 more games than Jones.
"He came here mature. We’re lucky to have him. Tre is outstanding, just terrific," head coach Mike Krzyzewski said after Saturday's game. "He’s a gift, and all these guys will do anything for him. He makes us go."
The Demon Deacons do have the size to match up with the Blue Devils' frontcourt, with 6-foot-10 Ikenna Smart and 7-foot Olivier Sarr each playing significant minutes. Blue Devil big men Marques Bolden and Javin DeLaurier are not thought to be some of the team's top scoring threats, but they have both been efficient in the paint in recent games.
DeLaurier has made 16 straight shots from the field, four away from the ACC record held by former Duke forward Alaa Abdelnaby, and Bolden came off the bench to score 11 points against Clemson.
"Conference play can bring a lot out of people, so for us it’s just coming out and being ourselves," Bolden said. "I’ve been in a lot of big time games being at this school."
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.