Three points: Clean, efficient offensive play crucial for Duke men's basketball in Wake Forest rematch

Duke men's basketball is taking on Wake Forest Tuesday in their second meeting this season, and the Blue Zone has three keys for the Blue Devils to redeem themselves after their loss in Winston-Salem, N.C.:

Share the ball

In Saturday’s victory against Georgia Tech, the Blue Devils recorded an assist on 24 of their 34 baskets, including eight from guard Tyrese Proctor. While the freshman only had seven points, he was instrumental in the lopsided Duke victory. Proctor fed the ball to junior captain Jeremy Roach and freshman center Dereck Lively II throughout the game, helping both play at a higher level. In their recent losses to Virginia Tech and Clemson, the Blue Devils only had 26 total assists, just two more than Saturday's tally. This is partially due to worse shooting performances, but it also comes from the difference in fluidity in the offense. Proctor seemed to be a major catalyst in helping the Duke offense flow, and if the Blue Devils hope to avenge their Dec. 20 loss to Wake Forest, he will need to carry over his performance. 

Avoid a shootout

In that Dec. 20 loss, Duke gave up 81 points, significantly more than their season average of 63.2 points allowed. Moreover, Wake Forest shot 49.1% from the field and 36.8% from three. While playing at home will surely help lower these numbers, the Blue Devils will need to play significantly better on defense if they hope to split the season series with the Demon Deacons. With Duke’s struggles from deep this season, shooting just 32.4% from beyond the arc, a high-scoring game is not in its favor. Securing rebounds on defense and limiting Wake Forest's possessions will be key. Therefore, a lot will be asked of freshmen bigs Lively and Kyle Filipowski, who will be tasked with protecting the paint. If they can contain Wake Forest on the interior and Duke’s backcourt can limit production on the perimeter, the Blue Devils have a good chance to come out on top. 

Keep it clean

For this game plan to come to fruition, Duke will need to avoid getting into foul trouble. Tyree Appleby, Wake Forest’s leading scorer on the season and in its first matchup against Duke, netted 13 of his 18 points against the Blue Devils from the free throw line—both Roach and Filipowski ended the game with four personal fouls with the team racking up 19. For Duke to be successful Tuesday, it cannot have either of these players on the bench because of foul trouble. It is important to note that Lively did not suit up for these teams' first meeting. While the freshman has had problems with foul trouble himself, his presence around the basket should help take a defensive load off whoever is guarding Appleby. Forcing Wake Forest to win by making tough shots from the field in a hostile environment bodes well for the Blue Devils, but keep an eye on their starters' foul count as a barometer of how the game is going.