No. 2 Duke men’s basketball takes on Wake Forest in Winston-Salem, looking for its 13th straight win. After 20 minutes of play, the Blue Devils hold an 13-point lead, 35-22:
Jumpin’ Joel
Way before tipoff, it was clear that the Wake Forest faithful were amped to take their shot at the ACC’s top dog. Students filled their section hours before the ball was tossed up, and the rest of the bunch soon joined in at Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum. By the time player intros were announced, it was a raucous amount of boos for Cooper Flagg and company followed up by a palpable buzz for the Demon Deacon starting lineup. The crowd seemed to have both teams playing with serious intensity in the early going, with a set of scrums for loose balls highlighted by Khaman Maluach jawing with Ty-Laur Johnson after a whistle.
The noise did not quiet down any as the game marched on, as Flagg was heckled repeatedly when he touched the ball. Behind the Wake Forest basket, a sea of tie-dye shirts and swinging towels seemed to always be in motion no matter how slow the action on the floor was. The players continued to bring their own juice too, with Johnson continuing to seek out Maluach after whistles and Sion James following the Louisville transfer into a huddle with a Wake Forest assistant, much to the disdain of the crowd.
Sloppy start
Whether it was the opposing crowd or some rust from having a week off, Duke seemed to lack its usual offensive efficiency to start. Tre’Von Spillers and Efton Reid III did an excellent job containing Flagg and Maluach down low, while the Blue Devils committed three live-ball turnovers in as many minutes after tip. Luckily, the defense seemed to travel, as Wake Forest began 1-for-8 with Maluach continually erasing chances at the rim. After roughly seven minutes of play, the score was just 7-4 as neither team was able to find its footing offensively. It did not get much prettier for the Demon Deacons, as Duke went on a 8-0 run that was coupled by a 3:22 scoring drought for the home team.
Both teams continued to attack the rim with varied success throughout the half, resulting in a heavy diet of free throws for both units. Notably, Wake Forest guard Cameron Hildreth racked up three fouls early, forcing the Worthing, England, native to the bench for most of the half. On the Duke side, every starter except Kon Knueppel had at least two fouls assessed to them in the first 20 minutes.
Glass cleaners
Duke entered the contest as one of the better rebounding teams in the conference, and that number will likely improve Saturday afternoon. Before Wake Forest grabbed its first board, Duke had already tallied 10, allowing the visitors to maintain possession of the ball repeatedly and let its excellent defense only have to get one stop at a time. With the continuous stream of loose balls, it was the Blue Devil guards who ended up with a majority of these, as Knueppel racked up four rebounds in the first 10 minutes alone. At the end of the period, it was Flagg and Knueppel who led the squad with five, and Duke held a 26-11 advantage on the glass.
Silencing Sallis
Entering the contest, Hunter Sallis was on an absolute tear for the Demon Deacons, reestablishing himself as one of the best scorers in the ACC. The senior guard averages 19.2 points per game on the season, a number that is even with Flagg’s output for the Blue Devils. However, the stifling Duke defense seemed to make it a priority in its game plan to force non-Sallis Demon Deacons to beat them. The idea appeared pretty smart in the first half, as Sallis was just 2-for-5 while racking up two turnovers. James served as the primary assignment on the Omaha, Neb., native, but every Duke guard switched onto Sallis with relative success. By the time both teams ran to the locker room, the star guard had just five points.
Player of the half: Cooper Flagg
No Blue Devil has particularly been eye-popping, but Flagg continues to be steady as ever for Duke. Despite having a few early turnovers, the freshman continues to be a handful for the Wake Forest defense, demanding extra attention every time he touches the basketball. He added a block and two offensive rebounds to go with nine points on the half, and the Newport, Maine, native was a team-best plus-18 during his minutes on the floor. With the added attention defensively, the star forward also found success in a high-low game with Patrick Ngongba II, feeding him twice in the paint for easy looks at the rim.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Sign up for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.