Duke basketball is eyeing an undefeated season at Cameron Indoor Stadium for the second time in three years under head coach Jon Scheyer.
Cooper Flagg, coming off an eye injury against Florida State, and the second-ranked Blue Devils (26-3, 17-1 ACC) play their final home game of the season Monday (7 p.m., ESPN) against Wake Forest (20-9, 13-7), which is trying to secure a spot in the NCAA Tournament.
Duke, currently projected to be a No. 1 seed in the East Region of the March Madness bracket, is closing in on an ACC championship with two games remaining in the regular season.
The Devils have won 25 in a row in Durham against the Demon Deacons, who haven’t won at Cameron since Tim Duncan’s senior season in 1997. Duke won by seven earlier this season at Wake Forest.
Here’s a preview, some players to watch and a score prediction for Duke vs. Wake Forest.
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Kon Knueppel, Cooper Flagg, Duke assists vs Wake Forest
Cooper Flagg leads Duke with 118 assists, but an eye injury caused Flagg to miss most of the first half in the Blue Devils’ 100-65 win against Florida State. During that period, Kon Knueppel was Duke’s primary facilitator, finishing with five assists and no turnovers. The Blue Devils, who assist on 59.4% of their baskets, had 17 assists and four turnovers against the Seminoles. In its win at Wake Forest, Duke had more turnovers (16) than assists (14), with Flagg and Knueppel accounting for 12 of those turnovers. If the Devils take care of the ball, they should breeze to a victory against the Deacs.
Wake Forest 3-point shooting vs Duke 3-point shooting
Duke’s Isaiah Evans has more 3s (12) than Wake Forest (7) over the last three games. The Demon Deacons are one of the worst 3-point shooting teams in the nation, connecting on just 28.6% of their attempts from beyond the arc. The Blue Devils are 10th nationally in 3-point shooting percentage (38.6%), averaging just over 10 made treys per game.
Wake Forest’s Cam Hildreth, Hunter Sallis need big games for big upset
In order for the Demon Deacons to have any shot of knocking off Duke in Durham, Wake Forest’s top players have to be at their best on Coach K Court. Cam Hildreth had four points in the first game against Duke, but he’s averaged 22 points over the last three games. Hunter Sallis, an All-ACC player, was limited to 12 points against Duke. Sallis has reached 20 points in four of the last six games.
Duke vs Wake Forest score prediction
Duke 81, Wake Forest 61: Despite their recent injury setbacks, the Blue Devils haven’t displayed any signs of slowing down. The Demon Deacons gave Duke a scare in Winston-Salem, but that won’t happen in Durham.
Rodd Baxley covers Duke, North Carolina and N.C. State for The Fayetteville Observer as part of the USA TODAY Network. Follow his ACC coverage on X/Twitter or Bluesky: @RoddBaxley. Got questions regarding those teams? Send them to [email protected].
