Beats' picks: Will No. 2 Duke men's basketball get revenge in Winston-Salem against Wake Forest?
As No. 2 Duke men's basketball looks to win its 13th-straight game on the road against Wake Forest, The Chronicle's beats are here to make their predictions for the contest:
This will likely be Duke’s toughest ACC test since Louisville, and it is extremely hard to play on the road, especially against a team on a six-game winning streak. However, Wake Forest is last in the ACC in 3-point percentage, and while the Demon Deacons have quality shooters, I think the Blue Devils will dare them to get hot from deep. One thing I’m also curious to see is the defensive adjustment on Efton Reid III after Boston College’s Chad Venning’s 19-point outburst last week. I think the full week of practice will help the revenge-minded Blue Devils win in Winston-Salem.
I’m thinking Saturday might be a relatively high-scoring affair as both teams will be hungry on the offensive end. Despite beating North Carolina last time out, Wake Forest struggled to put the ball in the basket — star guard Hunter Sallis in particular had a tough night, shooting just 7-for-19 from the field. Similarly, after failing to score in Duke’s win against Boston College, freshman Kon Knueppel has something to prove to himself. Both Sallis and Knueppel are extremely talented scorers, and I doubt that they will both have another off day this time out. In terms of the margin, the Blue Devils know firsthand how hard it is to win in Winston-Salem, and even with the way Duke has run through the ACC thus far, I expect the Demon Deacons to fight until the final whistle.
I know Wake Forest is the toughest team Duke has faced in a while, and I’m sure they’ll pose a legitimate challenge to the Blue Devil reign of terror, but I don’t see it being one that actually pulls off an upset. In his Thursday press availability, Scheyer made it clear that his team has been preparing to enter a hostile environment during its week off. Duke just visited Conte Forum, where the team got a taste of an unfriendly stadium after its three-game homestand; the Blue Devils haven’t forgotten how to play in enemy territory. These Blue Devils are bound to stumble at some point in conference play, but I don’t think they’re ready for that today.
I’ll stick with the score I gave on the Cameron Chronicles this week, a narrow Duke victory. The last time Duke won in Winston-Salem, it had to outlast a heroic performance from Demon Deacon star Alondes Williams. I see a similar game unfurling today, with Cooper Flagg and Knueppel doing just enough to overcome a Sallis explosion and assert further ACC dominance. The continued absence of Maliq Brown may cause trouble when it comes to guarding Wake Forest’s talented frontcourt, but I’m banking on the continued development of Khaman Maluach to handle business.
This season’s Tobacco Road slate is all about revenge, and the Blue Devils should have no problem restoring order against the Demon Deacons. Wake Forest has a few weapons in its arsenal — namely Sallis, who matches Flagg at 19.2 points per game — but the Demon Deacons have struggled to find separation from other ACC teams. They’ve averaged just a 9.6-point margin of victory within the conference, falling double-digits short of Duke’s average 23-point gap. Though Wake Forest has a much stronger defense than some other teams Duke has faced, I still think the Blue Devils will bring a win home from Winston-Salem for the first time since 2022.
Despite Wake Forest’s 15-4 record and six-game win streak, I don’t think the Demon Deacons are as good as the team that upset Duke last year and nearly made the NCAA Tournament. In its last game against North Carolina, head coach Steve Forbes’ squad barely squeaked out an ugly 67-66 win, shooting just 13.3% from three and committing 14 turnovers. If Wake Forest barely managed to beat a lackluster Tar Heel squad at home, I don’t see the Demon Deacons putting up anything more than a minor challenge when the Blue Devils come to LJVM Coliseum. Duke may struggle early with the raucous atmosphere in Winston Salem, but by the second half, I expect the difference between the two teams to emerge as the Blue Devils pull out a convincing victory.
In a weak ACC, admittedly, Wake Forest has separated itself as one of the conference’s premier teams and perhaps one of the only squads capable of testing Scheyer’s red-hot Blue Devils. As we saw last February, too, Winston-Salem is not an easy place to play. But I say both these things mostly as a caveat to what I think will be a solid Duke win. With Andrew Carr now at Kentucky, the Demon Deacons don’t have a sufficient answer down low to Flagg and Maluach, and despite the brilliance of Hildreth and Sallis. I trust Duke’s perimeter defense to lock them down. I could see this one getting testy at points and competitive throughout, but the talent gap is vast and the Blue Devils are rolling.
While I think Duke will come out on top, I would not be surprised if this one went the way of the home team. The Demon Deacons are the Blue Devils’ toughest opponent since Auburn, which was nearly two months ago. They have been on a dominant streak, but there have been moments when Goliath stumbled — the final minutes against Notre Dame, the first half against Boston College. LJVM Coliseum is not Duke’s friend (Kyle Filipowski can attest to that), and Sallis is undoubtedly one of the best players in the conference. However, the Blue Devil defense can withstand any road matchup. This will be a hard-fought, true ACC game, but Duke has the talent to take this one.
Jindal: 5-0
Fenoglio: 5-0
Levenson: 3-2
Dudley: 3-2
DiSalvo: 3-2
Amare: 3-2
Long: 3-2
Kaplan: 3-2
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| Sports Managing Editor
Rachael Kaplan is a Trinity senior and a senior editor of The Chronicle's 120th volume.
| Sports Managing Editor
Dom Fenoglio is a Trinity junior and a sports managing editor of The Chronicle's 120th volume.
| Sports Editor
Ranjan Jindal is a Trinity junior and sports editor of The Chronicle's 120th volume.
| Sports Managing Editor
Sophie Levenson is a Trinity junior and a sports managing editor of The Chronicle's 120th volume.
Rodrigo Amare is a Trinity sophomore and assistant Blue Zone editor of The Chronicle's 120th volume.
Abby DiSalvo is a Trinity sophomore and assistant Blue Zone editor of The Chronicle's 120th volume.
| Recruitment/Social Chair
Andrew Long is a Trinity senior and recruitment/social chair of The Chronicle's 120th volume. He was previously sports editor for Volume 119.
