By BRYAN STRICKLAND

bstrickland@heraldsun.com; 419-6671

DURHAM -- The latest version of Duke basketball hasn't established itself as a rugged team on the road, but the Blue Devils sure have run road teams ragged.

Their overwhelming success at Cameron Indoor Stadium will be put to a stern test tonight, when Wake Forest pays a visit in a showdown of ACC frontrunners (8 p.m., Fox Sports).

"We've been real comfortable at home, but we know how quickly that can change," Duke senior Jon Scheyer said. "We know we're not going to win every game by 20, but we do want to protect our homecourt."

So far, the No. 8 Blue Devils (14-2, 2-1 ACC) have won all but one of their 10 home games by at least 20 points, the lone exception coming in an 80-71 victory over St. John's.

Their 30-point average margin of victory at home has been padded by meetings with some struggling squads such as Penn and UNC Greensboro, but they've also won their two ACC home games by a total of 41 points, including a 21-point triumph over nationally ranked Clemson.

Wake Forest (12-3, 2-1) isn't ranked, but the Demon Deacons -- led by double-double machine Al-Farouq Aminu and lightning-quick point guard Ishmael Smith -- likely would join the Top 25 with a victory.

"I don't know if we've played a team like Wake, with the two guys they have," Scheyer said. "They're pretty unique players, and with those two guys, they can beat anybody."

Outside of neighbor North Carolina, which has claimed seven of its past nine games against Duke, Wake Forest and Maryland are the only teams even close to .500 over their past dozen meetings with the Blue Devils, both standing at 5-7.

But virtually none of that success has come at Cameron. The Demon Deacons have dropped 11 straight games in Durham, but they're not alone:

n Clemson and Virginia both have lost 13 straight at Cameron, with N.C. State dropping 12 in a row;

n Florida State has managed one victory in 17 trips, while Georgia Tech has won one of past 11 visits;

n Expansion teams Boston College, Miami and Virginia Tech are a combined 1-10 at Cameron since joining the conference;

n Maryland has managed to win two of its past eight at Cameron.

The only team to achieve true success at Cameron is UNC, but even the Tar Heels' success serves to show how hard is it for teams to win at Duke. When UNC won at Duke a year ago, it marked just the second time in Coach Mike Krzyzewski's 29 seasons that an opponent had won four in a row at Cameron (UNC also pulled it off from 1982-85).

During Duke's 11-game home streak over Wake, the Demon Deacons haven't even managed to keep any game in single digits. This Wake team, however, will arrive at Cameron having played -- and mostly won -- a lot of tight games.

Three of Wake's past four games have gone to overtime, all three resulting in victories at home, and the other game in the stretch resulted in a one-point loss at Miami.

"Hopefully this game's not that scary, but if it is, hopefully we're prepared to make those plays down the stretch to get the win," Duke junior Nolan Smith said. "We're ready for a fight, a 40-minute fight."