Sturdy defense has No. 2 Duke perfect in ACC. Why Wake Forest can challenge Blue Devils
His No. 2-ranked Duke Blue Devils are on a 12-game winning streak and, thus far, only one ACC team has come within single-digits of beating them.
Yet Duke coach Jon Scheyer spent this week fine-tuning a defense that, while among the nation’s best for the season, has shown some slippage in recent weeks. He strives for the best, of course, but he also knows challenges to the Blue Devils’ sterling record lie ahead.
That starts Saturday at Winston-Salem, where Duke (16-2, 8-0 ACC) faces a Wake Forest team that’s yet to lose on its home court in 10 games there this season. The Demon Deacons (15-4, 7-1 ACC) have also defeated Duke each of the past two seasons at Joel Coliseum, something of which the Blue Devils are keenly aware entering the 4:30 p.m. game.
“It’s gonna be a tough game in a great environment,” Scheyer said. “These are the games you want to be in. Fortunately, for our team, we’ve seen a lot of great environments this year. This is the next step for us to do it against a really good team, a well-coached team, in a hostile environment. Great opportunity, great challenge.”
The Blue Devils have rolled through the early portion of their ACC schedule. Duke’s only league game closer than 11 points was an 86-78 win over Notre Dame on Jan. 13.
But that result is part of the reason why Scheyer worked so intently on his team’s defense in the practices since Duke last played on Saturday, when it pounded Boston College, 88-63, in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts.
Though that was another one-sided win, Scheyer didn’t like how the Eagles found easy looks in the lane in the first half when they made 58.3% of their shots. No team this season has shot better in a half against Duke, which has allowed its opponents to hit just 37% of their shots for the season.
That field goal defense is No. 5 in the nation. According to KenPom.com, Duke is No. 2 in the nation in defensive efficiency by allowing 88.1 points per 100 possessions.
But that first half against Boston College, after Notre Dame scored 1.2 points per possession while losing to Duke, concerned the Blue Devils’ coaching staff.
“I haven’t been quite as happy with our defense,’ Scheyer said. “I think our defense has not been the same, quite the same level.”
The Blue Devils know the defense has to get back to that nation’s best level if they are to win a national championship.
Part of the reason it will be harder, for a little while anyway, is that Maliq Brown remains unavailable to play due to a sprained knee. The 6-9 junior forward, last season’s ACC steals leader while playing at Syracuse, is a big reason for Duke’s defensive success.
“He’s one of one,” Scheyer said. “I mean, I’ve never really coached anybody like Maliq with what he does on the defensive end. With that said, we have to make up for that.”
Scheyer said Thursday that Brown is not yet practicing with the team. He’s doing some on-court work as part of his rehabilitation, but he’ll need to work in 5-on-5, full-contact situations before he can return to game play, and that has yet to happen.
Duke will play Wake without Brown, and the Blue Devils have home games with reigning ACC champion N.C. State and rival North Carolina at home Monday and the following Saturday, as well.
Can the Blue Devils stay on track despite this setback in personnel? Scheyer said the team’s work in practice this week shows they can.
“The thing that I’ve loved about coaching this entire team is how they respond,” Scheyer said. “There’s never been any fight, whatsoever — doesn’t matter, you know, win, lose, you play well, you don’t. They always want to learn how you can get that edge.
“For us it just comes down to a toughness and a mindset guarding the ball, trying to protect your paint as much as you can, and then, most importantly, how do you cover each other? That’s been our biggest thing. We’ve worked on just our rotations, five guys going to the ball, and we’ve, I think, made a jump.”
This story was originally published January 24, 2025 at 6:00 AM with the headline "Sturdy defense has No. 2 Duke perfect in ACC. Why Wake Forest can challenge Blue Devils."