MBB: Duke v Wake Forest (1/31 @ 7:00 p.m. ET ESPN) Pre-Game & In-Game Thread
Duke has a big week. Kicking things off is a home game against the Demon Deacons of Wake Forest. Duke lost in Winston-Salem at the end of December, 70-81. The team was without Dereck Lively II and Dariq Whitehead in that contest, who were both suffering from a non-COVID illness. Lively has come on a bit lately while Whitehead might miss this rematch due to his lower leg injury suffered during the first half of the game at Virginia Tech.
A lot has changed for Duke since December 20th. The team suffered a 24-point loss in Raleigh to the Wolfpack and then looked shaky in road contests at BC, Clemson, and VT, winning one of those three road affairs. Duke is coming off a dominating 43-point win over Georgia Tech on Saturday. Has Duke turned a corner?
The Blue Devils are undefeated at home so far this year. In a reversal from last season, the team has looked solid at home but shaky on the road. Will Duke continue the trend of playing better at home?
Duke is solidly an NCAA Tournament team at the moment, appearing as a 6-seed in the latest BracketMatrix update. A loss against Wake Forest probably won't put Duke on the bubble. A win won't move Duke up that much, either, but it will keep Duke in the hunt for a top-4 seed and in the mix for a bye in the ACC Tournament. The biggest factor in this game might be revenge. Duke never looked together in Winston-Salem. They have shown signs of high-quality team play of late. Will that trend continue on Tuesday night?