Looking to sweep the season series, Duke battles Wake Forest Wednesday night at the Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Winston-Salem on ACC Network.
In a rivalry that dates back to the first game in Duke’s history in 1905-06, the Blue Devils lead the all-time series, 175-79, including a 50-40 margin in Winston-Salem. Duke is 17-12 versus Wake at LJVMC. Behind a career-high 26 points from Matthew Hurt, the Blue Devils won the season’s first meeting, 79-68, at Cameron Indoor on Jan. 9, which improved the Blue Devils to 3-0 in the ACC.
About Duke
- Duke is 10-4 since the start of the 2017-18 season when facing an ACC opponent for the second time in the regular season.
- Duke’s six ACC losses have come by a total of 28 points — none decided by more than seven points — and the Blue Devils have been out-scored by 41 points at the free throw in those games.
- The Blue Devils have used nine different starting lineups through 16 games with only Hurt starting all 16, while freshman DJ Steward has started 13 straight and sophomore Wendell Moore Jr., the last seven.
- Hurt is coming off a 24-point effort at NC State, where he finished 8-of-10 from the field and 6-of-7 from three-point range. He is one of just two ACC players this season to post multiple games with 6+ made three-point field goals.
- Hurt is the ACC’s second-leading scorer overall (18.1) and second in conference play (17.8). He is also third in FG percentage (.543), fourth in most made threes per game (2.3) and 15th in rebounding (6.7).
- Freshman Mark Williams had career highs in points (13), blocked shots (five) and minutes (28) at NC State. Over his last two games, Williams is 9-of-16 from the field for 21 points, with nine rebounds and seven blocked shots.
- A Blue Devil has been the ACC’s leading freshman scorer in six of the last seven seasons, and Steward is on pace to make it seven of the last eight. Steward leads all ACC freshmen at 13.0 points, while averaging 13.4 in conference-only games (ranked 17th in ACC).
About Wake Forest
- Wake Forest will kick off a three-game homestand against Duke Wednesday night.
- Under first-year head coach Steve Forbes, Wake Forest is 6-9 overall and 3-9 in ACC play.
- The Demon Deacons are back home after a three-game road trip and four of their last five away from the Joel where they went 2-2.
- Wake took No. 16 Florida State to overtime in Tallahassee on Saturday before falling, 92-85.
- Six of the Deacs’ last eight games have been single-digit decisions.
- Ian Dubose leads the team in scoring at 14.3 points, while Daivien Williamson averages 12.7. Ody Oguama is the team’s leading rebounder at 6.1 per game while averaging 9.2 points.
- Since his return to the court against Boston College, graduate guard Ian Dubose is averaging 17.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 4.0 assists per game. Wednesday’s game will be the Durham native’s first game against Duke in his career.
- Williamson and Ismael Massoud each scored 17 points when Duke and Wake met earlier this season in Durham.
Duke vs Wake Forest
- Duke and Wake Forest are meeting for the 255th time in a series that dates to the 1905-06 season. The Blue Devils lead the series 175-79, including 50-40 in road games (17-12 at LJVM Coliseum).
- Duke won its 22nd consecutive home game in the series earlier this season (Jan. 9) at Cameron Indoor as sophomore Matthew Hurt poured in a career-high 26 points in the 79-68 victory.
- When the teams met last season in Winston-Salem (Feb. 25, 2020), Duke saw its 11-game winning streak in the series snapped in a a 113-101 double-overtime decision at Lawrence Joel.
- Wendell Moore Jr., scored a career-high 25 points in last year’s game at Wake, including 15-of-16 from the free throw line to set a Duke freshman single-game record for most made free throws.
- Wake Forest was the opponent for Duke’s first game in program history — a 24-10 Wake victory on March 2, 1906 in Durham.
How to Watch
Time: 8:30pm
TV: ACC Network (Jay Alter, Malcolm Huckaby)
Stream: Watch ESPN
Radio: Blue Devil Sports (David Shumate/John Roth)