Long-time rivals square off Wednesday night in Winston-Salem when No. 8 Duke and Wake Forest meet for the 256th time. 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, 176-79, including a 51-40 margin in Winston-Salem. Duke is 18-12 versus Wake at LJVMC. Duke has played more games versus Wake than all but one opponent in program history — North Carolina (also 255 previous games).
About Duke
- Freshman Paolo Banchero is sixth in the ACC in scoring and his 17.3 points per game leads all power conference true freshmen. Banchero is also sixth in the league in rebounding (7.5) and is coming off his fifth 20-point effort Saturday vs. Miami.
- Junior Wendell Moore Jr., who is set to make his 30th consecutive start, is second in the ACC in assists (4.9), third in assist/turnover ratio (+2.30), ninth in scoring (16.0) and fifth in field goal pct. (.545).
- Moore joins Wake Forest’s Alondes Williams as the only power conference players nationally averaging 16.0+ points, 4.0+ rebounds and 4.0+ assists while shooting .500+ from the field.
- Moore is coming off his second double-double this season with 12 points, a career-high 12 rebounds and seven assists against Miami. He is one of only 10 players with a triple-double this season.
- Sophomore Mark Williams leads the ACC and ranks 11th nationally in blocked shots, averaging 3.1 per contest. Only nine players in the nation have more total blocks this season than Williams’ 44.
- Duke ranks fourth in the ACC in free throw shooting (.747) and has made an ACC best 57 more FTs than opponents have attempted.
- Looking to regain its pre-holiday form, Duke was averaging 85.2 points, a +1.90 assist/turnover ratio and 9.3 steals in 12 games (11-1) before the Christmas break. Upon return, the team entered the University’s health and safety protocol with two games postponed and just five total practices between Dec. 21 and Jan. 11.
- In two games since returning, Duke has averaged 71.5 points, a 1.1 assist/turnover ratio and had just five total steals.
About Wake Forest
- Wake Forest brings a two-game winning streak into Wednesday’s game, beating Florida State, 76-54, on Jan. 4 and Syracuse, 77-74, in overtime on Saturday — both games coming at home.
- Graduate transfer Alondes Williams, who played at Oklahoma for two seasons, is leading the Deacs in scoring (20.4, ranked second in the ACC), rebounding (6.7, 14th) and assists (5.1, first), while shooting .550 from the field (fourth).
- Wake and Duke are two of the 50 tallest rosters in the nation — an average height of 78.5 inches for Wake (t-12th tallest) and 78.0 inches for Duke (t-43rd tallest).
- Jake Laravia’s .597 field goal percentage and .393 from the threepoint range both lead Wake Forest, which shoots at a .478 clip as a team from the field and .331 from downtown.
- The balanced Deacs have four players averaging in double figures, with six players scoring better than 7.1 points per game.
- The team’s 405 three-point field goal attempts lead the ACC and rank 38th nationally.
- Wake opened its ACC schedule with an 80-61 win at Virginia Tech and suffered back-to-back road setbacks at Louisville, 73-69, and Miami, 92-84, before beating Florida State.
Duke vs Wake
- Duke and Wake Forest are meeting for the 256th time in a series that dates to the 1905-06 season. The Blue Devils lead the series 176-79, including 51-40 in road games (18-12 at LJVM Coliseum).
- Duke won its 22nd consecutive home game in the series last January, 79-68, and is scheduled to host the Deacs on Feb. 15.
- The Blue Devils also won at the Joel last season, 84-60. Former Blue Devil Matthew Hurt led Duke in both games, scoring 26 in Durham and 22 in Winston.
- When Wake claimed a 113-101 double overtime win on Feb. 20, 2020, then-freshman Wendell Moore Jr., scored a career-high 25 points, 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: 7:00 p.m. (ET)
TV: ACCN (Jay Alter, Malcolm Huckaby)
Stream: Watch ESPN
Radio: Blue Devils Sports Network (David Shumate, John Roth)
Per Release
