On paper this Duke team should be penciled in for the Final Four. The Blue Devils have a roster that is full All-Americans, has veteran leadership, quality transfers and a Hall of Famer head coach in his last season. This team has all the qualities of a contender.
Tuesday night, with 14:46 remaining in the second half, Duke held their largest lead lead of the game (19 points). At that point the body language of the #9 ranked Blue Devils seemed relaxed and comfortable. Little did the team know that a Steve Forbes-led Wake Forest team that ranks top-5 in the ACC standings…FIGHTS. Eventually, a Mark Williams’ tip-in dunk with .04 seconds lifted the Blue Devils over the Demon Deacons and helped them stand alone at the top of the ACC standings at 12-3.
The Demon Deacons tied the lead late due to inconsistency, bad shot selection, turnovers and Duke playing down to their level of competition – which has hurt them at home several times this season.
Duke’s four losses this season have been by a total of nine points. In all of those losses the Blue Devils held a lead in the final two minutes of the game. Of course many will say “A win is a win,” but late game lapses will continue to catch up with Duke if the team doesn’t play more focused through durations of the game.
Duke has to keep their foot on the gas pedal – plain and simple. That means more poise and fight from Paolo Banchero, who should get a touch on every possession down the floor. There is not a single player in the country who can guard the potential number one pick in the NBA draft down in the paint. In addition to picking up unnecessary fouls, which again rose its head with Banchero playing limited minutes in the first half due to foul woes. What stabilizes his game is trailing out to the 3-point line where he shoots only 31% on the season. That is compared to him within the midrange area shooting 47% from the field.
If Duke hopes to make a run in March the simple things are necessary. It all starts and ends on the defensive end. Whoever thought Duke would play better on the road than at home? Giving up a 19 point lead is inexcusable, but the fact remains regardless of getting comfortable Duke still found a way to survive in Cameron Indoor.
Next up for Duke is a home matchup Saturday where they can redeem a road loss from several weeks ago versus a depleted Florida State team missing two if its starters due to injury for the season.