Keys to the Game: Wake Forest Basketball vs Duke

Wake Forest has lost three consecutive games and faces a daunting road test Tuesday night, traveling to Cameron Indoor to take on Duke. Duke is 4-2 over their last six games and coming off a 43-point win over Georgia Tech. Here are three keys that can help the Deacs get back in the win column:

Play a complete game

During their three-game losing streak, the Deacs have failed to string together consecutive halves of quality basketball. Against Virginia, Wake fell down 19 early and went into half with a 10-point deficit. They cut the lead to one at one point in the second half but ultimately couldn’t get over the hump and lost by nine. Against Pitt, the Deacs also trailed by 10 at halftime and couldn’t make up the ground, falling by two at the buzzer after Tyree Appleby’s game-winning three-point attempt bounced off the rim. In the NC State game, the Deacs led by six at the break but gave up 48 points (including 23 to DJ Burns) in the final 20 minutes and dropped their second-straight home game.

The play of this team has been too erratic and inconsistent on both ends of the floor to come away with quality wins. If they start fast, they seem to finish slow, and vice versa. The scoring splits that teams are putting up against the Deacs are damning — Pitt dropped 49 points in the first half compared to 32 in the second, while NC State had 31 at half and scored 48 in the second period.

The last time out against Duke, the Deacs outscored the Blue Devils in both halves, building on a nine-point halftime lead to ultimately win by 11. When Jon Scheyer’s group began to heat up in the second half — they scored 40 points in the final 20 minutes compared to 30 in the first period — Wake raised their level of play, never letting the lead dip below 7. In order to pull off the upset in Cameron Indoor (the Deacs are 8.5-point underdogs) Steve Forbes will have to find a way to keep this group locked in for all 40 minutes.

Protect the offensive glass

Duke leads the ACC in offensive rebounding, averaging 13.6 offensive rebounds per contest through 21 games. Meanwhile, Wake Forest ranks just 10th in the ACC in defensive rebounding. Just a few days ago, the Deacs gave up 13 offensive boards to the Wolfpack en route to their third-straight loss.

Kyle Filipowski is by far the Blue Devils’ best rebounder, averaging 9.4 rebounds (2.8 offensive) per game. Wake did an excellent job containing him on the glass last time out, holding him to just four rebounds and one offensive board.

As a team, Wake Forest only allowed seven offensive rebounds the first time they played Duke. By limiting the Blue Devils’ extra possessions, Wake was able to keep control of the game and essentially led wire-to-wire. A similar effort will be necessary for Steve Forbes’ group to win their first game in Cameron Indoor since the Tim Duncan days.

Bench production

Bench contributions have been spotty for the Demon Deacons all year. The rotation is essentially solidified at eight players and the three non-starters that see consistent minutes (Daivien Williamson, Davion Bradford, Bobi Klintman) combine for just 15 points per contest, most of which come from Williamson (8.5 ppg).

Wake relied on their starters heavily in the NC State game — the aforementioned trio went a combined 1/10 for just three points. Luckily, Wake has four starters that average double figures and the first unit is capable of shouldering most of the offensive burden. However, when Wake beat Duke back in December, the bench players went an efficient 5/8 and added 14 big points.

The Demon Deacons aren’t an especially deep team these days with the medical redshirt of Jao Ituka and freshman big man Zach Keller failing to carve out a consistent role in the rotation. Even so, beating this Duke squad in front of a hostile home crowd will require all hands on deck. The Deacs don’t necessarily need their bench players to be volume shooters, but the team does play better when that group doesn’t hesitate to take smart, high-percentage looks.