More On Duke’s Win Over Wake Forest

In the end, Duke was just tougher

We were pretty sure that Duke’s game against Wake was going to come down to defense but we didn’t think that zone defense would be the key.

Yet that’s exactly what Duke did, with Jon Scheyer saying after the game that it was something they had “in their back pocket.”

Duke turned to the 2-3 zone with about 8:00 left down 45-41 and it really seemed to surprise Wake Forest. Hunter Sallis took a three on Wake’s first possession against the zone as Cooper Flagg and Kon Knueppel were rushing at him and if it grazed the rim it was just barely.

There were two plays around then that were notable: a couple of plays before, Knueppel tried to dunk and was denied. After that though, he came down and ran down Sallis from behind, knocking the ball out of bounds. And after Sallis missed the three, Mason Gillis got the ball and was falling out of bounds and threw it off of a Wake defender.

Neither play was monumenental but both were wicked smart and both showed heart.

After that, Knueppel came down and bullied a shot in the lane over slim freshman Juke Harris. And between those plays, and the zone, the momentum of the game shifted.

Harris scored in the lane but Duke’s next trip downcourt, Gillis nailed a three. It was the kind of shot you’re really happy to have an experienced player for - and it wouldn’t be the last.

On Wake’s next trip, Tyrese Proctor knocked the rhythm out of Wake’s ball movement when he knocked the ball loose from Ty-Laur Johnson, who ended up chucking a long three - his foot was on the F in the WF logo (Steve Forbes was probably thinking WTF?).

He had five seconds and Sallis was calling for the ball. Tre’Von Spillers was close to the basket with only Patrick Ngongba close to him. Bad call by Johnson.

Flagg did a beautiful spin move in the lane and got an elegant finger roll over Efton Reid to give Duke the lead back.

Harris got in the seam of the zone again but couldn’t convert.

And Wake never tied or led again.

On their next play, Sallis got a shot close to the basket but he couldn’t get it to fall.

On Duke’s next play, Flagg drove for a dunk. Other than Gillis’s three, Duke hit three straight shots within a few feet of the basket. So in other words, at the exact time the Blue Devils shut Wake down with the zone, the Deacons surrendered the paint and Duke ripped off a 12-2 run and an 8-0 run in 2:16.

Flagg drove again and was fouled so more points from going inside, only from the line.

The other factor in Duke’s late surge was rebounding: after Scheyer called for the zone, Duke owned the boards.

By the time Proctor hit a three with 2:15 left, Duke had hit 6-6 and was up 56-49.

So that basically explains Duke’s late surge. There were other things worth mentioning in this game.

First, you wonder what Cameron Hildreth thought of Knueppel. We’ve always liked Hildreth: he’s 6-4 and he’s really tough. Well, Knueppel was pretty tough too, diving on the ball, taking on bigger players. You wonder if Hildreth saw a bit of himself in Knueppel. He probably leads the team in floorburns but he made a lot of critical plays that might not have gotten noticed. He was really critical.

So was Ngongba.

We were worried that Maluach would have trouble with Reid and he did. Maluach didn't score and got pushed around by the bulkier Reid, picking up four fouls.

In fairness, so was Ngongba to an extent, and ultimately he fouled out. However, he played 21 minutes and other than foul trouble was in no way a liability to his team. He can’t do the things that Maliq Brown can do when he’s healthy, but Ngongba is smart and steady.

He’s been pressed into service ahead of schedule and that doesn’t always work out. We remember that happening to Amile Jefferson as a freshman and he couldn’t carry that burden. Ngongba did. That’s really impressive.

This is a deceptively minor thing. It’s not minor at all actually. It’s pretty significant: when Flagg is on the line with 41.4 left, look how much communication is going on. Everyone is pointing and making sure things are organized. Lots of talking. That’ll be noticed in game reviews.

Finally, the other thing worth mentioning was maturity. Flagg had a lot of turnover trouble, finishing with seven. However, late in the game, he was very steady with the ball, notably getting it to Gillis when he was wide open in the corner for a three.

Gillis hit two down the stretch and Proctor hit one. Those were gutty, mature shots taken in the flow of the offense and done so ruthlessly.

Obviously Flagg is a freshman and he had some issues in this game, most due to Wake’s physical defense. However, when it was winning time, he made several key plays: a three, a drive and layup, a dunk, and the assist to Gillis among them. He had three defensive rebounds in the last five minutes and so did Knueppel.

There was a point in the second half where this game could have easily gone Wake’s way but Duke didn't allow for that. Going to the zone was key. Taking the ball inside was too. The biggest key though may have been maturity and toughness. When things looked sketchy, Duke responded. And that’s the best news of all.