No. 2 Duke steadies itself, goes zone to beat Wake Forest and stay unbeaten in ACC

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (AP) — Duke's run of running over Atlantic Coast Conference opponents had given way to a stream of missed shots, turnovers and rising pressure from a surging home team backed by a rowdy crowd.

So the second-ranked Blue Devils pivoted to an uncharacteristic look, from throwing out a seldom-used zone defense to grinding through a rough offensive day.

The result was the kind of win — holding off Wake Forest in Duke's closest ACC call — that Jon Scheyer figured this year's group needs to live up to with the growing-louder expectations of a Final Four run.

“You have to win one of these games in the (NCAA) tournament,” Scheyer said after Saturday's 63-56 road win. "You have to win one of these games in ACC (play). It's part of it. We've earned it, it's been deserved with how we've clicked on offense and all that. But it's only a matter of time, right?

“I think it's just huge that we could get a win and find a way without having our best stuff.”

The Blue Devils (17-2, 9-0 ACC) had spent the first third of the 20-game league schedule rolling to blowout wins while standing as the only team to rank in the top five of KenPom's adjusted offensive and defensive efficiency metrics. Duke had shot better than 50% for seven straight games and had won league games by an average of 23 points before Saturday.

Things looked very different at Wake Forest, from an early rash of turnovers to a horrid offensive start to the second half. Duke missed its first 13 shots after the break and went 1 for 19 through the first 12 minutes as the Demon Deacons went from down 15 to up 45-39.

By that point, Duke was going from being pushed to flirting with being in a dire situation.

Yet the Blue Devils ultimately steadied themselves with seven straight scoring possessions, with star freshman Cooper Flagg scoring three baskets while graduate transfer Mason Gillis hit a big pick-and-pop 3-pointer.

“I think the response for us was huge,” said Flagg, who had 15 of his 24 points after halftime.

Beyond the offensive composure, Duke also found a wrinkle by throwing out the zone defense shortly after Flagg's faceup jumper started their go-ahead move. It's a rarity for a team that prefers switching man defense — Scheyer said the team had played it “one possession all year” — but Duke needed something unexpected.

Duke went to the zone with about eight minutes left and ran it about a half-dozen possessions. Wake Forest managed one basket in those sequences, a jumper from Juke Harris near the elbow that bounced around before dropping through for a 47-43 lead.

“We were just trying to stand them up a little bit," Scheyer said. "And sometimes late in games, that’s what it can do. So we have it in our back pocket. But I give these guys credit: You still have to make it work.”

Scheyer said the team had done some work on the zone in preseason and then with extra time off leading up to Saturday's game. But running it in live action was something new, enough that Scheyer asked Flagg afterward whether he had played zone before.

“Nope,” Flagg said.

“Had to do it at some point,” Scheyer quipped.

By the end of the day, Duke had matched its season high from the Kansas loss with 16 turnovers and posted season lows in scoring and shooting percentage (36.8%).

And yet, Duke is still unbeaten in the ACC.

“I think everything we’re doing right now, we’re getting ready for March,” said Gillis, who had 11 points and six rebounds off the bench. “So that was a March style game right there, just being able to make adjustments, see how the game is playing out and do what we needed to do to get the W. And that’s all that matters.”

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Aaron Beard, The Associated Press