Duke uses defensive ‘curveball,’ makes it through Wake

David HaleJan 25, 2025, 08:35 PM ET Close College football reporter.Joined ESPN in 2012.

over the final nine minutes and absolutely suffocated the Demon Deacons’ scorers to escape with a 63-56 win, its closest outcome since Dec. 5 and only the third single-digit margin in the Blue Devils’present 13-game winning streak. “We’ve kept it in our back pocket just in case,”Duke coach Jon Scheyer stated.”It’s great to have a curveball, and even if it’s maybe not the very best zone worldwide, we were simply attempting to stand them up a bit, and sometimes late in a game, that’s what it can do. I give these guys credit since you still need to make it work, and we have not practiced it too much.” Editor’s Picks 1 Related Duke led by 13 at the half, but heaven Devils were ice cold from the field when the 2nd half started, and Wake found a groove running a pick-and-roll, going on a 23-4 run to go up six with 9:58 to play.Duke then took a

timeout, and when the Blue Devils went back to the court, it was with a new defensive approach.Scheyer said Duke had actually run a zone for precisely one possession all season, and until late last week, had not practiced it often either. However after an unsuccessful effort to slow Wake with the zone in a game last season, Scheyer went to his” curveball “once more.The Duke D offered nothing easy for Wake after the protective switch, outscoring the

Deacons 24-11 the remainder of the way. Wake was 2-for-10– including a stretch of eight straight misses out on– from the field after Duke changed to the zone. Cooper Flagg had 24 points, 7 rebounds and 6 helps in No. 2 Duke’s 63-56 win at Wake Forest on Saturday. David Jensen/Getty Images

At the podium for a postgame news conference, Scheyer smiled at star freshman Cooper Flagg and quipped, “Have you ever played zone?”

“Never ever,” Flagg replied with a laugh.The joke being there’s virtually absolutely nothing Flagg isn’t good at– even if it’s not a standard part of his repertoire.Wake Forest coach Steve Forbes was asked his impressions of Flagg after seeing him personally.”Generational,”Forbes stated before running through a who’s who of stars he has actually coached against in his profession, consisting of Kawhi Leonard, Derrick Rose and Kevin Durant.”He’s at that level. He’s going to play in the NBA for a long period of time.”Scheyer lamented Duke’s sluggish offense– the 63 points was a season low– however Flagg was still remarkable, completing with 24 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists. “We haven’t been in a lots of those positions, “Flagg said.”It was a huge opportunity for us to show we can stay composed even when a team makes a run, and remain level-headed. “But if Saturday represented a struggle for a Duke group on a relatively perfect roll, Scheyer stated he had no regrets. “You have to win among these games in the competition, in ACC play– it’s part of it,”Scheyer stated.

“We’ve earned it with how we’ve clicked offense, but it’s only a matter of time [before there’s a close game.] It’s huge we could get a win and find a method without having our finest things. “