No. 2 Duke has established that next-man up mentality, and the Blue Devils might need it again Monday night in their home finale against Wake Forest in Durham, N.C.
The Blue Devils used various lineup combinations the past couple of games as injuries have struck. But there’s no room for a misstep if Duke (26-3, 17-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) is going to remain atop the conference. The Blue Devils hold a one-game on Clemson and Louisville.
The latest anxiety for Duke came when freshman standout Cooper Flagg departed with an eye injury in the first half Saturday night against Florida State. He returned in the second half, but logged only 20 minutes in the game.
Still, the Blue Devils didn’t miss a beat. They won 100-65.
“Coop goes out in the first half and it really was what our team is all about,” coach Jon Scheyer said.
Scheyer said Flagg’s bruised eyelid might be a visible reminder in a day or two of the wear and tear of a season.
The Blue Devils are grooming other options. Saturday marked a full game without point guard Tyrese Proctor, who was out with a knee injury sustained last Tuesday at Miami.
“We’ve got good players on this team that will step up,” freshman guard Kon Knueppel said.
The Blue Devils expect Flagg will be ready to go Monday night. His return Saturday was predictable.
“He’s one of the toughest guys I’ve ever met,” teammate Sion James said, “so we knew he was going to try to do what he could to get back.”
The Demon Deacons (20-9, 12-6) will be expecting to see him on the court.
Coach Steve Forbes of Wake Forest — undoubtedly like most coaches who have faced Duke — has praise for Flagg, who has been named the ACC Rookie of the Week a record 11 times this season.
“He’s a hard guy to guard,” Forbes said. “He’s got all the tools. The great thing about him is his unselfishness. He really wants other people to succeed.”
But there’s more to the Blue Devils.
“He has got some good players around him, so don’t sleep on that,” Forbes said.
Freshman swingman Isaiah Evans made his first career start in the Florida State game with Proctor’s absence. He led Duke with 19 points, going 6-for-17 from the field after missing a string of shots early in the game.
“Isaiah starts and wasn’t making shots and just stuck with it,” Scheyer said.
The situation in the game also meant that Knueppel was pressed into duty as the point guard. Duke didn’t commit a first-half turnover.
“It was really what a team is all about,” Scheyer said.
Wake Forest needed a comeback to turn away visiting Notre Dame 74-71 on Saturday. An upset in Durham would be a huge boost to the Demon Deacons’ NCAA Tournament resume. They close the regular season this week against Georgia Tech, eighth in the ACC.
Cameron Hildreth, who had 28 points Saturday, has led Wake Forest in scoring in six of the past eight games. Either Hildreth or Hunter Sallis has been the Demon Deacons’ top scorer in all except three games — and one of those came when freshman Juke Harris topped the team’s scoring list with 14 points in a 63-56 loss to Duke on Jan. 25.
When Duke and Wake Forest met in January, the Demon Deacons overcame a 13-point halftime deficit to take the lead in the second half before the Blue Devils pulled away. Flagg scored 24 points in that game.
Flagg leads the Blue Devils with averages of 19.3 points, 7.6 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 1.6 steals per game.
–Field Level Media
