The Duke Blue Devils won their 7th consecutive game with a 99-94 win over pesky Wake Forest.  The Blue Devils put six players in double figure scoring led by Luke Kennard who dropped 23 points. Jayson Tatum added 19. Amile Jefferson 16, Frank Jackson 12, Grayson Allen 11 and Matt Jones 10 points to round things out.

Duke would also go 13 of 27 from beyond the three-point stripe and knock down 14 of 16 free throw attempts in their win.  And it took this kind of effort to hold of a tournament hungry Wake Forest team who got 31 point, 10 rebound effort from John Collins.

The win pushes the Blue Devils ACC record to 10-4 and they now own a 22-5 overall mark.  Duke is in a heated race for the regular season title and a top four finish which earns a two-day bye in the ACC Tournament.

Duke changed up their defense at the half, going smaller and allowing for Wake to get easy buckets at times inside.  But the defense also kept the Deacons from going off from the three-point stripe.  It was a trade-off or sorts and the reason Harry Giles and Marques Bolden saw little action after the break.

After the win, Duke Coach Mike Krzyzewski said he hoped his team could get healthy.  Allen is nursing a bad ankle and other Blue Devils have undisclosed ailments.  He has to adjust on the fly this week in that Duke travel north to Syracuse and then as far south is there is in the league at Miami.  And they do this in three-day stretch.

Duke is currently tied with Louisville for second.  But there is a three-way tie if Florida State wins today.  It is worth noting that Notre Dame at 10-5 is nipping at their heels hoping for a stumble.  And the Virginia versus North Carolina game result tonight will have further implications.

The bottom line is every game is a major battle from now until the season ends.  It is almost as if we are seeing tournament basketball in the regular season.  Duke will battle two more teams in Syracuse and Miami on the road with both seeking to solidify their resume.  All the games are tough with just four games left.

It is also worth noting that Duke was visited by former players and National Champions Tyus Jones, Jahlil Okafor, Justise Winslow and Mason Plumlee today.  The first three mentioned played on the 2015 National Championship team while Plumlee played on the 2010 team.  All were here during the NBA All Star weekend break.

Jeff Capel Senior was also able to sit on the bench with his son, Jeff Capel who is Krzyzewskis' right hand man.