One is the Loneliest Number

At the beginning of the year, Mike Krzyzewski installed Nolan Smith as Duke's starting point guard because he felt the change was necessary with the relatively new offensive system and classic defense he wanted to run. Greg Paulus was shifted to the bench and accepted the role because he's a senior with no professional basketball future looking for a National Championship. Wednesday night's showdown with Wake Forest was Smith's greatest challenge to date and he failed miserably. In 21 minutes, Smith recorded zero assists, a statistic unacceptable for a starting point guard. He also went 1-5 from the field, looked completely lost on both ends of the court, and failed to switch on a screen that led to Wake's game winning basket. Nice job Nolan. You failed the test with flying colors!

Wake Forest exposed Duke's main weakness, frontcourt size and athleticism. Aminu, Johnson, McFarland, and even Weaver dominated the paint on offense as Duke hasn't had a landlord since Sheldon Williams left town. Defensively, the length caused Duke to take more difficult shots. A bunch of Duke's shots were blocked by the Wake forwards, leading to numerous fast break opportunities. Singler shot poorly, but was still able to accumulate points. Henderson took over at the beginning of the second half, but turned the ball over a ton down the stretch. While Scheyer chipped in some, no one else was a factor. Someone else needed to step up, but that wasn't the case. Rebounds aren't an issue for the Blue Devils anymore with Singler's emergence as a dynamic rebounder, but Wake's size still ate them up. Beware of opponent's length come March.

Duke's definitely better than last year, but I still don't understand Coach K's rotation at times. And I hate when David McClure is on the floor because despite his defensive work, it's like playing four on five in the offensive half of the floor. Here's something worth noting, however. Duke shot 33% from the field, 4 of 22 from three-point range and only lost by TWO points at Wake. That kind of makes you wonder, doesn't it?

Before we get ahead of ourselves though, let's acknowledge that Wake Forest could've won going away if they didn't stumble down the stretch. This wasn't Wake's best game either. Jeff Teague had one of his worst games in a while because of the Duke defensive system. The Demon Deacons missed foul shots down the stretch to give Duke a glimmer of hope. James Johnson should be more aggressive offensively. He's got the tools to be a more impactful player. Wake's weakness lies in their three-point shooting. I'd like to see them against a zone defensive, although they might be able to attack it through the middle. I still can't pick them to win because I need the three-point explosivity in my predicted winner. Kansas, Florida, North Carolina, and UConn all had it as recent winners. It's not exactly something you can find midseason...