Out of their last 10 games, the Blue Devils have dominated their opponents, winning by 20 points or more in 8 of those contests. With Cooper Flagg soaring and leading the team in 5 key stats, the results speak for themselves: they’ve secured their 14th double-digit victory of the season, including 11 wins by at least 20 points. However, despite these impressive performances, sitting atop the ACC doesn’t mean there aren’t any flaws. In fact, a national broadcaster recently pointed out that Duke’s upcoming game against Wake Forest will present a very different challenge.

“Cause there’s two things that you want when you’re heading into postseason play in college basketball. You want talent and you want experience. Each of these teams has one of those two in ridiculous fashion. You want to hear a crazy stat?” Tim Donnelly, on his YouTube, highlighted the crazy stat favoring the Demon Deacons. “Wake Forest’s top five leading scores in per game combined for 506 career games played in college basketball…They average over a 100 games played, their five leading scores.” Which comes nowhere near Duke’s number.

As per Donnelly, “Duke’s top five leading scores have played 155 career games and 86 of them come from Tyrese Proctor. 18 games for Maluach, 18 games for Knueppel, and 18 games for Flagg.” In terms of experience, Wake Forest has plenty and even has the confidence to beat the team last year. In a 79-83 matchup, they beat the eighth-ranked Blue Devils at Winston-Salem.

“Different team, but they’ve beaten the jersey,” said Donnelly about last year’s matchup. Interestingly, Duke had two players who were selected in the 2024 NBA Draft—Jared McCain, a first-round pick by the 76ers, and Kyle Filipowski, a second-round pick by the Jazz. But even with those notable achievements, their exploits couldn’t quite compare to the atmosphere in Joel Coliseum. The Demon Deacons made history, announcing a record crowd of over 14,700, marking the program’s first sellout since 2017.

Before that game, the Blue Devils had won 16 of 18 games since losing their ACC opener at Georgia Tech. So the question remains will Duke and Cooper Flagg crumble under pressure this year too?

More questions have been raised about Cooper Flagg’s and Duke’s post-season form

As stated previously, the Blue Devils have made light work of their opponents during their run this season. In ACC they are currently 8-0 and overall 16-2. Their last defeat was against Kansas as they lost 75-72 back in November. Before that, it was the Wildcats who beat them 77-72, and in that game, Cooper Flagg scored 26 points but turned over the possession twice in the final minute of the game. So, will the inexperience hurt them again?

“I think the only thing that concerns you about Duke would be whether they will get tested in the league. The great thing about their schedule, though, is that they do play Illinois next month; we will get a chance to see that game and observe how they respond.” Randolph Childress, ACC legend, highlighted the trust factor of Duke in Cooper Flagg during high-pressure situations. “I don’t know when they’ll be in another close game in the ACC. That’s the only concern I would have for them going into the tournament.”

No doubt, with upcoming games against North Carolina, Clemson, and even their next matchup against Wake Forest, the Blue Devils have a full plate ahead. While they likely have March Madness on their radar, any slip-up could add pressure—not just on the team, but also on Flagg, the consensus 2025 NBA number one draft pick. The stakes are high, and every game counts.