WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. -- Duke faced a challenge against Wake Forest unlike anything it's seen in nearly three months, and the second-ranked Blue Devils responded with something they hadn't done all season.
Duke erased a six-point second-half deficit after switching to a 2-3 zone defense over the final nine minutes of play and utterly suffocated the Deacons' scorers to escape with a 63-56 win, its closest since Dec. 5 and just the third single-digit final in the Blue Devils' current 13-game winning streak.
"We've kept it in our back pocket just in case," Duke coach Jon Scheyer said.