Duke Blue Devils Get Scare On Road

The Duke Blue Devils have found themselves having major problems on the road in the Atlantic Coast Conference this season. Duke had another battle on their hands Wednesday on the road against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons. Luckily for the Blue Devils, Mason Plumlee had a night to remember with only three missed shots in scoring 32 points as Duke escaped with a 75-70 win. It looks like Plumlee is going to have to be the one who keeps Duke afloat this season.

Duke is always known for having some of the top talent in the country and Plumlee definitely came in highly-regarded. He has scored in double figures in every game but one this season, but turned in a performance on the road to remember on this night, making 12 of his 15 shots and recording nine rebounds. The Blue Devils must have him continue doing that or it is going to be a quick exit in the NCAA Tournament. Right now, Duke would probably be a No. 2 or 3 seed, but they can’t seem to do anything away from home and that could mean trouble down the line.

This night was Plumlee’s, along with help from Seth Curry and his 20 points. Duke can’t afford to have many more of these off nights on the road and maybe a scare like this one will get the team in gear to let them know that they can’t just roll into someone else’s arena and blow them out. The power of the Duke name is no more unless players like Plumlee make it powerful again.

Andy Schmidt is a columnist/writer for RantSports. Follow him on Twitter @ASchmidtSports, like his Facebook page or add him to your network on Google.