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WAKE VS. GERALD HENDERSON

Although Kyle Singler is Duke's statistical leader, the unquestioned heart of the Blue Devils is swingman Gerald Henderson.

The 6-4 junior is Duke's most athletic player, and he's done his best work since conference play began, averaging 19.4 ppg in ACC games.

"He's going to put matchup problems on anybody because he can shoot the 3," Wake Forest coach Dino Gaudio said. "He's shooting 3s at an incredible pace. And, of course, he's a strong driver. He puts his shoulder down and drives that ball so hard. That's what they like to do. They drive that middle alley really hard."

For the record: Henderson is 24-for-51 from beyond the 3-point line this season. That's 47.1 percent. He's hit 10 of his last 13. That's 76.9 percent.

THE NO. 1 BURDEN

Wake's reign atop the AP poll officially lasted one week. In reality, it lasted one game. The Deacs lost at home to Virginia Tech in their first game as No. 1.

"I don't know what it was," Wake Forest coach Dino Gaudio said. "All the coaches out there will tell you, when you take the floor some nights you just see you don't have that same little bounce in your step. I don't know whether it was the pressure of being No. 1 at the time, or the prior week the three games that we had were all emotional games. Virginia Tech deserves all the credit. They played harder than us. They played better than us. And they deserved to win the game."

Duke, meanwhile, eagerly picked up the mantle. Duke has held the No. 1 ranking 111 times, second-most in the history of the AP poll.

"We've had a chance to drink from that cup of No. 1 a number of times, and when you have a chance to be voted No. 1 at any time it's a tremendous honor," Krzyzewski said. "We don't take it lightly. We also know it's not something that you try to keep winning. You just try to keep improving. It goes with the territory we've been in for a while."

DUKE VS. WAKE'S BIG MEN

Duke took over the top spot in this week's AP poll by winning its last 10 games. The Blue Devils' latest victory was an 85-44 dismantling of undersized Maryland on Saturday.

Now Duke faces the Demon Deacons' front line of 7-foot center Chas McFarland (9.9 ppg) and 6-9 forwards James Johnson (13.6 ppg) and Al-Farouq Aminu (12.6 ppg).

"They're not just big, but they're good athletes" Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said. 'They're talented. ... They're good basketball players who happen to be big, and that's a good combination for the home team and not a good combination for the team that's playing against them. Those three kids match up well with anybody in the country."

Kyle Singler, a 6-8 forward, is Duke's leading scorer (16.5 ppg) and rebounder (8.1 rpg). The Blue Devils' tallest players -- 7-1 Brian Zoubek and 6-10 freshman Miles Plumlee -- combine to average fewer than eight points and seven rebounds.

What's the difference between No. 1 and No. 6? Is it ...

A. One week.

B. Losing at home to Virginia Tech.

C. Obliterating Maryland to stay unbeaten in the ACC.

D. We'll find out tonight.

E. All of the above.

If you answered "E" -- Go ahead and treat yourself to a cookie because you're technically correct.

But if you answered "D" -- You've wisely chosen the most correct answer, so treat yourself to watching the latest edition of the Biggest-Game-Of-The-Regular-Season when top-ranked Duke plays at No. 6 Wake Forest at 7 p.m.

A few things to watch for: