him recognition as the Wayman Tisdale national freshman of the week. Three days later, Duke traveled to New Jersey for a game against the defending National Champion UConn Huskies at the IZOD Center. Despite entering the game with only a 4–3 record, UConn proved to be a formidable opponent, holding the Blue Devils to 37.5% shooting and tying the game early in the second half. Duke was once again able to pull away, however, winning 66–56. Duke closed out the calendar year at home with wins over Toledo and Wofford, finishing December with a 12–0 record and maintaining their #2 ranking in the polls. January Duke's first game of the new year was also the start of conference play, but the Devils continued their stellar play from December with an 85–62 victory over Boston College. The game featured another big performance from Okafor, scoring 28 points in the game, shooting 14–17 from the foul line, a surprising number given that Okafor was normally about a 50 percent foul shooter. Duke's next game against Wake Forest proved to be the first real chink in the armor for the team. In Duke's first 13 games, the team only trailed for just over 6 minutes combined. In the Wake Forest game, they trailed for over 5 minutes, including a late deficit with just 6 minutes left in the game. Duke would eventually hold on to win 73–65, but the game ended the Blue Devils streak of double-digit wins at 13. Duke's struggles would only get worse over the next two games, especially at the defensive end of the floor. Duke's 14 game winning streak to start the year came to an end on January 11 in Raleigh against NC State. The Wolfpack shot over 60% from 3-point range on their way to an 87–75 win. Duke's defensive woes would carry over to their next game against Miami, with the Hurricanes shooting 18–27 in the second half in a 90–74 win at Cameron Indoor Stadium. It was Duke's first loss at home since 2012, breaking a 41-game home winning streak. After the game, Coach K said that he felt that something had been missing with the team since Christmas. The Blue Devils would not have much time to figure out what was missing, as their next game saw the team travel to #6 Louisville. Duke not only had to navigate the prospect of its