Duke saved by Luke Kennard but is seriously hanging by a thread: 4 takeaways

Duke rallies to beat Wake Forest and avoids having its obituary written this weekend

Duke was down seven points with 110 seconds remaining Saturday afternoon at Wake Forest and thus on the verge of losing for the fourth time in five outings and maybe falling out of the Associated Press Top 25 poll come Monday.

Also: A lifetime ban from the locker room was possibly at stake.

(You never know!)

Five nights earlier, the No. 17 Blue Devils were in a similar situation at North Carolina State. That one didn't go well. But this time was different and it culminated with Luke Kennard's 3-pointer with 6.6 seconds remaining that lifted Duke to an 85-83 victory inside Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum.

It was a good road win for Jeff Capel's team.

Here are four takeaways:

1. It took an amazing comeback for Duke to win

The good news for Duke is that it won and didn't lose. But the bad news, or at least the concerning news, is that the Blue Devils needed a 9-0 run in the final 1:50 to avoid the upset. In other words, this wasn't the type of performance that'll stop those questions about whether Duke will live up to expectations. But it was good enough to keep folks from writing Duke's obituary this weekend, and that's not worth nothing.

2. Luke Kennard is Duke's best player

That's clear now, isn't it? Granted, he wasn't supposed to be -- and his emergence is among the things that have made it difficult for Duke to establish defined roles. But it seems obvious, at this point, that Kennard needs to be Duke's primary option, and Capel was wise to use him that way in the second half and especially on the last possession. Kennard got the last shot because Capel designed a play for him. Expect more of that in the future. The sophomore guard finished with 34 points on 14 shots.

3. Wake Forest blew a huge opportunity

The Demon Deacons are a top-40 KenPom team. So they're good. But the record doesn't reflect that, and they might end up winning the ACC's close-but-no-cigar award. Wake Forest's past three losses are a six-point loss to North Carolina, a five-point loss at Syracuse and this two-point loss to Duke. Beyond that, the Demon Deacons have a four-point loss at Xavier, a five-point loss to Clemson and a seven-point loss at Northwestern on their resume. All nine of their losses are to top-55 KenPom teams. And six are by single-digits. Brutal. Just brutal.

4. Coach K is likely still at least a week from returning

Capel is now 3-3 as Duke's interim coach with wins over Boston College, Miami and Wake Forest, and losses to Florida State, Louisville and NC State. And he has one game left in charge -- Monday's game at Notre Dame -- before Mike Krzyzewski returns from back surgery, at least according to the original timetable.

But I wouldn't bet on Krzyzewski returning for Saturday's game vs. Pitt, if only because literally nobody connected to Duke has returned within the timeframe initially projected. So I'm assuming Capel will coach at least two more times.

After that, who knows?

But Duke plays North Carolina on Feb. 9.

And you and I both know Mike Krzyzewski would love to be there for that one.