Wake Forest Athletics
Men's Hoops Battles Utah Dec. 28
6/21/1999 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
December 26, 1998
WAKE FOREST (9-3) at UTAH (7-4)
December 28, 1998 - 9:30 (EST) - Huntsman Center
Wake Forest closes out 1998 and the non-ACC portion of its 98-99 schedule as it visits Salt Lake City to meet last year's NCAA runnerup Utah. The Demon Deacons are coming off a 75-59 loss to another national power, Arkansas, last Wednesday. The Utes have won four of their last five and have a 25-game winning streak in the Huntsman Center.
Tonight's contest is being regionally televised on Home Team Sports and Fox Sports South in the Southeast, as well as on KJZZ-TV in Utah.
PROBABLE DEMON DEACON LINEUP - Career Starts
No. Name Pos. Ht. Cl. Key Statistics (*leads team)(98-99 starts) 3 Broderick Hicks G 6'1 Fr. 5.6 ppg, 2.3 rpg 7 (7) 4 Robert O'Kelley G 6'1 So. 16.0 ppg*, 1.8 rpg, 30 asts*, 29 3pters* 31 (12) 25 Darius Songaila F/C 6'9 Fr. 11.8 ppg, 6.7 rpg*, 53.8 FG%*, 72.9 FT%* 10 (10) 44 Josh Shoemaker F 6'9 So. 4.5 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 51.2 FG% 25 (8) 11 Joseph Amonett F 6'5 Sr. 4.9 ppg, 2.1 rpg 17 (7)TOP RESERVES
10 Jim Fitzpatrick G 6'0 Jr. 1.5 ppg, 1.4 rpg 1 (1) 42 Craig Dawson G/F 6'5 Fr. 7.3 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 44.4% on 3pters* 1 (1) 41 Rafael Vidaurreta C 6'8 So. 5.3 ppg, 4.9 rpg 27 (6) 34 Antwan Scott F/C 6'8 Fr. 6.5 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 50.9 FG% 0 31 Ervin Murray F 6'5 Fr. 1.9 ppg, 1.4 rpg 0HEAD COACH - Dave Odom (10th year at Wake Forest) / Won 191, Lost 96 (13th year overall) / Won 229, Lost 138
THE LINEUP - Wake Forest has utilized the starting lineup listed above for four consecutive games. This consistency with the starting five comes after Coach Dave Odom had adjusted his lineup throughout the month of November and early December, at one point using a different starting quintet in eight consecutive games (the eighth being Virginia Tech when this fivesome started for the first time).
Ten different individuals have started at least one contest this season. The only individual who has started all 12 games is ROBERT O'KELLEY, whose 31 career starts are now the most for any current player. JOSH SHOEMAKER has started the last six games in a row. Freshman DARIUS SONGAILA's 10 starts are second only to O'Kelley--Songaila did not start at VMI or at Maryland.
THE HEAD COACH - Now in his 10th season at Wake Forest, DAVE ODOM has built the Demon Deacon program into one of the nation's best. The Deacs made seven consecutive NCAA appearances from 1991 through 1997, then extended their string of postseason tourneys to eight in a row by playing in last year's NIT.
Odom is a three-time ACC Coach of the Year (1991, 1994, 1995). From 1993 through 1998, his Wake Forest teams won 20-or-more games each season. Since a losing record in his first year with the Deacs, his teams have won nearly 70% of their games, averaging 21 wins per season over the last eight years. Wake Forest won back-to-back ACC titles in 1995 and 1996, establishing a school record for wins (26-6) each year, and in 1997 spent 10 weeks as the nation's #2-ranked team.
UP NEXT - The Demon Deacons travel back to Winston-Salem tonight and will then begin preparations for 15 consecutive ACC contests during the months of January and February. The first of those dates comes at home in Joel Coliseum against Virginia on Saturday (Jan.2). Tipoff for that matchup is 12 noon. Noting the Demon Deacons
DEACS VS UTES - Wake Forest and Utah are meeting for the fourth consecutive season in a recent series that has featured some close, hard-played contests. The Demon Deacons won the first two meetings but lost last year's contest in Winston-Salem. All three previous games also occurred during the month of December.
In 1995, Wake was the victor in a defensive battle, 60-56, behind All-American Tim Duncan's 24 points and 12 rebounds. In a December '96 visit to Salt Lake City, the Deacs again prevailed behind Duncan (23 pts, 16 rebs) and some fine three-point shooting (6-12 in 2nd half) in a nationally televised New Year's Eve matchup.
Last year back in Lawrence Joel Coliseum, the Utes pulled away down the stretch for a 62-53 victory. Wake Forest trailed by only two (51-49) after a Tony Rutland three-pointer, but back-to-back baskets by Michael Doleac and Andre Miller kept the visitors on top. Miller finished with 20 points while Hanno Mottola added 16 points and a game-high 10 rebounds. Rutland led all scorers with 24 for the Deacons, who shot a season-low 28.0% from the floor (14 for 50).
INDIVIDUALLY VS UTAH - The current Demon Deacon sophomore class, which would be such a factor for Wake Forest during the second half of last season (four sophs started throughout most of the ACC schedule), had yet to emerge fully when Wake and Utah met last year (12/6/97).
NIKI ARINZE did start, but played only 17 minutes without scoring. JOSH SHOEMAKER and RAFAEL VIDAURRETA played briefly (17 & 12 minutes respectively) and were not factors. ROBERT O'KELLEY did play 24 minutes off the bench and scored 11 points, but was a subpar 3 of 12 from the floor (3-7 from 3pt range).
Current senior JOSEPH AMONETT played 11 minutes and scored 2 points on a pair of free throws in last year's loss.
LAST TO WIN IN HUNTSMAN - Wake Forest is the last visiting team to defeat Utah on its home floor. Since that 70-59 Demon Deacon win over the Utes on 12/31/96, Utah has won 25 in a row in Salt Lake City, the 5th-longest current homecourt winning streak in the country.
ALL THREE LOSSES TO RANKED FOES - Wake Forest's three losses this season have come to teams ranked in the national Top 25 at the time of the game. Temple was #7 when it defeated the Demon Deacons in the "Coaches vs Cancer Classic" in New York in November. Maryland was rated #2 when the Deacs lost in College Park on December 3rd. Arkansas was #19 last week when it won in Winston-Salem.
COMEBACKS - Wake Forest has trailed in the second half of nine of its 12 games, including six of its nine wins. In three victories (Mercer, William & Mary and Davidson), the Deacs were behind at halftime. The largest deficit that they have overcome to date was 13 points (27-14) in the first half against Davidson on November 27th.
Wake's youthful squad first displayed its comeback ability in the very first game this season when it trailed Illinois by five points (61-56) with 2:18 remaining in the game, and by six (70-64) with 2:32 left in overtime, before rallying for the win.
TIME SHARING - Nine current Deacon players are averaging double figures in minutes played per game (and freshman ERVIN MURRAY is not far behind at 9.5 mins per game). Guard ROBERT O'KELLEY (32.4 mins per game) has seen the most court time and is the only Deacon who is playing more than 23 minutes per game.
SHOOTING UPS AND DOWNS - After shooting a season-high 51.0% (26-51) from the floor in a win over Coastal Carolina and a respectable 47.2% (25-53) shooting effort in defeating East Tennessee State, Wake Forest slumped to 33.3% (22-66) in last week's loss to Arkansas. That was the second-poorest field goal percentage by the Demon Deacons this season -- only a 32.6% effort in a win at Virginia Tech four games ago has been lower.
Wake had entered the Arkansas contest shooting 36.7% from three-point distance, but made just 6 of 24 long distance tries versus the Razorbacks. Freshman CRAIG DAWSON, whose 51.3% three-point shooting had ranked him 3rd in the ACC in that category, missed all six of his "3s" in that contest.
THREE-POINT STREAK - Wake Forest has made at least one three-point field goal in 211 consecutive games. The last time that Wake did not make a three-pointer was in a 1992 homecourt victory over Tulane.
BETTER AT THE LINE - Wake Forest's performance at the free throw line has been steadily improving. Through the first five games this season, the Demon Deacons were hitting only 61.8% of their foul shots. In the last seven games, that figure has been an improved 71.2%, including 57-for-77 (74.0%) the last four games. On the year, the Deacs are now shooting 66.7% from the charity stripe.
GETTING TO THE LINE A KEY - The Deacons have shot more free throws than their opponent in all nine wins this season. In the team's three losses, the opposition has gone to the line more times. The actual numbers are even more noteworthy.
Wake opponents have averaged fewer than 14 free throws per game in nine Deac wins (13.8 to be exact), while Temple, Maryland and Arkansas have combined to shoot 85 free throws (28.3 per) in defeating WFU.
In their last three wins over Virginia Tech, Coastal Carolina and East Tennessee State, the Deacons "allowed" only 31 free throws. Arkansas shot more charity tosses than that (32) themselves last Wednesday.
OPPONENTS UNDER 40% SEVEN TIMES - Wake Forest has limited seven of its 12 opponents to under 40% shooting from the floor this season. Temple, which shot 34.0% versus the Demon Deacons, is the only one of those seven foes to defeat the Deacs while shooting under 40%. Maryland (at 50.8%) is the only opponent to shoot better than 48%.
DOUBLE DIGIT DEACONS - Seven Deacons have scored in double figures at least once this season. Only two (ROBERT O'KELLEY & DARIUS SONGAILA), though, are averaging more than 10 points per contest.
O'KELLEY has reached double digits in 10 games. He has been the team's leading scorer in eight dates and now has scored in double figures in 34 of his last 37 games dating back to last season.
SONGAILA, who has scored in double figures in four of the last five games, and eight of the last 10 overall, is the only Deac to record a "double-double" this season -- and he has done so three times including the last two games. The freshman frontcourt standout has totaled 14 pts/10 rebs versus Mercer, 15 pts/10 rebs against East Tennessee State, and 23 pts/12 rebs (both season highs) last week in the loss to Arkansas.
Double Digit Deacons
Scoring Rebounding
Joseph AMONETT once (E.Tenn)
Craig DAWSON three times
Broderick HICKS three straight in Nov; none in last seven
Robert O'KELLEY 10; 34 of last 37 overall
Antwan SCOTT four times; three of last five (Md, CC, E.Tenn)
Josh SHOEMAKER once (VMI)
Darius SONGAILA eight in last 10 games four times; last two
Rafael VIDAURRETA twice (Ill, W&M)
ARINZE OUT FOR SEASON - Sophomore forward NIKI ARINZE, who started 24 games as a freshman last year, has been lost for the season due to a shoulder injury. Arinze dislocated his left shoulder on October 26th during preseason practice. After three weeks of rehabilitation (and two missed games in New York), he returned to action and was a starter in four of the five contests in which he played this season.The 6'5 Nashville product re-injured the shoulder on November 30th in the first half of Wake Forest's win at VMI. He underwent arthroscopic surgery on the shoulder on December 15th. Rehab from the surgery will be several months, but Arinze is expected to be fully recovered by next fall.
Having played in only five regular season contests, Arinze should qualify for a medical hardship ruling and not lose a year of eligibility. Wake Forest will make that appeal following the season.
EIGHT STRAIGHT POSTSEASON TRIPS - By playing in the 1998 NIT, Wake Forest appeared in postseason play for the eighth consecutive year. The Demon Deacons had been in the NCAA Tournament the previous seven years (1991-1997), at that time the seventh-longest streak in the nation.
Wake Forest's current streak of eight straight postseason trips rank second among ACC schools.
Consecutive Postseason Appearances by ACC Schools
North Carolina 32 Duke 3 WAKE FOREST 8 Florida State 2 Clemson 6 N.C.State 2 Maryland 5 Georgia Tech 1The Wake Forest Record When...
At Home 6-1 WF Scores 80+ Pts 2-0 On Opponent Court 2-1 WF Scores 70+ Pts 7-0 On Neutral Court 1-1 WF Scores 60+ Pts 7-1 Leading at Halftime 6-1 WF Scores Under 60 Pts 2-2 Trailing at Halftime 3-2 WF Shoots 50%+ 1-0 Leading with 10:00 Left 8-0 WF Shoots Under 50% 8-3 Trailing with 10:00 Left 1-3 Opponent Shoots 50%+ 0-1 Final Margin Fewer than 5 2-0 WF Atts More FTs than Opp 9-0 Final Margin 5-to-9 Pts 1-0 WF Out-Rebounds Opp 6-1 Final Margin Doub Figures 6-3 Opp Out-Rebounds WF 2-2
