Wake Forest Athletics
Men's Hoops Visits Georgia Tech
6/21/1999 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
January 15, 1999
WAKE FOREST (11-5 / 2-2 in ACC) at GEORGIA TECH (10-6 / 1-3)
January 16, 1999 - 4:00 - Alexander Coliseum
Wake Forest seeks its second win on the road in ACC play here this afternoon as the Demon Deacons visit Atlanta to take on Georgia Tech. Four of the Deacs' first six league games this season are away from home, including an upcoming trip to Florida State next Wednesday. Wake did win at Clemson one week ago but is coming off a 10-point home-court loss to Duke (82-72) this past Wednesday.
Today's game is being televised on ESPN2 and on the ACC/Raycom network.
PROBABLE DEMON DEACON LINEUP
Career Starts
No. Name Pos. Ht. Cl. Key Statistics (*leads team)
4 Robert O'Kelley G 6'1 So. 15.8 ppg*, 2.1 rpg, 39 asts*, 39 3pters* 35 (16)
31 Ervin Murray G/F 6'5 Fr. 3.3 ppg, 2.3 rpg 3 (3)
41 Rafael Vidaurreta C 6'8 So. 6.6 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 76.6 FT%* 31 (10)
25 Darius Songaila F/C 6'9 Fr. 12.2 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 52.8 FG%*, 17 steals* 14 (14)
44 Josh Shoemaker F 6'9 So. 4.4 ppg, 6.1 rpg* 29 (12)
TOP RESERVES
3 Broderick Hicks G 6'1 Fr. 5.0 ppg, 2.1 rpg 7 (7) 10 Jim Fitzpatrick G 6'0 Jr. 1.3 ppg, 1.3 rpg 1 (1) 34 Antwan Scott F/C 6'8 Fr. 5.0 ppg, 2.4 rpg 0 11 Joseph Amonett G/F 6'5 Sr. 3.9 ppg, 1.8 rpg 18 (8) 42 Craig Dawson G/F 6'5 Fr. 7.7 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 41.3% on 3pters* 1 (1)HEAD COACH - Dave Odom (10th year at Wake Forest) / Won 193, Lost 98 (13th year overall) / Won 231, Lost 140
THE LINEUP - The Demon Deacons have utilized the starting five listed above in their past three games, with freshman ERVIN MURRAY replacing senior JOSEPH AMONETT. If head coach DAVE ODOM continues with this fivesome this afternoon, it will equal the longest starting "streak" for any five Deacons this season This lineup is the 10th different starting five employed by Wake Forest this year. Every player on the roster has started at least once this season with the exception of ANTWAN SCOTT and walkon TIM FULLER.
The only individual who has started all 16 games is ROBERT O'KELLEY, whose 35 career starts are the most for any Deacon. JOSH SHOEMAKER has started the last 10 games. Freshman DARIUS SONGAILA's 14 starts (and eight in a row) are second only to O'Kelley this season -- Songaila did not start at VMI or 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.
UPCOMING - Wake Forest faces another very important road game in its next outing when the Demon Deacons travel to Tallahassee to meet Florida State next Wednesday (Jan.20) in an 8 pm tipoff on ESPN2. Wake returns to Joel Coliseum one week from today to host North Carolina (1 pm).
Wake Forest vs Georgia Tech
THE SERIES - Two tough losses to Georgia Tech last season have dropped Wake Forest one game behind the Yellow Jackets in the overall series, 22-21, as the two schools meet for the 44th time this afternoon. Their first-ever encounter came in the 1949 Dixie Classic in Raleigh, with Tech capturing a 64-57 verdict. Wake won twice in a pair of 1960s meetings before the rivalry was resumed when the Jackets joined the ACC in 1980.
LAST YEAR - The Demon Deacons fell behind, 13-0, in Alexander Coliseum last January 10th before battling back to lead at the half (27-24). The Deacs held a five-point advantage (54-49) with 6:21 remaining, but then committed four turnovers in five possessions as their lead disappeared into a 70-63 loss. Wake Forest lost the ball a season-high 22 times overall. Robert O'Kelley led WFU with 17 points, while Tech's Matt Harpring was the game's leading scorer (23 pts) and rebounder (9).
The return match in Winston-Salem was even closer, though it took a barrage of three-pointers (five in the last 0:59) for Wake Forest to erase a nine-point deficit and tie the game at 76-76 on an O'Kelley "3" with 0:15 left. Tech's Travis Spivey missed two free throws, but Michael Maddox secured the rebound and made one of two foul shots to give the Jackets a 77-76 victory. Tony Rutland led four Deacs in double digits with 15 (O'Kelley had 12; Rafael Vidaurreta had 10). Harpring was outstanding (24 pts/15 rebs) for the Techsters.
IN ATLANTA - Alexander Coliseum has been tough on the Deacons in recent years. Wake lost here in 1994 (71-69), 1995 (67-65) and 1996 (64-63) -- each time after having a shot to tie or win the game in the closing seconds. The Deacs finally broke through with a 73-63 victory on this floor in 1997 behind 24-point performances from Tim Duncan and Tony Rutland. Overall, Wake Forest is 6-14 in this facility.
Individual Numbers vs the Yellow Jackets
Player G-GS FG-A PCT. 3PT-A PCT. FT-A PCT. REB/AVG. A/BS PTS/AVG. HIGH/DATE AMONETT 4-1 3-12 25.0 1-10 10.0 2-2 100.0 2/0.5 9/2.3 7/'98 @WF O'KELLEY 2-1 10-25 40.0 4-11 36.4 4-9 44.4 5/2.5 29/14.5 17/'98 @GT SHOEMAKER 2-1 4-5 80.0 1-1 100.0 0-0 8/4.0 9/4.5 6/'98 @WF VIDAURRETA 2-2 7-11 63.6 2-4 50.0 13/6.5 16/8.0 10/'98 @WF
Noting the Demon Deacons
TEMPO ADJUSTMENT - Since a December 3rd loss to Maryland, Wake Forest has made a commitment to a more controlled style of play. Duke, of course, provided a real test to that philosophy with its up-tempo attack and did score 82 points, but the Blue Devils had to shoot 52% (while taking only 48 shots) to do so.
In their last eight games, the Demon Deacons have averaged 63.9 points per game while limiting their opponents to 60.0 points per game. Duke and Arkansas (with 75 points) are the only Wake foes in the last eight games to score more than 63 points. Four of those eight have been held to 53 points or fewer.
CLOSE WINS - When the games are close this season, Wake Forest has won more than its share. In fact, the Demon Deacons are 4-0 in games decided by five points or fewer. Those narrow victories include a 75-73 overtime decision over Illinois in the "Coaches vs Cancer Classic" to open the season, a 59-58 homecourt verdict over Davidson, a 52-47 road win at Virginia Tech, and last Saturday's 64-61 victory at Clemson.
Winning the Close Ones
Date Opponent Final Score Late-Game Keys Nov.10 Illinois (@MSG) 75-73 (ot) O'Kelley scores 10 of team's 11 pts in OT Nov.27 Davidson 59-58 O'Kelley 2 FTs with 0:02.3 left erase 58-57 deficit Dec.12 at Virginia Tech 52-47 Deacs break 47-47 tie; hold Tech scoreless final 3:40 Jan.9 at Clemson 64-61 Dawson 4-4 FTs in final 0:08 clinch winCOMEBACK WINS - Wake Forest has trailed in the second half of seven of its 11 wins, including last Saturday's victory at Clemson. In four of those victories (Mercer, William & Mary, Davidson & Clemson), the Deacs were behind at halftime. The largest deficit that they have overcome was 13 points (27-14) in the first half against Davidson on November 27th.
Coach Dave Odom's youthful squad initially displayed its comeback ability in the very first game this season when Wake 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.
AT THE HALF - Wake Forest is 7-1 when leading at halftime, losing to Temple after leading the Owls (32-24) at intermission. The Demon Deacons have won four of eight games in which they trailed at the break, including the win at Clemson in which they were down by three (25-22) at halftime.
SHOT TALK - Wake Forest's 50% shooting effort (21-42) last Saturday at Clemson marked only the second time this season that the Demon Deacons had made at least half of their shots in a game. The other occasion was in a December 16th victory (73-46) over Coastal Carolina when the Deacs converted 51% of their field goals (26-51).
When Wake Forest defeated Virginia in its last Joel Coliseum appearance on January 2nd while shooting 39.6% from the floor, it represented the second time this season that the Demon Deacons had won a game while hitting under 40% of their shots. Wake also won at Virginia Tech on December 12th, 52-47, while shooting a season-low 32.6%. The Deacs are now 2-2 when shooting under 40%.
IMPROVEMENT AT THE LINE - The Demon Deacons continue to show notable improvement in their free throw shooting after a very slow start this season.
In the last eight games, the Deacs have hit 76.7% of their foul shots (125 for 163) -- quite an improvement over the season's first five games when they made only 61.8% of their free throw tries. Wake is just 4th overall in the ACC in free throw accuracy at 69.8%, but in conference games only, the Deacon percentage of 73.4% (69 of 94) at the line is best in the league.
THREE-POINT STREAK - Wake Forest has made at least one three-point field goal in 215 consecutive games. The last time that Wake did not make a three-pointer was in a 1992 homecourt victory over Tulane.
AN OPPOSING VIEW - Duke's 52.1% shooting performance on Wednesday evening in Winston-Salem was the best by a Wake Forest opponent all season. Maryland, which shot 50.8% against the Demon Deacons in early December, is the only other opposing team to shoot better than 50% from the floor.
On the season, only four of 16 Deacon foes have shot over 44% (Illinois and Utah shot 47.7% and 47.2% respectively). The Deacs are 1-3 in those games.
Wake Forest has limited nine opponents to under 40% shooting from the floor. Temple, which shot 34.0%, is the only one of those nine foes to defeat the Deacs while shooting under 40%.
TAKING CARE OF THE BALL - Wake Forest has committed only 11 turnovers in each of its last two games, a season-low for a single contest. Wednesday night in losing to a Duke squad that was forcing more than 19 turnovers per contest, the Deacs lost the ball six times in the first 9:29, then settled down to commit only five more turnovers over the final 30:31.
Darius Double Winner of Rookie Award
Wake Forest's DARIUS SONGAILA was named ACC "Rookie of the Week" for the second time this season last week. The 6'9 Lithuanian product scored a team-high 15 points in a losing cause at Utah, then totaled 22 points and 9 rebounds in the win over Virginia.
Earlier in the year, Songaila received that same honor after recording the first of his three "double-double" outings this season, a 15 pt/10 reb effort against East Tennessee.
PLEASE SAY IT THIS WAY - Contrary to the notation in this year's Wake Forest Basketball media guide, freshman DARIUS SONGAILA's last name should be pronounced "son - GUY - lah". Sorry about the con-fusion and thanks for your cooperation.
DOUBLE DIGIT DEACONS - Nine Deacons have scored in double figures at least once this season. Only two Deacs (ROBERT O'KELLEY & DARIUS SONGAILA), though, are averaging more than 10 points per contest. In fact, they are the only two players scoring more than eight points per game.
O'KELLEY has reached double digits in 13 games. He has been the team's leading scorer in 10 dates and now has scored in double figures in 37 of his last 41 games dating back to last season.
SONGAILA, who has scored in double figures in seven of the last nine games, is the only Deac to record a "double-double" this season -- and he has done so three times with 14 pts/10 rebs versus Mercer, 15 pts/10 rebs against East Tennessee State, and 23 pts/12 rebs (both season highs) in the loss to Arkansas. The freshman front-court standout narrowly missed a fourth "double-double" with a 22 pt/9 reb effort versus Virginia.
ACC SUCCESS - Since dropping their first 11 league contests and finishing with a 3-11 mark in the league in 1990, the Demon Deacons under head coach Dave Odom have achieved winning records against seven of their eight ACC foes, with only North Carolina holding an advantage over the Deacs the past eight years. Wake Forest vs the ACC
CLEM* DUKE* FSU GATECH MD* UNC NCST UVA*
Last Five Years 9-4 8-4 8-3 7-5 6-5 5-8 8-2 10-3
Last Eight Years 14-5 11-7 8-7 10-8 10-7 6-14 13-3 14-7
*includes 1998-99 game
ACC Records in the 1990s
(as of 1/15/99)
UNC DUKE WAKE MD GAT FSU UVA CLEM NCST
W-L 100-44 98-47 81-63 71-74 68-76 54-62 65-80 56-89 45-100
(Pct.) (69.4) (67.6) (56.3) (49.0) (47.2) (46.6) (44.8) (38.6) (31.0)
