Wake Forest Athletics
Deacons Face Wolfpack In 206th All-Time Meeting
1/14/2000 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 14, 2000
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Wake Forest makes its first appearance at the new Entertainment & Sports Arena, and the Demon Deacons are in the midst of a four game ACC stretch that includes three contests away from home. Following this afternoon's contest, the Deacs will close out this challenging stretch at Maryland next Wednesday. Today's game is being televised regionally by the ACC-TV network.
WAKE FOREST (11-4, 2-1 in ACC)
at NC STATE (11-2, 2-1)
January 16, 2000 -- 1:30 pm
Entertainment & Sports Arena
PROBABLE DEMON DEACON LINEUP
| No. Name | Pos. | Ht. | Class | PPG | RPG |
| 4 Robert O'Kelley | G | 6'1 | Jr. | *15.1 | 1.8 |
| 5 Josh Howard | G | 6'6 | Fr. | 7.1 | 3.3 |
| 41 Rafael Vidaurreta | C | 6'9 | Jr. | 3.9 | |
| 33 Niki Arinze | F | 6'5 | So. | 6.8 | 3.7 |
| 25 Darius Songaila | F | 6'9 | So. | 12.1 | 4.3 |
TOP RESERVES
| No. Name | Pos. | Ht. | Class | PPG | RPG |
| 42 Craig Dawson | G | 6'5 | So. | 8.9 | 2.2 |
| 44 Josh Shoemaker | F | 6'9 | Jr. | 6.3 | 6.3 |
| 3 Broderick Hicks | G | 6'1 | So. | 5.9 | 1.7 |
| 34 Antwan Scott | F | 6'8 | So. | 4.5 | 2.9 |
| 31 Ervin Murray | G | 6'5 | So. | 1.2 | 1.1 |
| 52 Tate Decker | F | 6'11 | Jr. | 3.4 | 2.5 |
HEAD COACH - Dave Odom (11th year at Wake Forest) / Won 210, Lost 111
(14th year Overall) / Won 248, Lost 153
THE LINEUP - The Demon Deacons have used the starting lineup listed above in 10 of 14 games this season. BRODERICK HICKS has started two games in spot starting duty, and JOSH SHOEMAKER started three games in December and when DARIUS SONGAILA was limited because of a knee injury. The Deacs have used a total of four different starting lineups this season while the only individuals to start all 15 games this season are junior RAFAEL VIDAURRETA and freshman JOSH HOWARD.
In all, 11 different Deacons have started at least one game in their career while seven different players have started 10 or more games. Wake Forest used 15 different starting lineups during the 1998-99 season as twelve different players started at least one game.
THE HEAD COACH - The 1999-2000 season is the 11th at Wake Forest for coach DAVE ODOM, who has built the Demon Deacon program into one of the nation's best and most consistent. The Deacs made seven consecutive NCAA appearances from 1991 through 1997, then extended their string of postseason tourneys to nine in a row by playing in the 1998 and 1999 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 67% of their games, averaging 21 wins per season over the last nine 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 visits Maryland on Wednesday (9:00 / ESPN) to close out a stretch of three ACC road games in four dates. The Deacs return to Joel Coliseum next Saturday to host Duke (12:00 / CBS).
Wake Forest vs. NC State
THE SERIES - Today's game is the 206th meeting between Wake Forest and NC State in a series that dates back to 1911. The two schools have met at least twice every year since then except in 1915 and 1944.
NC State holds a 121-84 advantage in the series. However, Wake Forest has won seven of the last 10 meetings despite dropping two of three matchups last season. The Demon Deacons are 15-6 against the Wolfpack under head coach Dave Odom.
LAST YEAR'S MEETINGS - NC State won two of three meetings last season, with each team winning on its homecourt before the Wolfpack claimed victory in the ACC Tournament quarterfinals. In the first meeting in Raleigh, the Deacs led 32-28 at halftime but shot only 33% from the floor (9-27) in the second half in a 70-59 loss. Robert O'Kelley led Wake Forest with 21 points while Kenny Inge, who connected on 13 of 14 free throws, paced the Wolfpack with 20 points.
The rematch took place in Winston-Salem on the final day of the regular season, and this time Wake Forest prevailed, 74-45. The Deacons spurted to a 17-2 lead in the game's first six minutes and led 26-10 midway through the first half. State battled back by scoring nine straight points to pull within seven (26-19), but the Deacs ran off eight straight unanswered points to close out the half with a 34-19 margin. The Wolfpack was never closer than 13 points after intermission. O'Kelley led Wake Forest with 24 points in 28 minutes.
IN RALEIGH - Wake Forest won seven of 10 games in Raleigh during the 1990's, and the only Demon Deacon losses were in 1992, 1994 and 1999. However, those games were all played in Reynolds Coliseum and today the Deacs will make their first appearance in the new Entertainment and Sports Arena.
Wake Forest has enjoyed some of their finest moments in their basketball history in Raleigh and Reynolds Coliseum. The Deacons won the 1953 Southern Conference Tournament, which was played in Reynolds, a notable achievement since that was the final Southern Conference tourney prior to the formation of the Atlantic Coast Conference. Two of the four ACC Championships won by Wake Forest have also come in Raleigh (1961 & 1962).
Noting the Demon Deacons
CLOSE CALLS - Wake Forest has lost four games this season, although three of those losses have come by two points or less. Two defeats came with the opponents hitting a very difficult shot within the final five seconds of the game -- Georgia's Adrian Jones hit a three-pointer at the buzzer and Oregon's Alex Scales hit a fade-away 16-footer with four seconds left. Wake Forest is now 0-3 in games decided by five points or less. In contrast, the Deacs are 11-1 in games decided by six or more points.
"70" IS THE MAGIC NUMBER - Wake Forest is a perfect 8-0 when the Deacons score 70 or more points this season. The Deacs are just 2-4 when scoring under 70 points.
GETTING TO THE LINE IMPORTANT - The old adage that whoever attempts more free throws will usually win the game certainly holds true this season. The team that has shot more free throws is 12-2 this year -- including a 8-1 mark by Wake Forest. [Temple and Wake Forest each shot 23 free throws].
The only two times that a team took more foul shots and lost were Wake Forest's blowout of High Point and Villanova's win over the Deacs (a game that featured experimental rules where a team had the option to shoot free throws or inbound the ball) when the Wildcats simply held possession for the last 3:00 of the game in lieu of shooting free throws.
INCONSISTENT AT THE LINE - While the Deacons have been successful in getting to the free throw line this season (23.7 attempts per game), they have struggled to capitalize on that advantage. As a team, Wake Forest is shooting just 63.5% from the line (the second lowest figure in the ACC). The Deacs are just 45-76 (59.2%) on their free throw attempts in three games against ACC competition, although they have attempted nine more free throws per game than their opponents.
TAKING CARE OF THE BALL - Wake Forest has done a solid job of protecting the basketball this season, as the Deacs lead the ACC with just 13.9 turnovers per game. Over the last four games, Wake Forest is averaging just 10.5 giveaways per contest. Sunday's game will be a matchup of the ACC team that takes the best care of the ball (Wake Forest / 13.9 turnovers per game) and the team that forces the most turnovers (NC State / 21.5 per game).
SHOT TALK (INSIDE THE ARC) - Wake Forest has hit 49.2% of its field goal attempts from two-point range, the best mark for a Demon Deacon team in three years (Tim Duncan's senior season). The Deacons hit 52.2% of their two-point attempts in 1997, but dropped to 41.2% in 1998 and 47.6% in 1999.
BUT THREE-POINT ACCURACY DOWN - While Wake Forest's shooting percentage on two-point attempts is improved, the Deacs have struggled with their long range accuracy this season. The Deacons are shooting 33.6% behind the arc, the lowest team mark since Dave Odom's first season at Wake Forest in 1989-90.
The three-point shooting percentage has taken a downturn in recent weeks -- the Deacs are just 30-108 (27.8%) on long range attempts in the last seven games.
GLASS EATERS - The Demon Deacons have been solid on the boards in the first 15 games of the season, outrebounding their opponents by five boards per game. The Demon Deacons have outrebounded 10 of 15 opponents this year, posting a 8-2 record in those games. For the season, Wake Forest is outrebounding its opponents by 5.0 per game (38.7 to 33.7), the third best figure in the ACC.
IN THE NATIONAL POLLS - Wake Forest has been nationally ranked in both major polls for four weeks this season after being unranked at the outset of the 1999-2000 campaign. Currently the Demon Deacons are unranked in both major polls, however. During the first week in December, Wake Forest cracked the nation's Top 25 for the first time since December 15, 1997 when the Deacs were ranked 23rd by AP and 22nd by USA Today. Being in the national polls is nothing new to Wake Forest, however, as the Deacs were ranked in the AP poll for 54 consecutive weeks from November 1994 to March 1997.
National Rankings
| Week of | AP | USA | |
| Pre. | -- | -- | |
| Dec. 6 | 18 | 21 | |
| Dec. 13 | 25 | 23 | |
| Dec. 20 | 23 | 22 | |
| Dec. 27 | 19 | 19 | |
| Jan. 2 | -- | -- |
Against Ranked Opponents
| Opponent | AP | USA |
| Temple (W, 77-72) | 9 | 10 |
| N.Carolina (W, 66-57) | 13 | 14 |
"EL TORO" ANCHORS THE MIDDLE - While junior center RAFAEL VIDAURRETA has struggled offensively this season, head coach DAVE ODOM praises him as one of the top defensive post players in the ACC. Vidaurreta leads the Demon Deacons with 6.9 rebounds per game, including 9.3 rpg in the last three games. Defensively, Vidaurreta anchors a post defense that has held opponent starting centers to 5.6 points and 3.7 rebounds per game.
THREE-POINT STREAK CONTINUES - Wake Forest enters the game against NC State having made at least one three-point field goal in 245 consecutive games. The last time that the Demon Deacons did not make a three-pointer was in a 1992 homecourt victory over Tulane.
ODOM CRACKS ACC'S TOP 10 - Wake Forest's win over Campbell in the season opener was the 200th at the school for Demon Deacon head coach DAVE ODOM, who is now in 10th place on the ACC's all-time victory list (210-111). Wake Forest's win over North Carolina moved Odom into sole possession of 10th place on the ACC's all-time victory list past NC State legend Jim Valvano. Odom's overall record as a head coach is now 248-153 including a three-year stint at East Carolina from 1980 through 1982.
On the Wake Forest career coaching list, Odom ranks 3rd behind Carl Tacy (222-149 record from 1973-1985) and the school's all-time victory leader, Murray Greason (288-243 from 1934-1957). Odom's 88 ACC victories (he's 88-71), however, are the most for any Demon Deacon coach.
A BALANCED ATTACK - The Demon Deacons are averaging 73.1 points, but only one player is scoring more than 15 points per game. ROBERT O'KELLEY leads the Deacs with a 15.1 ppg average while DARIUS SONGAILA (12.1 ppg) is the only other player in double figures. A closer examination of the statistics reveals that seven different players are scoring over five points per game and nine different players are averaging at least four points per contest.
POINTS OFF THE BENCH - Given Wake Forest's balanced offensive production, it comes as no surprise that the Demon Deacons have received solid contributions off the bench this season. Through 15 games, the Wake Forest bench is averaging nearly 30 points per game while the starting five has totaled 43 ppg. The bench has actually outscored the starters on three occasions this season (Arkansas, High Point and MD-Eastern Shore) while the starting five has topped 50 points just three times in 15 games.
DOUBLE DIGIT DEACONS - Eight different Deacons have score in double figures at least once this season. Only two Deacs (ROBERT O'KELLEY and DARIUS SONGAILA), though, are averaging more than 10 points per contest. O'KELLEY has reached double digits in 13 games (including 12 in a row) while SONGAILA has scored in double figures on 10 occasions (and 22 of the last 29 games dating back to last season).
Double Digit Deacons
| Scoring | Rebounding | |
| Niki ARINZE | 3 times | |
| Craig DAWSON | 5 times | |
| Broderick HICKS | 2 tines | |
| Josh HOWARD | 3 times | |
| Robert O'KELLEY | 13 times (12 straight) | |
| Antwan SCOTT | 2 time | once (Arkansas) |
| Josh SHOEMAKER | once (UMES) | |
| Darius SONGAILA | 10 times (5 straight) | |
| Rafael VIDAURRETA | 3 times |
TIME SHARING - Through 15 games, the Demon Deacons have operated with a very deep bench. Nine different players are averaging better than 10 minutes per game while only one player is playing more than 30 minutes per contest. ROBERT O'KELLEY, who averaged 35.0 mpg last season, leads the team with 32.8 mpg.
NOT SO NEUTRAL - Wake Forest is 7-1 at home and 3-0 in road games this season, but the Demon Deacons have struggled to a 1-3 mark on neutral courts. The Deacs will not have another neutral site date until the ACC Tournament in Charlotte, however.
DEACS IN THE "O-DOME" - The Demon Deacon overall record in Lawrence Joel Coliseum since the facility opened for the 1989-90 season is an excellent 128-30 (81% winning pct).
After winning just one league game in Joel in its inaugural campaign (1989-90), Wake Forest has won nearly 75% of its conference games (54-19) on its homecourt since 1990. North Carolina is the only ACC visitor to post a winning record in Joel Coliseum.
Wake's record in Joel includes an outstanding 73-5 mark against non-ACC foes. Non-conference losses suffered by the Deacons in Joel Coliseum have come to Colorado in January of 1991, California in December of 1993, Utah and Vanderbilt (in the NIT) during the 97-98 season, and Arkansas last year.
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 .500 or better records against seven of their eight ACC foes, with only N. Carolina holding an advantage over the Deacs the past 10 years.
Wake Forest vs the ACC
| CLEM | DUKE | FSU | GT | MD | UNC | NCST | UVA | TOTAL | |
| Last 7 Yrs* | 11-4 | 8-5 | 9-5 | 8-6 | 7-5 | 6-10 | 9-4 | 10-4 | 68-43 |
| Last 10 Yrs* | 16-5 | 11-8 | 9-9 | 11-9 | 11-7 | 7-16 | 14-5 | 14-8 | 93-67 |
TOP HALF OF ACC - With a victory over NC State in its final regular season contest, Wake Forest claimed undisputed possession of 4th place in the final league standings for the 1999 campaign. The Demon Deacons have now finished in the top half of the ACC regular season standings (4th place or higher including ties) seven consecutive years.
NINE STRAIGHT POSTSEASON TRIPS - The Demon Deacons made a ninth straight postseason appearance with their participation in the 1999 NIT. That streak of nine straight postseason trips ranks second among ACC schools, seven of which took part in either the NCAA Tournament or NIT last year.
Consecutive Postseason Appearances by ACC Schools
| North Carolina | 33 | Duke | 4 |
| WAKE FOREST | 9 | NC State | 3 |
| Clemson | 7 | Georgia Tech | 2 |
| Maryland | 6 |
"MARCH MADNESS" RETURNS TO JOEL - The NCAA Division I Men's Basketball championship returns to Winston-Salem and Joel Coliseum this spring. After hosting first and second round action of the event in both 1993 and 1997, Wake Forest and Joel Coliseum were selected as a host site for this year's event as well.
Winston-Salem and Buffalo, N.Y., will be the two sites for the first and second rounds of the East Region this spring, with gamedates set for March 17 and 19, 2000.
ALL IN THE FAMILY - Did you know that head coach DAVE ODOM's two sons, Lane and Ryan, are both involved in coaching at the Division I level? Lane is in his second season on the staff at UNC Charlotte after previously serving on the staffs at Alabama and East Carolina, while Ryan is in his first year at UNC Asheville after a stint at Furman.
The Wake Forest Record When...
| At Home | 7-1 |
| On Opponent Court | 3-0 |
| On Neutral Court | 1-3 |
| Leading at Halftime | 8-3 |
| Trailing at Halftime | 2-1 |
| Leading with 10:00 Left | 9-3 |
| Trailing with 10:00 Left | 1-1 |
| Final Margin Fewer than 5 Pts | 0-3 |
| Final Margin 5-to-9 Pts | 5-0 |
| Final Margin in Double Figures | 6-1 |
| WF Scores 80+ Pts | 4-0 |
| WF Scores 70-79 Pts | 4-0 |
| WF Scores 60-69 Pts | 3-3 |
| WF Scores Under 60 Pts | 0-1 |
| WF Shoots 50%+ | 4-1 |
| WF Shoots Under 50% | 7-3 |
| Opponent Shoots 50%+ | 0-1 |
| WF Atts More FTs than Opp | 9-1 |
| WF Out-Rebounds Opp | 8-2 |
| Opp Out-Rebounds WF | 3-2 |
