Wake Forest Athletics
Deacons Make Tenth Straight Postseason Appearance
3/13/2000 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
March 13, 2000
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Wake Forest makes its 10th consecutive postseason appearance in this year's National Invitation Tournament. The Demon Deacons, who made seven consecutive NCAA appearances from 1991 through 1997, are appearing in the NIT for the third consecutive season and for the fifth time in school history.
The winner of tonight's matchup will face the winner of the New Mexico-South Florida first round game, and that second round contest will be played early next week at a site yet to be determined.
Tonight's game will be televised nationally by ESPN2.
WAKE FOREST (17-14) at VANDERBILT (19-10)
March 14, 2000 -- 7:30 pm (EST) -- Memorial Gym
NIT First Round
THE LINEUP - The Demon Deacons used the same starting lineup listed in 11 of the first 15 games this season (O'KELLEY, HOWARD, VIDAURRETA, ARINZE, SONGAILA) before using five different lineups over the next 10 games. Sophomore ERVIN MURRAY was inserted into the starting lineup on Feb. 15 against NC State and the Deacs have used the above listed lineup in six of the last seven games (all except "Senior Day" against Georgia Tech). Wake Forest has used nine different lineups this season while 11 different players have started at least one game. Center RAFAEL VIDAURRETA is the only individual to start all 31 games, and Vidaurreta and DARIUS SONGAILA started all 16 ACC contests.
In all, 12 different Deacons have started at least one game in their career while eight 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.
PROBABLE DEMON DEACON LINEUP
| No. | Name | Pos. | Ht. | Class | PPG | RPG |
| 4 | Robert O'Kelley | G | 6'1 | Jr. | 13.2 | 2.0 |
| 31 | Ervin Murray | G | 6'5 | So. | 3.2 | 2.0 |
| 41 | Rafael Vidaurreta | C | 6'9 | Jr. | 4.6 | 6.7 |
| 5 | Josh Howard | F | 6'6 | Fr. | 8.8 | 4.6 |
| 25 | Darius Songaila | F | 6'9 | So. | 13.9 | 5.5 |
TOP RESERVES
| No. | Name | Pos. | Ht. | Class | PPG | RPG |
| 42 | Craig Dawson | G/F | 6'5 | So. | 8.5 | 2.1 |
| 44 | Josh Shoemaker | F/C | 6'9 | Jr. | 5.0 | 4.9 |
| 34 | Antwan Scott | F | 6'8 | So. | 4.4 | 2.5 |
| 3 | Broderick Hicks | G | 6'1 | So. | 3.8 | 1.3 |
| 10 | Jim Fitzpatrick | G | 6'0 | Sr. | 0.4 | 0.6 |
| 52 | Tate Decker | F | 6'11 | Jr. | 2.6 | 2.1 |
HEAD COACH - Dave Odom (11th year at Wake Forest) / Won 216, Lost 121
(14th year Overall) / Won 254, Lost 163
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 10 in a row by playing in the 1998, 1999, and 2000 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.
TEN STRAIGHT POSTSEASON TRIPS - The Demon Deacons are making a tenth straight postseason appearance with their participation in the 2000 NIT. That streak of 10 straight postseason trips ranks second among ACC schools, six of which taking part in either the NCAA Tournament or NIT this season.
Consecutive Postseason Appearances by ACC Schools
| North Carolina | 34 | Duke | 5 |
| WAKE FOREST | 10 | NC State | 4 |
| Maryland | 7 | Virginia | 1 |
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 six of their eight ACC foes, with only North Carolina and Florida State 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 Years* | 12-4 | 8-8 | 9-6 | 10-6 | 7-7 | 7-11 | 10-5 | 11-5 | 74-52 |
| Last 10 Years* | 17-5 | 11-11 | 9-10 | 13-9 | 11-9 | 8-17 | 15-6 | 15-9 | 99-76 |
*includes 1999-2000 season
Wake Forest in the NIT
FIFTH NIT APPEARANCE - Wake Forest is making its fifth appearance in the NIT, including appearances in this tournament in each of the last three years. The Demon Deacons have an overall 5-4 record in their NIT history. Wake Forest played in the 1983 and 1985 NIT events, experiencing both success and early round disappointment, then was absent from this postseason affair until the last two years.
In '83, the Demon Deacons won three games to advance to New York for the national semi-finals where they lost to eventual champion Fresno State. Two years later, however, the Deacs were eliminated in the first round of the '85 NIT, sustaining a loss at South Florida.
In 1998, Wake Forest and Lawrence Joel Coliseum hosted two NIT contests. In the first, Coach Dave Odom's squad defeated former Odom assistant Jerry Wainwright's UNC Wilmington team in a close contest, 56-52. In the second round, Wake's season was ended by visiting Vanderbilt in another tight, hard-played matchup, 72-68.
Wake Forest NIT History
| 1983 | 1st Rd | at Murray State | W | 87-80 |
| 2nd Rd | at Vanderbilt | W | 75-68 | |
| QF | South Carolina | W | 78-61 | |
| SF | Fresno St. (@MSG) | L | 62-86 | |
| 1985 | 1st Rd | at South Florida | L | 66-77 |
| 1998 | 1st Rd | UNC Wilmington | W | 56-52 |
| 2nd Rd | Vanderbilt | L | 68-72 | |
| 1999 | 1st Rd | Alabama | W | 73-57 |
| 2nd Rd | at Xavier | L | 76-87 |
Wake Forest vs. Vanderbilt
THE SERIES - Vanderbilt leads the competition between the two schools, 4-2, in a series that has had its six meetings spread among three different decades (tonight's meeting will be the fourth decade). Vandy defeated Wake Forest twice in the 1960s (1966 & 1967) before the Deacons recorded their first win over the Commodores in the 1983 NIT.
The two schools played a home-and-home series in the 1994 and 1995 campaigns, with Wake falling in double overtime in Nashville in December on 1993, but then coming back to register a 12-point victory in Joel Coliseum on January 29, 1995. Most recently, Vanderbilt topped Wake Forest in the 1998 NIT second round, a 72-68 decision in Joel Coliseum.
The Wake Forest-Vanderbilt Series
| 1965-66 | @Vandy 102, WF 82 |
| 1966-67 | Vandy 88, @WF 82 |
| 1982-83 | WF 75, @Vandy 68 (NIT) |
| 1993-94 | @Vandy 91, WF 83 (2ot) |
| 1994-95 | @WF 63, Vandy 51 |
| 1997-98 | Vandy 72, @WF 68 (NIT) |
IN NASHVILLE - Wake Forest and Vanderbilt are meeting for the fourth time in Nashville tonight, and the Commodores have won two of the three previous meetings in this city. However, the Demon Deacons are 3-2 while playing in Nashville after winning first and second round NCAA games here in 1993 against Chattanooga and Iowa.
VS VANDERBILT IN THE NIT - Wake Forest's three game winning streak on its way to New York in the 1983 NIT included a seven-point (75-68) victory at Vanderbilt. The Deacs trailed by seven (32-25) at halftime of that contest but the one-two punch of guards Delaney Rudd (21 pts) and Danny Young (19 pts) sparked the comeback. Vanderbilt won in Winston-Salem in the 1998 NIT, led by 19 points and 9 rebounds from Dan Langhi off the bench.
Noting the Demon Deacons
NCAA IN JOEL - Wake Forest was forced to go on the road for the first round of the NIT, as the Demon Deacons' home floor - Joel Coliseum - is in use as a first and second round site of the NCAA East Regional this weekend. 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.
Should the Demon Deacons advance past tonight's first round game, the coliseum would be available to host a second round matchup.
OFFENSE GETS IN GEAR - After struggling through much of the first half of the ACC schedule, the Deacon offense has come alive in the last three weeks. Below is a breakdown of Wake's offensive production over the last seven games against ACC opponents (including the tournament) versus the first nine league games:
Wake Forest Offensive Production
| ppg | FG% | FT% | 3pt% | Reb Margin | |
| 1st 9 ACC | 61.4 | 37.9% | 64.8% | 29.4% | +1.9 |
| last 7 ACC | 71.9 | 46. 6% | 75.2% | 33.0% | +4.0 |
LINEUP ADJUSTMENT - Wake Forest made a minor lineup adjustment prior to the game at Davidson on Feb. 2, moving junior ROBERT O'KELLEY off the point and to the shooting guard position in an attempt to get him better looks at the basket and jump-start his offense. Senior JIM FITZPATRICK (five starts) and sophomore ERVIN MURRAY (six starts) have started at the point guard position in the last 11 games.
SONGAILA EARNS ACC WEEKLY HONOR - Demon Deacon forward DARIUS SONGAILA was named "ACC Player of the Week" on Feb. 28 after turning in a pair of career-best performances. At second-ranked Duke, the Marijampole, Lithuania native, netted a then career-high 25 points. He followed that performance with a new career high of 26 points in the Deacs' 76-64 win over Georgia Tech. In the two contests, he averaged 25.5 points and 6 rebounds, while hitting on 92.9 percent of his free throw attempts.
SONGAILA MAKES HIS MARK - Since returning to the lineup on a full time basis from a knee injury on Jan. 4 against Florida State, sophomore forward DARIUS SONGAILA has raised his level of play and is making a strong push for All-ACC honors. Songaila led the team in scoring in ACC games only (16.6 ppg), he led the conference in free throw percentage (87.9%), ranked 6th in field goal percentage (53.6%), and 7th in scoring in league games only.
SONGAILA TOPS "20" - Sophomore forward DARIUS SONGAILA scored 20 points or more in each of the final five games of the regular season. During those last five games, Songaila has averaged 23.0 points and 7.4 rebounds, while shooting 55.6% from the floor and 90.0% from the free throw line.
HOWARD IMPRESSES, TOO - Freshman JOSH HOWARD has made an impact as the only freshman on a team full of veteran players. Howard has started 29 of 31 games, an impressive feat considering that 10 other Demon Deacons had started at least one game in their career entering this season. He is currently 3rd on the team in both scoring (8.8 ppg) and rebounding (4.6 rpg). In the last 10 games, however, Howard is averaging 12.2 points, 6.0 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.6 steals per contest.
MURRAY AT THE POINT - Sophomore guard ERVIN MURRAY has stepped into the starting lineup at the point guard position, providing the solid defense, play-making and ball handling skills that put him into the starting lineup in 14 games in 1998-99. He has come on strong, and over the last nine games Murray is averaging 28.6 minutes, 6.6 points, 3.8 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game.
DEACS HIT MAGIC NUMBER OF "70" - Wake Forest is 12-2 when the Deacons score 70 or more points this season. The Deacs had not topped 70 points for 12 straight games (from Dec. 29 to Feb. 8) before doing so in six of the last nine games. Duke is the only team to defeat Wake Forest when the Deacs score over 70 points (Feb. 22 in Durham and Mar. 11 in the ACC Tournament). Wake is just 5-12 when scoring under 70 points, including a 1-4 mark when failing to break the 60-point plateau.
TAKING CARE OF THE BALL - Wake Forest has done a solid job of protecting the basketball this season, and the Deacs are tied for the ACC lead with an average of 13.8 turnovers per game. In fact, Wake Forest has turned the ball over 12 times or less in nine of 16 ACC contests this season, including a season-low six turnovers in the home finale versus Georgia Tech.
DEACONS BEGIN WITH "D" - Wake Forest under head coach Dave Odom has always been known for its solid defensive play, and this year is no exception. The Demon Deacons are second in the ACC in scoring defense, allowing just 64.9 points per game in all games and 68.7 ppg in ACC games only.
DEFENSE DOES THE JOB - Seventeen of 31 opponents have shot under 43% from the floor against Wake Forest this year -- the Demon Deacons are 15-2 in those games. Florida State (on Feb. 5) and Duke (on Mar. 11) are the only teams to defeat Wake Forest when shooting under 43% from the floor. When the opposition has shot over 43%, the Deacs are just 2-12.
CLOSE CALLS - Three of Wake Forest's losses this season 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 lost to Florida State, 66-64, on Jan. 4. Wake Forest is now 2-5 in games decided by five points or less (with victories coming over Temple and at Virginia).
GETTING TO THE LINE IMPORTANT - The old adage that whomever attempts more free throws will usually win the game certainly holds true this season. The team that has shot more free throws is 22-8 this year (although Wake Forest is just 13-6 when attempting more charity tosses). [Temple and Wake Forest each shot 23 free throws].
INCONSISTENT AT THE LINE - While the Deacons have been successful in getting to the free throw line this season (21.8 attempts per game), they have struggled to capitalize on that advantage for much of the season. As a team, Wake Forest is shooting just 67.2% from the line (only the 6th highest figure in the ACC). However things are improving -- the Deacs have hit 133-of-171 attempts (77.8%) from the free throw line in the last eight games.
THREE-POINT ACCURACY DOWN - Wake Forest has struggled with their long range accuracy this season. The Deacons are shooting 31.2% behind the arc, the lowest team mark since the three-point shot was instituted in 1986-87.
That percentage has taken a downturn since the new year -- the Deacs hit just 30.7% on long range attempts in 16 ACC games. In fact, the Deacs have failed to shoot at least 30% from 3-point territory in nine of the last 16 games.
THREE-POINT STREAK CONTINUES - Wake Forest enters the NIT having made at least one three-point field goal in 261 consecutive games. The last time that the Demon Deacons did not make a three-pointer was a 1992 homecourt victory over Tulane.
O'KELLEY CLIMBS THE CHARTS - Last season, guard ROBERT O'KELLEY became just the third player in Wake Forest history to reach the 1,000 point plateau by the end of his sophomore year (Dickie Hemric and Rodney Rogers are the others). O'Kelley currently has 1,451 points, good for 15th place on the Wake Forest all-time scoring list. O'Kelley needs 3 points to pass No. 14 Jack Williams (1953-57).
Wake Forest Career Scoring
| 1. Dickie Hemric (52-55) | 2,587 |
| 2. Randolph Childress (91-95) | 2,208 |
| 3. Len Chappell (60-62) | 2,165 |
| 4. Tim Duncan (94-97) | 2,117 |
| ........ | |
| 13. Sam Ivy (87-90) | 1,551 |
| 14. Jack Williams (53-57) | 1,453 |
| 15. Robert O'Kelley (98- ) | 1,451 |
O'KELLEY ENTERS ELITE COMPANY - With 15 points at North Carolina, ROBERT O'KELLEY became only the sixth junior in Wake Forest history to score 1,400 points. Below is a list of the school's all-time scoring leaders at the end of their junior season. (Of course, from the mid-50s until the 1972-73 season freshmen did not play on the varsity level.)
Deacon Junior Scoring Leaders
(1400+ Points at End of Junior Year)
| Dickie Hemric (1952-55) | 1,841 |
| Rodney Rogers (1991-93) | 1,720 |
| Randolph Childress (1991-95) | 1,564 |
| Skip Brown (1974-77) | 1,476 |
| Tim Duncan (1994-97) | 1,472 |
| ROBERT O'KELLEY (1998- ) | 1,451 |
VIDAURRETA & THE GLASS - Junior RAFAEL VIDAURRETA became the 24th member of the 500 rebound club at Wake Forest against North Carolina on Jan. 12. He is currently 17th on the Wake Forest career rebounding chart with 608 boards.
Wake Forest Career Rebounding
| 1. Dickie Hemric (52-55) | 1,802 |
| 2. Tim Duncan (94-97) | 1,570 |
| 3. Len Chappell (60-62) | 1,213 |
| ........ | |
| 15. Larry Harrison (76-79) | 631 |
| 16. Lefty Davis (53-56) | 618 |
| 17. Rafael Vidaurreta (98- ) | 608 |
VIDAURRETA REACHES MILESTONE - With nine rebounds against Duke in the ACC Tournament semifinals, RAFAEL VIDAURRETA became the just the fifth WFU player to grab at least 600 rebounds by the end of his junior season. Below are the school's all-time rebounding leaders at the end of their junior season.
Deacon Junior Rebounding Leaders
(600+ Rebounds at End of Junior Year)
| Dickie Hemric (1952-55) | 1,287 |
| Tim Duncan (1994-97) | 1,113 |
| Rodney Rogers (1991-93) | 705 |
| Rod Griffin (1975-78) | 656 |
| RAFAEL VIDAURRETA (1998- ) | 608 |
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 9th place on the ACC's all-time victory list (216-121). Wake Forest's win over Georgia Tech moved Odom into 9th place on the ACC's all-time victory list past Duke legend Vic Bubas. Odom's overall record as a head coach is now 254-162 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 94 ACC victories (he's 94-78), however, are the most for any Demon Deacon coach and the 10th highest in ACC history.
DOUBLE DIGIT DEACONS - Ten different Deacons have scored 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 23 games (including 22 of the last 27) while SONGAILA has scored in double figures on 24 occasions (including 35 of the last 47 overall dating to last season).
Double Digit Deacons
| Scoring | Rebounding | |
| Niki ARINZE | 3 times | |
| Craig DAWSON | 11 times | |
| Broderick HICKS | 2 times | |
| Josh HOWARD | 13 times (10 of last 13) | 2 times |
| Ervin MURRAY | once | |
| Robert O'KELLEY | 23 times (22 of 26) | |
| Antwan SCOTT | 4 times | once |
| Josh SHOEMAKER | 3 times | |
| Darius SONGAILA | 24 times (18 of 21) | 2 times |
| Rafael VIDAURRETA | 3 times (3 of last 7) | 5 times |
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. The Wake Forest bench is averaging 25.9 points per game while the starting five has totaled 43.0 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 nine times.
TIME SHARING - The Demon Deacons have operated with a very deep bench. Ten 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 33.0 mpg.
AT THE HALF - Wake Forest has held a halftime lead in 20 of 31 games, and the Deacons are 15-5 in those contests. However, since building a halftime lead in 12 of the first 14 games, Wake has trailed at the half in nine of the last 17 contests.
TOP HALF OF ACC STREAK ENDS - Wake Forest finished in fifth place in the ACC regular season standings this season, ending a streak of seven consecutive seasons that the Demon Deacons finished in the top half of the ACC regular season standings (4th place or higher including ties).
However, Wake Forest and North Carolina are the only two schools to finish in the top five of the ACC standings in each of the last eight years. Coincidentally, the Demon Deacons and Tar Heels are the only to schools to have never played on Thursday in the ACC Tournament.
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 | 10-4 |
| On Opponent Court | 5-6 |
| On Neutral Court | 2-4 |
| Leading at Halftime | 15-5 |
| Trailing at Halftime | 2-9 |
| Leading with 10:00 Left | 16-3 |
| Trailing with 10:00 Left | 1-11 |
| Final Margin Fewer than 5 Pts | 0-3 |
| Final Margin 5-to-9 Pts | 8-5 |
| Final Margin in Double Figures | 9-6 |
| WF Scores 80+ Pts | 5-0 |
| WF Scores 70-79 Pts | 7-2 |
| WF Scores 60-69 Pts | 4-8 |
| WF Scores Under 60 Pts | 1-4 |
| WF Shoots 50%+ | 6-3 |
| WF Shoots Under 50% | 11-11 |
| Opponent Shoots 50%+ | 0-4 |
| WF Atts More FTs than Opp | 13-5 |
| WF Out-Rebounds Opp | 12-8 |
| Opp Out-Rebounds WF | 5-6 |
