Wake Forest Athletics
Deacons To Host Second Round NIT Game
3/21/2000 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
March 21, 2000
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Wake Forest hosts New Mexico in the second round of the National Invitation Tournament this evening. The Demon Deacons are coming off an 83-68 win at Vanderbilt in the first round of the NIT last Tuesday, while the Lobos defeated South Florida, 64-58, on Wednesday night in Albuquerque.
The winner of tonight's matchup will face the winner of the California-Georgetown game (being played tonight at 9 p.m.). That quarterfinal contest will be played this Thursday or Friday at a site and time yet to be determined. The semifinals and championship of the NIT will take place next Tuesday and Thursday in New York City.
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 seven of the last eight 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 32 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.
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.
WAKE FOREST (18-14) vs NEW MEXICO (18-13)
March 21, 2000 -- 7:30 pm -- Lawrence Joel Coliseum
NIT Second Round
PROBABLE DEMON DEACON LINEUP
| No. | Name | Pos. | Ht. | Class | PPG | RPG | |
| 4 | Robert O'Kelley | G | 6'1 | Jr. | 12.9 | 1.9 | |
| 31 | Ervin Murray | G | 6'5 | So. | 3.2 | 2.0 | |
| 41 | Rafael Vidaurreta | C | 6'9 | Jr. | 4.6 | 6.8 | |
| 5 | Josh Howard | F | 6'6 | Fr. | 9.0 | 4.7 | |
| 25 | Darius Songaila | F | 6'9 | So. | 13.8 | 5.4 |
TOP RESERVES
| No. | Name | Pos. | Ht. | Class | PPG | RPG | |
| 42 | Craig Dawson | G/F | 6'5 | So. | 8.8 | 2.3 | |
| 44 | Josh Shoemaker | F/C | 6'9 | Jr. | 5.0 | 5.0 | |
| 34 | Antwan Scott | F | 6'8 | So. | 4.7 | 2.5 | |
| 3 | Broderick Hicks | G | 6'1 | So. | 3.9 | 1.3 | |
| 10 | Jim Fitzpatrick | G | 6'0 | Sr. | 0.4 | 0.5 | |
| 52 | Tate Decker | F | 6'11 | Jr. | 2.6 | 2.1 |
HEAD COACH - Dave Odom (11th year at Wake Forest) / Won 217, Lost 121
(14th year Overall) / Won 255, Lost 163
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 are 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 |
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 6-4 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 | |
| 2000 | 1st Rd | at Vanderbilt | W | 83-68 |
Wake Forest vs. New Mexico
THE SERIES - Wake Forest and New Mexico have met on just one previous occasion, a 76-71 New Mexico victory in the championship game of the 1988 Lobo Invitational in Albuquerque. The Demon Deacons led at halftime of that contest, 41-37, and the score was knotted at 70 with 2:13 remaining in the second half. The Lobos, however, rattled off five straight points to take control of the game en route to the five point victory.
New Mexico was paced by 20 points from Rob Robbins, the tournament MVP, and 18 points from center Luc Longley. Four Demon Deacons reached double figure scoring that night -- Sam Ivy (17 points), David Carlyle (12), Chris King (10) and Phil Medlin (10).
VS. THE MOUNTAIN WEST - Tonight's game will mark Wake Forest's first appearance against a member of the newly formed Mountain West Conference. Of course the Demon Deacons have faced current MWC members Air Force, Utah and Wyoming while members of the WAC.
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 - was in use as a first and second round site of the NCAA East Regional last week. Should the Demon Deacons advance past tonight's second round game, however, Joel coliseum would not be available to host a quarterfinal matchup due to a concert planned here this weekend.
ALL-ACC - Sophomore forward DARIUS SONGAILA was named to the third-team All-Atlantic Coast Conference squad, as voted on by the ACSWA. Junior ROBERT O'KELLEY, the 1998 ACC Rookie of the Year and a second-team All-ACC honoree last season, was named to the honorable mention All-ACC team.
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 eight games against ACC opponents and in the NIT 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 8 games | 73.3 | 47.8% | 74.2% | 32.7% | +4.4 |
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 131-33 (80% 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 (57-22) on its homecourt since 1990. North Carolina and Duke are the only ACC visitors 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.
Deacon Homecourt Advantage - Record in Joel Coliseum
| Non-ACC | ACC | Overall Record | |
| 1989-90 | 7-0 | 1-6 | 8-6 |
| 1990-91 | 7-1 | 6-1 | 13-2 |
| 1991-92 | 8-0 | 5-3 | 13-3 |
| 1992-93 | 7-0 | 5-3 | 12-3 |
| 1993-94 | 7-1 | 6-2 | 13-3 |
| 1994-95 | 5-0 | 7-1 | 12-1 |
| 1995-96 | 6-0 | 8-0 | 14-0 |
| 1996-97 | 6-0 | 5-3 | 11-3 |
| 1997-98 | 7-2 | 5-3 | 12-5 |
| 1998-99 | 7-1 | 6-2 | 13-3 |
| 1999-00 | 6-0 | 4-4 | 10-4 |
| Totals | 73-5 | 58-28 | 131-33 |
| (93.6%) | (67.4%) | (79.9%) |
vs. The ACC in Joel Coliseum
| Clemson | 10-1 | Maryland | 7-4 |
| Duke | 5-6 | North Carolina | 5-6 |
| Florida State | 6-3 | NC State | 9-2 |
| Georgia Tech | 8-3 | Virginia | 8-3 |
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 (seven starts) have started at the point guard position in the last 12 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 averaged 23.0 points and 7.4 rebounds, while shooting 55.6% from the floor and 90.0% from the free throw line.
SONGAILA ENTERS ELITE COMPANY - With 11 points at Vanderbilt in the NIT last Tuesday, DARIUS SONGAILA became the 11th player in Wake Forest history to score 800 points by the end of his sophomore season. Guard ROBERT O'KELLEY accomplished that feat last season, too.
Deacon Sophomore Scoring Leaders
(800+ Points at End of Sophomore Year)
| Dickie Hemric | 1,161 |
| Rodney Rogers | 1,084 |
| ROBERT O'KELLEY | 1,041 |
| Randolph Childress | 997 |
| Skip Brown | 933 |
| Sam Ivy | 903 |
| Tim Duncan | 860 |
| Chris King | 856 |
| Rod Griffin | 830 |
| Frank Johnson | 818 |
| DARIUS SONGAILA | 802 |
HOWARD IMPRESSES, TOO - Freshman JOSH HOWARD has made an impact as the only freshman on a team full of veteran players. Howard has started 30 of 32 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 scoring (9.0 ppg) and 4th in rebounding (4.7 rpg). In the last 11 games, however, Howard is averaging 12.6 points, 5.9 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.5 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 over the last 10 games as Murray is averaging 28.0 minutes, 6.1 points, 3.6 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game.
DEACS HIT MAGIC NUMBER OF "70" - Wake Forest is 13-2 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 seven of the last 10 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 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 65.0 points per game in all games and 68.7 ppg in ACC games only.
DEFENSE DOES THE JOB - Eighteen of 32 opponents have shot under 43% from the floor against Wake Forest this year -- the Demon Deacons are 16-2 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 22-98 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 (21.4 attempts per game), they have struggled to capitalize on that advantage for much of the season. As a team, Wake Forest is shooting just 67.1% from the line (only the 6th highest figure in the ACC). However things are improving -- the Deacs have hit 139-of-181 attempts (76.8%) from the free throw line in the last nine games.
THREE-POINT ACCURACY DOWN - Wake Forest has struggled with their long range accuracy this season. The Deacons are shooting 31.3% 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 17 games.
THREE-POINT STREAK CONTINUES - Wake Forest enters the second round of the NIT having made at least one three-point field goal in 262 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 1,455 points, good for 14th place on the Wake Forest all-time scoring list. O'Kelley needs 97 points to pass No. 13 Sam Ivy (1987-90).
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 |
| ........ | |
| 12. Lefty Davis (53-56) | 1,594 |
| 13. Sam Ivy (87-90) | 1,551 |
| 14. Robert O'Kelley (98- ) | 1,455 |
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- ) | 1,455 |
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 617 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- ) | 617 |
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- ) | 617 |
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 (217-121). Odom's overall record as a head coach is now 255-162 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.
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 four occasions this season (Vanderbilt, 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 32.9 mpg.
AT THE HALF - Wake Forest has held a halftime lead in 21 of 32 games, and the Deacons are 16-5 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 18 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.
The Wake Forest Record When...
| At Home | 10-4 |
| On Opponent Court | 6-6 |
| On Neutral Court | 2-4 |
| Leading at Halftime | 16-5 |
| Trailing at Halftime | 2-9 |
| Leading with 10:00 Left | 17-3 |
| 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 | 10-6 |
| WF Scores 80+ Pts | 6-0 |
| WF Scores 70-79 Pts | 7-2 |
| WF Scores 60-69 Pts | 4-8 |
| WF Scores Under 60 Pts | 1-4 |
| WF Shoots 50%+ | 7-3 |
| WF Shoots Under 50% | 11-11 |
| Opponent Shoots 50%+ | 0-4 |
| WF Atts More FTs than Opp | 13-5 |
| WF Out-Rebounds Opp | 13-8 |
| Opp Out-Rebounds WF | 5-6 |
