Wake Forest Athletics
Wake Forest Looks For 20th Win
3/23/2000 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
March 23, 2000
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Wake Forest hosts California in the quarterfinals of the National Invitation Tournament this evening. The Demon Deacons are coming off a 72-65 win over New Mexico in the second round of the NIT last Tuesday, while the Golden Bears defeated Georgetown, 60-49, on Tuesday night in Berkeley.
The winner of tonight's matchup will advance to New York City and Madison Square Garden for the NIT semifinals and championship. Tonight's winner will face NC State/Ole Miss on Tuesday, while the other semifinal will feature Notre Dame and Penn State.
Tonight also marks the return of Wake Forest to the Greensboro Coliseum. This building hosted a number of Deacon regular season contests from 1982-89, and is also the sight of Wake Forest's back-to-back ACC Championships in 1995 and 1996.
WAKE FOREST (19-14) vs CALIFORNIA (18-14)
March 24, 2000 -- 7:30 pm -- Greensboro Coliseum
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 nine 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 33 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.
PROBABLE DEMON DEACON LINEUP
| No. | Name | Pos. | Ht. | Class | PPG | RPG |
| 4 | Robert O'Kelley | G | 6'1 | Jr. | 13.0 | 1.9 |
| 31 | Ervin Murray | G | 6'5 | So. | 3.2 | 2.0 |
| 41 | Rafael Vidaurreta | C | 6'9 | Jr. | 4.8 | 6.9 |
| 5 | Josh Howard | F | 6'6 | Fr. | 9.2 | 4.7 |
| 25 | Darius Songaila | F | 6'9 | So. | 13.7 | 5.6 |
TOP RESERVES
| No. | Name | Pos. | Ht. | Class | PPG | RPG |
| 42 | Craig Dawson | G/F | 6'5 | So. | 8.9 | 2.3 |
| 44 | Josh Shoemaker | F/C | 6'9 | Jr. | 4.9 | 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 218, Lost 121
(14th year Overall) / Won 256, 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 7-4 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 three 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 |
| 2nd Rd | New Mexico | W | 72-65 |
Wake Forest vs. California
THE SERIES - Wake Forest and California have met on two previous occasions, with the Golden Bears sweeping a home-and-home series in 1992 and 1993. In 1992 at the Oakland Coliseum, Cal shot 79.2% in the second half to break open a three-point game (33-30) at intermission and cruise to a 81-65 victory. Cal's Lamond Murray paced the Bears with 22 points while Brian Kendrick (15 points) and Jason Kidd (14 points) also scored in double figures. Wake Forest was led by 20 points from Randolph Childress and 15 points from Rodney Rogers.
The Golden Bears took a 73-72 decision in December of 1993 in Joel Coliseum in a game that came down to the wire. The Demon Deacons trailed by 10 points midway through the second half, but proceeded to take a one point lead with 9.5 seconds left when Childress connected on one of two free throws. Kidd then hit the front end of a one-and-one free throw with 5.4 second left to tie the score at 72-72. He missed the second free throw but grabbed his own offensive rebound and was fouled in the act of shooting with 3.8 seconds left. Kidd hit one of two free throws to give the Golden Beads the one-point victory.
Cal was led by K.J. Roberts, who scored 24 points, while Childress (22 points) and freshman Tim Duncan (15 points and 13 rebounds) paced Wake Forest.
AGAINST THE PAC-10 - Tonight's game will mark only the ninth time that Wake Forest has faced a current member of the Pac-10 Conference, and the Demon Deacons are 3-5 in their previous eight meetings against schools from that conference. Wake Forest owns wins over USC (1955), UCLA (1962), and Oregon State (1978), while dropping contests to Oregon (1968 & 2000) and Stanford (1997) in addition to the above mentioned games against Cal.
The Demon Deacons are 0-4 against the Pac-10 under head coach Dave Odom.
Noting the Demon Deacons
LOOKING FOR #20 - With a win tonight over California, Wake Forest would reach the 20-win plateau for the sixth time in the last eight years. Since 1993, the Demon Deacons have averaged 22 wins per year under head coach Dave Odom.
NCAA IN JOEL LAST WEEK & WHY WE'RE IN GREENSBORO - 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. The Deacs did play a second round game in Joel Coliseum on Tuesday night, but the arena is not be available to host a quarterfinal matchup due to a concert already scheduled in Joel this weekend. Therefore, Wake Forest school officials negotiated to play tonight's game here in the Greensboro Coliseum.
HERE IN GREENSBORO - Discounting the ACC Tournament, tonight marks only Wake Forest's second appearance in the Greensboro Coliseum since the facility was expanded from its previous 16,000-seat capacity. The last time the Demon Deacons played here in a game not involving the conference tournament was a 1994-95 regular season matchup with Florida (which was won by the Gators, 81-70).
Prior to the opening of the Lawrence Joel Coliseum in the fall of 1989, the Deacons were frequent visitors to this building , hosting most of their ACC opponents here for eight years (from 1982 through the 1989 season). During that time, Wake Forest actually had a losing record here, compiling a 25-31 mark against ACC and some top non-conference competition. That record includes six straight overtime defeats, including a historic four-overtime loss to NC State (110-103) in the 1988-89 regular season finale.
Despite those regular season struggles, the Demon Deacons have experienced a great deal of success on this floor during the postseason. Wake Forest compiled a 7-2 mark here in the ACC Tournament in the 1990s, including winning a pair of back-to-back ACC Championships in 1995 and 1996.
The Greensboro Coliseum was also the site of Wake Forest's four first-place finishes in the popular Big Four Tournament (with Duke, North Carolina & NC State), more than any other school. The Deacs won three straight Big Four crowns beginning in 1975, and took the last title in that event in 1980.
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 nine 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 9 games | 73.1 | 47.0% | 73.6% | 31.7% | +5.5 |
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 132-33 (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 74-5 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.
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 | 814 |
SONGAILA AT THE LINE - Sophomore DARIUS SONGAILA has established himself as one of the top free throw shooters, not only in the ACC, but across the nation. Songaila currently leads the conference with a 84.6% mark at the line, and led the league with a 87.9% mark in ACC games only. Songaila has connected on 31 consecutive free throws, and over the last seven games he has converted 40 of his last 41 attempts (97.6%).
DAWSON HEATS UP - It's no coincidence that as Wake Forest has warmed up during the postseason, sophomore CRAIG DAWSON has regained his smooth shooting stroke. In four ACC Tournament and NIT games, Dawson is shooting 67.6% (23-34) from the floor and averaging 13.5 ppg. In two NIT games, Dawson is 12-of-16 (75.0%) from the floor and is averaging 14.5 ppg.
However, Dawson is doing more damage from inside the arc as opposed to lighting it up from three-point range. In four postseason games, Dawson is shooting 81.8% (18-for-22) on 2pt field goal attempts.
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 12 games, however, Howard is averaging 12.7 points, 6.0 rebounds, 2.7 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 11 games as Murray is averaging 28.3 minutes, 6.0 points, 3.5 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game.
DEACS HIT MAGIC NUMBER OF "70" - Wake Forest is 14-2 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 eight 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 lead the ACC 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 - Nineteen of 33 opponents have shot under 43% from the floor against Wake Forest this year -- the Demon Deacons are 17-2 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 23-9 this year (although Wake Forest is just 14-6 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 67.0% from the line (only the 6th highest figure in the ACC). However things are improving -- the Deacs have hit 158-of-208 attempts (76.0%) 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 31.0% behind the arc, the lowest team mark since the three-point shot was instituted in 1986-87. That percentage took 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 10 of the last 18 games.
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 1,469 points, good for 14th place on the Wake Forest all-time scoring list. O'Kelley needs 83 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- ) | 1,469 |
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- ) | 1,469 |
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 16th 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 |
| ........ | |
| 14. Alvis Rogers (79-83) | 656 |
| 15. Larry Harrison (76-79) | 631 |
| 16. Rafael Vidaurreta (98- ) | 628 |
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- ) | 628 |
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 (218-121). Odom's overall record as a head coach is now 256-162 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.
THREE-POINT STREAK CONTINUES - Wake Forest enters the quarterfinals of the NIT having made at least one three-point field goal in 263 consecutive games. The last time that the Demon Deacons did not make a three-pointer was a 1992 homecourt victory over Tulane.
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 | 11-4 |
| On Opponent Court | 6-6 |
| On Neutral Court | 2-4 |
| Leading at Halftime | 17-5 |
| Trailing at Halftime | 2-9 |
| Leading with 10:00 Left | 18-3 |
| Trailing with 10:00 Left | 1-11 |
| Final Margin Fewer than 5 Pts | 0-3 |
| Final Margin 5-to-9 Pts | 9-5 |
| Final Margin in Double Figures | 10-6 |
| WF Scores 80+ Pts | 6-0 |
| WF Scores 70-79 Pts | 8-2 |
| WF Scores 60-69 Pts | 4-8 |
| WF Scores Under 60 Pts | 1-4 |
| WF Shoots 50%+ | 7-3 |
| WF Shoots Under 50% | 12-11 |
| Opponent Shoots 50%+ | 0-4 |
| WF Atts More FTs than Opp | 14-5 |
| WF Out-Rebounds Opp | 14-8 |
| Opp Out-Rebounds WF | 5-6 |
