Wake Forest Athletics
Wake Forest Men's Hoops Hosts Clemson Sunday Afternoon
1/19/2001 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 19, 2001
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(10) Wake Forest (13-3/2-3) vs.
Clemson (10-7/1-3)
Jan. 21, 2001 - 1:30 p.m.
Joel Coliseum (14,407)
Winston-Salem, NC
Tip Time: 1:35 p.m.
Television: Raycom/Jefferson Pilot. Steve Martin (play-by-play) and Dan Bonner (color analysis) call the action. Beverly Rumley produces.
Radio: The Deacon Radio Network. Stan Cotten (play-by-play) and Mark Freidinger (color analysis) call the action.
The Records:Wake Forest is 13-3 overall and 2-3 in the ACC after losing at 12th-ranked Maryland Wednesday night, 81-71. Clemson is 10-7 and 1-3 following a 92-65 loss at 6th-ranked North Carolina Wednesday night.
The Rankings: The Deacons are ranked 10th in the Associated Press poll and 8th in the ESPN/USA Today poll this week. Wake has been ranked in the AP poll 11 consecutive weeks. Clemson is not ranked.
WFU Coach Dave Odom: Odom (Guilford '65) is in his 12th season at Wake Forest with a record of 234-124. In 15 years overall, he is 272-166. Odom, a three-time ACC Coach of the Year, owns the second-most wins in WFU history and the eighth-most wins in ACC history.
Clemson Coach Larry Shyatt: Shyatt (College of Wooster, '73) is 40-42 in three seasons at Clemson, 59-51 in four seasons overall.
The Series History: Wake Forest leads, 85-49.
The Officials: Announced on game day.
Wake Forest Returns Home To Face Clemson Sunday Afternoon
Wake Forest, looking to get back on track after consecutive road losses, hosts Clemson Sunday afternoon at Lawrence Joel Coliseum (1:30 p.m./Raycom-Jefferson Pilot TV).
The Deacons, 13-3 overall and 2-3 in the ACC, own a 12-game homecourt winning streak.
Wake Forest is coming off road losses at Georgia Tech (95-89 in overtime Jan. 13) and Maryland (81-71 Wednesday night). Sophomore Josh Howard scored a career-high 24 points and junior Darius Songaila recorded a double-double (16 points, 11 rebounds) in Wednesday's loss at Maryland. Clemson, 10-7 and 1-3, is also looking to get back on track after losing three of its last four games. The Tigers are coming off a 97-65 road loss at No. 6 North Carolina Wednesday night. Will Solomon (21.6 points per game), who leads the ACC in scoring, scored 17 points Wednesday against the Tar Heels. Wake Forest leads the series 85-49 and has won four straight over the Tigers.
Demon Deacon Streaks & Notes
Wake Forest is in the middle of perhaps its most difficult stretch in the schedule in which the Deacons will play four of five games on the road. Wake travels to No. 2 Duke Wednesday night.
The Deacons own a 12-game homecourt win streak, which ties for the 16th-longest current streak in college basketball and ranks as the longest current streak in the ACC.
Six of Wake's 12 remaining games in the regular season will come against teams currently ranked in the top 25. That does not include Cincinnati, which could be ranked when the two teams meet next Saturday.
The Deacons have held 25 consecutive opponents to less than 50 percent shooting. Remarkably, only one team (Georgia Tech last Saturday) has managed to shoot 50 percent against Wake in a single half over the last 50 halves.
Wake has won 20 of its last 21 against unranked teams.
Wake Forest-Clemson Series History
* Wake Forest leads the all-time series, 85-49.
* The Deacons have won the last four meetings and nine of the last 11 meetings.
* Wake swept the regular season series last season with a 79-63 win in Winston-Salem and a 67-53 victory at Clemson.
* The Deacs have won 10 straight at home against the Tigers and are 10-1 all-time against Clemson in Lawrence Joel Coliseum.
* Wake is 45-12 all-time in home games against Clemson.
* Just one of the last six meetings -- regardless of winner -- has been decided by less than 10 points.
* Wake Forest coach Dave Odom is 17-8 all-time versus Clemson.
* Clemson coach Larry Shyatt is 0-4 all-time against Wake Forest.
* The first meeting between the two teams came in 1926 in Wake Forest, NC. The Deacons won that game, 40-34.
* The two teams have met at least twice each year since 1947.
Deacon-Tiger Connections
Three players from the Triad area will be in action Sunday -- Wake's Josh Howard (Winston-Salem) and Clemson's Dwon Clifton (High Point) and Walker Holt (Greensboro).
Wake's Darius Songaila (Marijampole) and Clemson's Tomas Nagys (Mazeikai) hail from Lithuania.
Clemson assistant coach Bobby Hussey coached many years in this area as the head coach at Belmont Abbey and Davidson.
Clemson aide Matt Driscoll concluded his playing career at Greensboro College.
A Quick Look At The Last Wake Forest-Clemson Meeting
The last meeting between Wake Forest and Clemson (Feb. 8, 2000 in Winston-Salem) saw the Deacons run out to a 34-21 halftime lead and never look back in a 79-63 win over the Tigers.
Then sophomore Darius Songaila led five Deacs scoring in double figures with 16 points and added eight rebounds. Robert O'Kelley had 13 points and five assists and Craig Dawson scored 13 points in just 17 minutes. Will Solomon erupted for 29 points in the loss. The Tigers made 9-of-21 three-point field goal attempts.
A Look At The Deacon Numbers
Wake Forest ranks in the top 25 nationally in five statistical categories:
- Through Jan. 15 (the NCAA's last update in this category), Wake ranked third nationally in field goal percentage defense (currently at .371). The Deacons have held 25 straight opponents to less than 50 percent shooting. Wake's field goal percentage defense is its second-best mark since the 1955-56 season.
- Wake Forest ranks 19th nationally in field goal percentage (.495) despite shooting less than 50 percent in six of its last seven games. Wake's field goal percentage is the school's highest since the 1983-84 team shot 50.1 percent.
- While it's very early in the season, Wake is averaging more points per game (81.2 ppg.) than any Deacon team since the 1977-78 season (83.2 ppg.). Wake is just percentage points away from being ranked in the top 25 nationally in scoring offense.
- Defensively, the Deacs rank 22nd nationally in scoring defense (limiting opponents to just 61.6 points per game). Wake hasn't allowed fewer points since the 1996-97 team allowed just 58.3 points per contest.
- WFU's scoring margin (+19.6) ranks sixth nationally.
- The Deacons' free throw percentage (.738) leads the ACC and is percentage points shy of ranking among the top 25 teams nationally. Wake has shot 83.6 percent from the stripe over the last three games.
- Wake Forest leads the ACC in three-point field goal percentage defense (.237). Over the last 10 games, only Georgia Tech (.364) has shot better than 25 percent from behind the arc against Wake Forest.
- The Deacons have 106 more assists than turnovers (288 assists, 82 turnovers) and lead the ACC in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.58). In each of the previous six seasons, Wake Forest has committed more turnovers than assists.
- Individually, junior Ervin Murray leads the league in assist-to-turnover ratio (56 assists, 12 turnovers) and junior teammate Broderick Hicks ranks second (45 assists, 13 turnovers).
- In ACC games only, junior Darius Songaila ranks second in the ACC in field goal percentage (.565) and senior Robert O'Kelley ranks second in free throw percentage (.929).
Wake Has Held 25 Straight To Under 50 Percent Shooting
Wake Forest has not allowed an opponent to shoot 50 percent or better in a game since Feb. 22, 2000 (Duke) -- a streak of 25 consecutive games. Technically, Wake has held 25 straight foes to less than 46 percent shooting. Over the last 23 games, only two opponents -- Georgia Tech and Virginia -- have managed to shoot better than 40 percent against the Deacons.
Over the last 25 games the Deacons have held opponents to less than 50 percent shooting in 49 of 50 halves. Only Georgia Tech (Jan. 13) shot 50 percent or better in a half versus Wake.
The Deacons lead the ACC and rank third nationally in field goal percentage defense (currently .371).
The Deacs lead the ACC in three-point field goal percentage defense (.237).
More From Wednesday's Loss At No. 12 Maryland
Maryland's Juan Dixon scored 30 points to lead No. 12 Maryland past No. 10 Wake Forest, 81-71, Wednesday night in College Park. More from that game:
* Sophomore Josh Howard scored a career-high 24 points.
* Junior Darius Songaila recorded his second double-double of the season (16 points, 11 boards).
* Songaila and Howard both attempted 11 free throws -- the most by a Deacon this season.
* Wake sank a season-high 29 free throws.
* The Deacons made a season-low two three-point field goals.
* Maryland's 24 offensive rebounds and nine blocked shots were the most in both categories by a WFU opponent this season.
* Senior Robert O'Kelley made his 100th career start.
* Wake was out-rebounded (47-35) for the fourth straight game.
A Look At Wake Over The Last Four Games
Wake Forest has lost three of its last four games against a very difficult schedule. The three losses have come at nationally-ranked North Carolina by one point (70-69), at Georgia Tech (95-89 in overtime) and at 12th-ranked Maryland (81-71).
Statistically, the difference between Wake's 12-0 start and its recent losses have come in the areas of rebounding and defense. The Deacons have been out-rebounded by nearly six boards per game. Wake hasn't out-rebounded an opponent since Dec. 29 versus Navy. In addition, the Deacons have been whistled for 5.3 more fouls per game over the last four contests.
Deacs Suddenly Solid From The Stripe
Over the last three games Wake Forest has gone to the free throw line often (24.3 attempts per game) and it has been efficient from the stripe, shooting 83.6 percent (61-of-73).
For the season, Wake is shooting 73.8 percent from the line (78.3 percent in ACC games) to rank first in the ACC.
Individually, junior Darius Songaila (.843) ranks fourth in the ACC. In ACC games only, senior Robert O'Kelley ranks second in the league (.929).
Deacons Remain In Top 10 For Seventh Consecutive Week
Wake Forest dropped from 6th to 8th in the ESPN/USA Today poll and to 10th in the Associated Press poll. The Deacons, however, remained in the AP top 10 for the seventh consecutive week.
The latest polls demonstrate just how difficult the Wake Forest schedule is this season. Five of the nation's top 13 ranked teams are on the Deacon schedule -- (2) Duke, (5) Kansas, (6) North Carolina, (12) Maryland and (13) Virginia.
Cincinnati, Georgia, Georgia Tech and Richmond -- all Wake opponents this season -- received votes for one or both major polls this week.
More Poll Stuff
* The Deacons are rated 16th in the Ratings Percentage Index (RPI).
* Wake is ranked No. 4 in the latest Sagarin computer poll.
* The Deacs are ranked No. 10 in The Sporting News' Power Poll.
* Wake Forest is ranked No. 6 in the ESPN.com fan poll.
Deacons Will Try To Extend Homecourt Streak To 13 Games
Wake Forest has won 12 consecutive games at Lawrence Joel Coliseum including a 10-0 mark within the friendly confines this season. The streak is the longest in the ACC. The Deacons' last loss at home came against Maryland on Feb. 19, 2000 (73-67).
The 12-game streak ties for the 16th-longest current streak in Division I. The Deacs have a long way to go to approach the Joel Coliseum record of 25 straight wins from January of 1995 to January of 1997.
Robert O'Kelley Will Join Wake's 10 Most Prolific Scorers Soon
Senior Robert O'Kelley enters the Clemson game with 1,712 career points, which ranks 11th in Wake Forest history. A good shooting night against the Tigers Sunday could move the veteran guard into the top 10.
O'Kelley needs just nine points to pass Rodney Rogers (1,720 points from 1991 to 1993) and he needs 10 points to pass Chris King (1,721 points from 1988-92) for ninth place.
Point Guards Murray And Hicks Combine For 101 Assists, 25 Turnovers
Wake Forest's predominant point guards -- juniors Broderick Hicks and Ervin Murray -- have an assist-to-turnover ratio that any coach would love.
With a combined 101 assists and just 25 turnovers between them, the duo has dished out more than four assists to go with every turnover. Murray leads the ACC in assists-to-turnovers ratio (4.67) with 56 assists and just 12 turnovers.
Hicks (45 assists, 13 turnovers) ranks second in the ACC in assists-to-turnovers ratio (3.46) just behind his teammate. In ACC games, Murray has 19 assists and just three turnovers in five games. He had six assists and two turnovers Wednesday at Maryland -- the first time since Dec. 29 that he has committed more than one turnover in a game.
Hicks has committed just three turnovers in 82 minutes in the month of January (5 games).
Senior Robert O'Kelley, the starter at big guard, and freshman A.W. Hamilton, also see action periodically at point guard.
Assists & Turnovers, Part 2
As a team, Wake Forest leads the ACC in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.58). And while point guards Ervin Murray and Broderick Hicks deserve a big chunk of credit for that, it has been a team effort. Every Deacon guard has a positive assist-to-turnover ratio including shooting guard Craig Dawson (36 assists, 15 turnovers), who ranks seventh in the ACC in assist-to-turnover ratio. In addition, junior Darius Songaila has emerged as one of the better passing post players in college basketball.
Versatile Howard Sparks Defense
If you listen to his head coach, Josh Howard would lead the nation in blocking shots on the perimeter -- if the NCAA tracked such a statistic. Dave Odom is only guessing, of course, but he does help illustrate the havoc that the 6-6 Howard causes away from the basket.
Howard has 24 blocked shots this season (ranking second on the team behind Antwan Scott and eighth in the ACC) and almost all of those have come near or beyond the three-point line. He's a big reason opponents are shooting just 23.7 percent from behind the arc -- the best three-point field goal percentage defense in the ACC.
Over the last 10 games he has blocked 17 shots and has blocked at least one shot in each of those 17 games. With 57 career blocks, Howard already ranks 12th in Wake Forest blocked shots history. Howard leads Wake and ranks seventh in the ACC in steals (29).
Where Josh Howard Ranks In The ACC
Field goal percentage 5th (.543)
Scoring 13th (14.4)
Steals 7th (1.81)
Blocked shots 8th (1.50)
Songaila Moving Up Scoring List
Junior Darius Songaila enters the Clemson game with 1,078 career points and ranked 31st in Wake Forest scoring history. Songaila will join the top 30 with 27 points, which will put him ahead of Trelonnie Owens (1,104 points).
Wake's Bench A Key To Success
One of the real strengths of this Wake Forest team is its bench play. The Deacons bring at least four veteran players -- three juniors and one senior -- off the bench every game.
The Deacon bench accounts for 38 percent of the team scoring. Wake's bench has outscored the opponent's bench in all 16 games this season. Wake's key reserves include:
- Craig Dawson averages 13.8 points per game, ranks 13th in the ACC in field goal percentage and has canned 33 three-point field goals.
- Antwan Scott (8.9 ppg.) leads the team and ranks seventh in the ACC in blocked shots (26).
- Senior Rafael Vidaurreta, who has been slowed by September knee surgery, led the Deacons last season in rebounding (6.9 rpg.).
- Broderick Hicks (5.3 ppg.) ranks second on the team in assists and ranks second in the ACC behind teammate Ervin Murray in assist-to-turnover ratio.
O'Kelley Tied For 7th In ACC History With 258 Treys
Robert O'Kelley, with 258 career three-point field goals, ranks second in Wake Forest history and tied for seventh in ACC history for three-pointers made.
O'Kelley may not be able to catch Wake's all-time leader Randolph Childress (329 career three-pointers), but he will move up the ACC's all-time list. He is tied with former Georgia Tech standout Travis Best for seventh place and O'Kelley needs seven more three-pointers to pass former Duke guard Bobby Hurley (264) for sixth place.
O'Kelley also ranks second at Wake for career three-point field goal attempts (722).
Scott, Songaila Climb Blocked Shots List
Antwan Scott, a key junior reserve, ranks eighth on Wake Forest's all-time blocked shots list. Scott has 81 career blocks including a team-high 26 rejections this season.
Scott is nine blocked shots shy of passing Kenny Green for seventh place on the Wake list.
Junior Darius Songaila (62 career blocks) is ranked 10th in WFU history for career blocked shots.
Rising up the chart quickly is sophomore Josh Howard, who has 57 blocks in just one and one-half seasons. He is ranked 12th in Wake blocked shots history.
Shoemaker Among ACC Board Leaders
When senior center Rafael Vidaurreta underwent surgery in late September, Wake Forest coach Dave Odom expected senior Josh Shoemaker to step up. Shoemaker has exceeded everyone's expectations.
While Shoemaker's numbers have declined slightly since the return of Rafael Vidaurreta, he currently leads the team and ranks third in the ACC in rebounds (8.4 rpg.). Shoemaker has six double-figure rebound games this season.
Darius Songaila ranks second on the team in rebounding (6.7 rpg.).
Vidaurreta, Shoemaker Moving Up Rebounds List
Senior teammates Rafael Vidaurreta and Josh Shoemaker are both among the 20 most prolific rebounders in Wake Forest history. Vidaurreta, with 673 career rebounds, ranks 14th in Wake Forest career rebounding history. He needs 10 boards to pass Dave Budd for 13th place. He is also 27 rebounds shy of becoming the 11th player in Wake Forest history to garner 700 career rebounds.
Senior Josh Shoemaker (580 career rebounds) is ranked 20th on Wake's all-time rebounds chart but will move into 19th place with just two more rebounds.
Junior Darius Songaila (463 career rebounds) is on track to become the 26th Wake Forest player to grab 500 career boards.
Dawson Among WFU's Most Prolific Three-Point Shooters
Junior Craig Dawson enters the Clemson game with 133 career three-point field goals, ranking fifth in WFU history. He needs 19 treys to pass Rusty LaRue (151 three-pointers between 1993 and 1996) for fourth place. Dawson ranks fourth at Wake Forest for career three-point field goal attempts (351).
Winning Streak Longest In The Modern Era
Dave Odom has had many good teams and numerous talented players. But until this season, he's never had a team that has won 17 games in a row.
Wake's 17-game winning streak, which ended with a loss at North Carolina Jan. 6, is a modern day Deacon record. You have to go back to 1926 and 1927 to find a longer winning streak in WFU history (20 games). Wake won its final five games of the 1925-26 season and began the 1926-27 season by winning 15 straight.
Wake's 12-0 start was the fourth-best start in school history and the best since the 1996-97 team started 13-0.
Miscellaneous Notes
- Craig Dawson enters Sunday's game 22 points shy of his 800th career point. The junior is well on track to become the 40th Deacon to score 1,000 points. At his current pace, Dawson could reach the 1,000-point mark this season if the Deacs enjoy at least moderate success in the postseason.
- Wake Forest needs two wins to clinch its 11th straight winning season.
- Wake is averaging more assists per game (18.0) than any team in school history.
- Craig Dawson is the nephew of NBA standout Jerry Stackhouse. ?Uncle Jerry? was in attendance at the Nov. 28 game against Michigan. Dawson spent part of his Christmas holiday attending Stackhouse's wedding in Michigan.
- Frank Burlison of FoxSports.com recently gave his national midseason awards out. He named Wake's Dave Odom the coach of the year. Dick Vitale, on his website, made Odom and Stanford's Mike Montgomery co-winners of a similar award.
- Deacon assistant coach Barry Sanderson is the son of legendary and former Alabama coach, Wimp Sanderson.
- Dave Odom's sons -- Ryan (American) and Lane (Missouri) -- are both working as Division I assistant coaches.
- Wake Forest has won 14 consecutive November games. The last time the Deacs lost in November was a 59-48 loss to Temple in 1998.
- The Deacons also finished the month of December undefeated. The last time Wake went undefeated in both November and December came during the 1996-97 season.
- The Deacons have won seven straight season openers and are now 11-1 in season openers under Dave Odom following a Nov. 16 win over Mount St. Mary's. Wake is 69-28 all-time in season openers.
Wake Forest Head Coach Dave Odom
Wake Forest head coach Dave Odom (Guilford '65) owns a career record of 234-124 in 12 seasons with the Deacons, 272-166 in 15 seasons overall. Odom was the head coach at East Carolina for three seasons before taking over the Deacon program in 1989-90. The three-time ACC Coach of the Year has led Wake to 10 consecutive postseason appearances. Odom has already reached a pair of milestones this season:
* On Nov. 18, Odom won his 223rd game at Wake Forest, passing Carl Tacy as the second-winningest coach in WFU history and the eighth-winningest coach in ACC history.
* Odom needs five more ACC victories this season to become just the ninth person to win 100 ACC conference games.
