Wake Forest Athletics
Deacons Set To Clash With Wolfpack
2/27/2001 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 27, 2001
Complete Release in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader
#23 Wake Forest (18-9/7-8)
at
NC State (13-13/5-9)
March 4, 2001 n 1:30 p.m.
Entertainment & Sports Arena (19,722) Raleigh, NC
Tip Time: 1:36 p.m.
Television:
Raycom/Jefferson-Pilot. Bob Rathbun (play-by-play) and former Deacon standout Gil McGregor (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 18-9 overall and 7-8 in the ACC after an 82-80 loss to No. 4 Duke on Saturday afternoon. NC State is 13-13 and 5-9 following a 71-46 win over visiting Florida State on Sunday. The Wolfpack plays at No. 4 North Carolina on Wednesday.
The Rankings:
The Deacons are ranked 23rd in the Associated Press poll and 21st in the ESPN/USA Today poll this week.
WFU Coach Dave Odom:
Odom (Guilford ?65) is in his 12th season at Wake Forest with a record of 239-130. In 15 years overall, he is 277-172. 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.
NC State Coach Herb Sendek:
Sendek (Carnegie Mellon '85) is 86-71 in five seasons in Raleigh, 149-97 in eight years overall.
The Series History:
NC State leads, 122-87.
The Officials:
Announced on game day.
Deacons Wrap Up Regular Season Sunday At NC State
Wake Forest,18-9 overall and 7-8 in the ACC, concludes regular season play Sunday afternoon against NC State at the Entertainment & Sports Arena in Raleigh (1:30 p.m./Raycom-Jefferson Pilot).
The Deacons need a win to finish at .500 in the ACC standings for the first time since finishing 11-5 in 1997.
Wake is coming off a heartbreaking 82-80 loss to then No. 4-ranked Duke Saturday in Winston-Salem. Robert O'Kelley's three-pointer with eight seconds left tied the game at 80-80, but Duke's Chris Duhon hit an off-balanced jumper as time expired to give the Blue Devils the victory.
NC State, 13-13 and 5-9, posted an impressive 71-46 win over visiting Florida State on Sunday behind Anthony Grundy's 20 points. The Wolfpack play at No. 4 North Carolina Wednesday night.
NC State leads the all-time series, 122-87. The Deacons have won the last three meetings including a 74-69 overtime win in Winston-Salem on Jan. 31.
Wake's ACC Tournament Seed Scenarios
Wake Forest could be the No. 5, No. 6 or No. 7 seed in the March 8-11 ACC Tournament in Atlanta. Here are the possibilities:
No. 5 Seed
Wake Forest beats NC State on Sunday.
Georgia Tech loses at Florida State on Wednesday.
Virginia loses to both Clemson (Wednesday) and at Maryland (Saturday).
No. 6 Seed
Wake Forest beats NC State on Sunday.
Virginia defeats either Clemson (Wednesday) or Maryland (Saturday), or
Georgia Tech beats Florida State on Wednesday.
OR
NC State loses at North Carolina on Wednesday.
NC State beats Wake Forest on Sunday.
No. 7 Seed
NC State wins at North Carolina on Wednesday.
Wake Forest loses at NC State on Sunday.
Wake Forest-NC State Series History
- NC State leads the all-time series, 122-87.
- Wake Forest has won the last three meetings including a 74-69 overtime contest in Winston-Salem on Jan. 31.
- The Demon Deacons have won 11 of the last 15 meetings and 14 of the last 19 meetings.
- The last two meetings were both decided in overtime including Wake's 62-59 win in the semifinals of last year's NIT.
- When playing on the road at NC State, Wake Forest is 51-85 all-time including a record of 0-1 at the Entertainment & Sports Arena. The Wolfpack won the only previous meeting in that building, 76-56 on Jan. 16, 2000.
- The home team has won the last six meetings.
- Only Duke (216 games against Wake Forest) has played the Deacons more frequently than NC State (209 previous meetings). Sunday's meeting will be the sixth between the two teams over the last two seasons.
- The two teams first met in the 1910-11 season. The Deacons and Wolfpack have met every year since 1911 with the exception of the 1914-15 season and the 1943-44 season (Wake did not field a team in 1943-44).
- Wake Forest coach Dave Odom is 18-7 all-time versus NC State.
- NC State's Herb Sendek is 4-7 all-time against Wake Forest.
- Wake and NCSU will meet in the regular season finale for the 13th time in 15 years.
- Wake Forest sophomore Josh Howard and NC State sophomore Clifford Crawford are both from Winston-Salem. Howard played on the high school level at Glenn HS while Crawford attended Parkland HS.
- Former Deacon Rodney Rogers and former Wolfpack Tom Gugliotta are teammates with the Phoenix Suns. Former Deac Frank Johnson is a Suns assistant coach.
A Quick Look At The Last Wake-State Meeting
Broderick Hicks hit a three-point field goal with five seconds left to send the game into overtime as Wake Forest beat NC State, 74-69, Jan. 31 at Joel Coliseum.
Senior Robert O'Kelley, who came off the bench for the first time all season, led Wake with 14 points. O'Kelley also hit a key free throw in overtime.
Wake, which led 50-34 with 12:11 to play, gave up a 25-9 run to State, tying the game with 1:33 to play.
A Closer Look At The Deacon Numbers
Wake Forest leads the ACC in two statistical categories -- scoring defense and three-point field goal percentage defense -- and the Deacons rank second in two other categories.
More Deacon statistical notes:
- The Deacs rank first in the ACC in scoring defense, limiting opponents to just 66.2 points per game.
- Wake Forest leads the ACC in three-point field goal percentage defense (.299) -- the lowest percentage in school history.
- WFU's scoring margin (+11.7) ranks 18th nationally.
- Wake is holding opponents to just 40.4 percent shooting.
- Wake Forest's field goal percentage (.468) is its highest since the 1994-95 season.
- Wake is averaging more points per game (77.9) than any Deacon team since 1990-91 (80.5).
- The Deacons own an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.31 with 102 more assists than turnovers. Prior to this season, Wake went six consecutive seasons with more turnovers than assists.
- The Deacs are averaging more steals per game (7.4) than any team since the 1990-91 season.
- Individually, junior Ervin Murray leads the ACC in assist-to-turnover ratio (78 assists, 24 turnovers), junior teammate Craig Dawson ranks fourth (2.39 ratio) and Broderick Hicks ranks sixth (2.12).
- Josh Shoemaker ranks third in the ACC in rebounds per game (7.6), third in defensive rebounds per game (5.63).
- Shoemaker's rebound average (7.6) and field goal percentage (.543) this season are the highest numbers in those categories since Tim Duncan in 1996-97.
- Josh Howard ranks among the ACC leaders in field goal percentage, steals, rebounding, scoring and blocked shots.
- Howard has more steals (53) than any Deacon since Rodney Rogers recorded 54 pilfers in 1993.
Deacons Eye 11th Straight Postseason Appearance
Wake Forest, 18-9 overall heading into Sunday's regular season finale, is hoping for its 11th consecutive postseason berth.
North Carolina is the only ACC team with a longer current streak. UNC has made 34 straight postseason appearances.
Wake, which won the NIT last season, is looking for its first NCAA Tournament bid since 1997.
Four Wake Losses Have Come At Final Buzzer Or In OT Twice this season Wake Forest has watched its opponent -- a highly-ranked opponent -- celebrate victories after hitting buzzer-beating shots.
Saturday, 4th-ranked Duke beat the Deacons 82-80 after Chris Duhon hit an off-balanced jumper as the final buzzer sounded. At North Carolina on Jan. 6, Brendan Haywood's dunk in the final seconds gave the Tar Heels a 70-69 victory.
Two other losses -- at Georgia Tech and at Cincinnati -- have come in overtime.
More on Wake's close losses this season:
- In both losses to Duke, Wake Forest was missing key players. At Duke, Josh Howard sat out with the flu. Saturday, Ervin Murray did not play because of tendonitis in his knee.
- All nine losses have come against teams that will likely play in the NCAA Tournament. Seven losses have come against teams currently ranked in the top 25. The other two losses came against Cincinnati and Georgia Tech, which are receiving votes for the top 25.
- Five Wake losses have been by six points or less.
Narrow Losses
Date Opponent Result Key play(s)
J6 at #13 N. Carolina L, 69-70 :03 Haywood layup
J13 at Georgia Tech L, 89-95 ot GT 7-8 FTs in final :26
J27 at Cincinnati L, 72-78 ot :10 Satterfield 2 FTs
F24 vs. #4 Duke L, 80-82 :00 Duhon jumper
Ervin Murray Nursing Knee Tendonitis
Junior point guard Ervin Murray, who leads the ACC in assist-to-turnover ratio, is suffering from tendonitis in his right knee. He is questionable for Sunday's game at NC State. In his three previous games combined, Murray played just 20 minutes. Murray, who has started 12 times this season, leads the Deacs in assists.
Versatile Josh Howard Has Emerged As A Star
Sophomore Josh Howard's stock, much like the stock of Krispy Kreme Donuts, has soared over the last two years. But while the Winston-Salem donut company's performance has slowed, Howard just continues to get better and better.
And there aren't any holes in Howard's game.
Offensively, he leads the team in scoring (14.2 points per game) and he has developed into a go-to type player in crunch time. Defensively, he uses his speed and athleticism to cause havoc on the perimeter. Statistically, Howard ranks among the ACC leaders in scoring, rebounding, field goal percentage, steals and blocked shots.The only other player in the ACC who ranks in all the same categories is Duke's Shane Battier.
More on Howard:
- He leads the team in scoring overall (14.2 ppg.) and in ACC games only (15.2 ppg.). Throw out the Cincinnati game -- when he played just 18 minutes because of the flu -- and he has scored at least 12 points in every game since Dec. 29.
- Against nationally-ranked teams, Howard turns his game up a notch, averaging 16.4 points per game.
- He ranks sixth in the ACC in field goal percentage (.508).
- Howard ranks ninth in the ACC in blocked shots with 31. Most of those rejections have come near or beyond the three-point arc -- a big reason Wake is holding opponents to an ACC-best 29.9 percent shooting from three-point range.
- He ranks fourth in the ACC in steals (2.04 per game) and he recorded five pilfers at Clemson last Wednesday.
- Howard continues to develop into an outstanding rebounder. Over his last eight games, he has averaged 8.1 rebounds per contest.
- Howard has made great strides at the free throw line. In conference games, he is shooting a solid 73.2 percent from the stripe this season, compared to just 55.1 percent in league games last season.
- He has gone to the free throw line more often (126 attempts) than any Deacon this season.
- The three-point field goal has been added to his offensive arsenal. In the first 19 games of the season, Howard made just seven three-point field goals. But over the last eight games he has racked up nine three-pointers.
- And Howard is accurate from three-point range. In ACC games, he is shooting 45.8 percent (11-of-24) from beyond the arc.
- He leads the team in double-doubles with four, including a 14-point, 11-rebound effort Saturday against 4th-ranked Duke. All four double-doubles have come since Jan. 21.
- Howard is in just his second season, but already ranks 11th on Wake's all-time blocked shots list with 64. He has already eclipsed the 700-point mark (he has 704) and 300 rebounds (he currently has 322).
- Howard is on track to record more career steals than anyone in WFU history, with the exception of all-time leader Tyrone ?Muggsy? Bogues. He has more steals this season (53) than any Deacon in one season since Rodney Rogers had 54 pilfers in 1992-93.
- Last Wednesday's game at Clemson is a good example of why Howard is one of the ACC's top defensive players. Will Solomon, the ACC's leading scorer at 21.8 ppg., was held to nine points by Howard on 3-of-9 shooting. Solomon attempted just three first-half shots.
Steady Songaila One Of The ACC's Best
Darius Songaila rarely makes ESPN's ?Plays of the Week.? After all, he has just five dunks this season, he has never scored more than 30 points or grabbed more than 12 rebounds.
Regardless, Songaila is one of the ACC's best players and he is certainly one of the league's most consistent performers.
In addition to scoring (13.3 ppg.) and rebounding (6.1 rpg.), Songaila is a good shooter (50.4 percent), one of the league's best free throw shooters (81.5 percent) and he has been called one of the nation's best-passing big men.
Just a junior, he already ranks among Wake Forest's all-time leaders in scoring, rebounding, blocked shots and free throw percentage.
More on Songaila:
- He is one of just 20 players in Wake Forest history with more than 1,000 points (1,214) and 500 rebounds (520).
- He ranks second on the team and 14th in the ACC in rebounding (6.1 rpg.).
- Songaila ranks sixth in the ACC in free throw percentage (.815) and he ranks first in that category among ACC post players.
- He ranks 24th in Wake Forest career scoring history with 1,214 points.
- Songaila is tied with former Deacon guard Billy Packer for the seventh-highest career free throw percentage in Wake Forest history (.819).
- He ranks 13th in the ACC this season in blocked shots and with 69 career rejections, Songaila ranks 10th on Wake's all-time list.
- Songaila was the only Deacon to start the first 26 games of the season. He came off the bench last Saturday against Duke on Senior Day.
- He has scored in double figures 21 times this season.
- Songaila's shooting range has increased. Last year he did not make a three-point field goal. This season, he is 3-of-8 from behind the arc.
- Songaila earned a bronze medal last summer playing for the Lithuanian national team, which nearly beat the United States team twice.
- His parents have never been to the United States although they have plans to attend Songaila's graduation next year. Songaila sends video tapes of his games back home to Lithuania.
O'Kelley Continues To Climb WFU, ACC Record Book
Senior Robert O'Kelley will leave Wake Forest with his name firmly etched in the school and ACC record books:
- O'Kelley enters the NC State game with 1,830 career points, ranking eighth in Wake Forest history. He has more career points to his credit than any active player in the ACC.
- O'Kelley has 280 career three-point field goals, which ranks second in Wake Forest history and sixth in the history of the ACC.
- With 124 career games played, only Tim Duncan (128 games from 1994-97) has played in more Wake Forest games than O'Kelley.
- With six more assists, O'Kelley will be ranked 10th in Wake Forest history for career assists (he has 258 assists).
- Only Wake's all-time leading scorer, Dickie Hemric, and Skip Brown had more field goal attempts than O'Kelley (1,528 attempts).
- Over the last five games, O'Kelley has made 14-of-31 three-point field goal attempts (45.2 percent).
- Saturday against Duke, O'Kelley led the Deacons with 17 points, four three-point field goals and his three-pointer with eight seconds left tied the game at 80-80.
Wake Has Used Seven Different Starting Lineups
On Senior Day last Saturday, Wake Forest used its seventh different starting lineup of the season.
Injuries and illness have caused the variety in lineups. Junior Ervin Murray began the season with mononucleosis and recently has been plagued with knee tendonitis. Sophomore Josh Howard missed his only two starts this season because of the flu.
Junior Darius Songaila and Howard lead the Deacons with 26 starts each.
Shoemaker Among ACC Board Leaders
When Rafael Vidaurreta underwent surgery in late September, Wake coach Dave Odom expected senior Josh Shoemaker to step up. Shoemaker has exceeded all 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 (7.6 rpg.). He has seven double-figure rebound games this season.
More on Shoemaker:
- Shoemaker's rebound average is the highest by a Deacon since Tim Duncan pulled down a remarkable 14.7 boards per game in 1996-97.
- Shoemaker is shooting a team-best 54.3 percent from the field. That's the highest percentage by a Deacon since Duncan shot 60.8 percent in 1996-97.
- He has played much of this season in pain after suffering a hip pointer Jan. 2 against Virginia.
Wake's Bench A Key To Success
One of Wake Forest's biggest strengths is its bench. The Deacon bench, which includes four veterans, has outscored the opponent's bench in 25 of 27 games. The Deacon bench outscored the Duke bench, 26-7, last Saturday. The bench accounts for 38 percent of the team scoring.
Deacons Looking To Gain Momentum Down Stretch Wake Forest began the season 12-0, then won just three of its next 10 games. Recently, Wake has won three of its last five with losses to nationally-ranked Maryland and Duke.
Wake's slide began with a one-point loss at North Carolina Jan. 6. Ironically, the Deacons may have turned things around following another loss to the Tar Heels one month later. Since Feb. 6, the Deacs have key wins over Georgia Tech, Florida State and Clemson.
A few notes on Wake's 18-9 overall record:
- Seven of Wake's nine losses came against teams ranked 17th or higher.
- Six of the eight losses came on the road.
- Wake has lost twice to league-leading North Carolina by a combined seven points.
- During the 12-game win streak, Wake shot a blistering 51.9 percent from the field.
Deacons Inch Up In Both Major Polls
Wake Forest inched up from No. 24 to No. 23 in the Associated Press poll and from No. 22 to No. 21 in the ESPN/USA Today poll this week.
The Deacons, which began the year ranked 20th in the AP poll, have been ranked all 17 weeks this season. Wake was ranked as high as 4th nationally in both the Dec. 25 and Jan. 1 polls.
The latest national polls demonstrate how difficult the Wake Forest schedule is this season. Four of the nation's 10 highest-ranked teams and five teams ranked among the top 16 are on the Deacon schedule -- (2) Duke, (4) North Carolina, (7) Virginia, (10) Kansas and (16) Maryland. Georgia Tech and Cincinnati, also Deacon opponents, received votes for both polls.
More Poll Stuff
- Wake Forest is ranked 13th in the latest Sagarin Computer Poll. The Deacon schedule is ranked 26th nationally.
- The Deacons are rated 26th in the Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) and the Wake schedule is ranked 20th.
- CBS Sportsline.com ranks Wake Forest 32nd in its rankings of all Division I teams.
- The Deacs are 21st in the FoxSports.com poll.
Vidaurreta, Shoemaker Among Wake's Rebound Leaders
Both Wake Forest senior centers -- Rafael Vidaurreta and Josh Shoemaker -- are among the 16 most prolific rebounders in school history.
Vidaurreta, with 717 career rebounds, ranks ninth Wake Forest career rebounding history after passing Rodney Rogers (1991-93) on Saturday. He has a shot at catching Jack Williams (751 rebounds from 1953-57) for eighth place.
Vidaurreta is coming off a season-high 12 rebounds, including eight on the offensive end, Saturday against Duke.
Senior Josh Shoemaker (651 career rebounds) is ranked 16th on Wake's all-time rebounds list. He needs six boards to pass Alvis Rogers (656 rebounds from 1979-83) for 15th place.
Seniors Step Up In Final Home Game
Appropriately, seniors Rafael Vidaurreta and Robert O'Kelley were clutch performers on Senior Day. Both turned in solid performances in the 82-80 loss to 4th-ranked Duke. More on that game:
- Vidaurreta registered his first double-double of the season, posting season highs in scoring (11 points) and rebounds (12 boards). With his parents, who made the trip from Spain, in attendance, Vidaurreta went 4-of-4 from the field and blocked two shots.
- O'Kelley led the Deacons with 17 points, including 4-of-7 from three-point range. With eight seconds remaining, O'Kelley hit a huge three-pointer that knotted the game, 80-80.
- Sophomore Josh Howard recorded his fourth double-double since Jan. 21 with 14 points and 11 rebounds. He also scored his 700th career point.
- On consecutive possessions mid-way through the first half, senior Josh Shoemaker made his second three-point field goal of the season, then junior Antwan Scott buried his first trey of the season.
- Junior Broderick Hicks played a career-high 37 minutes and dished out his most assists (7) since Nov. 25.
- WFU had its fewest turnovers (9) since Jan. 13.
Dave Odom Wins 100th Career ACC Game
Wake Forest head coach Dave Odom joined elite company Feb. 21 at Clemson when he became just the ninth coach to win 100 ACC league games. Odom and Duke's Mike Krzyzewski are the only active coaches to have reached that mark.
Odom (Guilford '65) owns a career record of 239-130 in 12 seasons with the Deacons, 277-172 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.
Wake's Point Guards Combine For 150 Assists, 58 Turnovers
Two veteran point guards -- juniors Ervin Murray and Broderick Hicks -- give Wake Forest a one-two backcourt punch that takes care of the basketball.
Murray and Hicks, who both play close to 20 minutes per game, have combined for 150 assists and just 58 turnovers this season.
Murray leads the ACC in assist-to-turnover ratio (3.25) with 78 assists and 24 turnovers. He has more games this season without a turnover (12) than games with more than one turnover (6). He averages just one turnover every 19.8 minutes.
Hicks (72 assists, 34 turnovers) ranks sixth in the ACC in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.12).
As a team, the Deacons rank third in the ACC in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.31). Wake has 102 more assists than turnovers. In each of the previous six seasons the Deacons had more turnovers than assists.
Shooting guard Craig Dawson ranks fourth in the ACC in assist-to-turnover margin (2.39).
Dawson Excels As Sixth Man And Starter
Whether junior Craig Dawson starts or plays the role of one of the nation's best sixth men, he is one of the most dangerous perimeter shooters in the ACC.
Dawson is striving for consistency, but he seems to play his best in ?big? games. For example, he poured in a career-high 29 points Feb. 6 against No. 1-ranked North Carolina. He scored 23 points in a key road win at Temple and he scored 20 points in a win over then No. 3 Kansas.
More on Dawson:
- He enters the NC State game with 154 career three-point field goals, which ranks fourth in Wake Forest history.
- Dawson has 914 career points to his credit, which puts him on track to be the next 1,000-point scorer in Wake Forest history.
- An underrated ballhandler, Dawson ranks fourth in the ACC in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.39).
- He ranks seventh in the ACC for three-point field goal percentage (.380) and 11th in overall field goal percentage (.458).
- Dawson has good bloodlines. His uncles include NBA star Jerry Stackhouse and former Florida State standout Tony Dawson.
Scott, Songaila, Howard On Blocked Shots List
Three of the 11 most-prolific shot blockers in Wake Forest history are on this Deacon team:
- Antwan Scott, a key junior reserve, ranks seventh on Wake Forest's all-time blocked shots list. Scott has 90 career blocks including a team-high 35 rejections this season. Scott passed Kenny Green for seventh place on the Wake list on Saturday.
- Junior Darius Songaila (69 career blocks) is ranked 10th in WFU history for career blocked shots.
- Rising quickly is sophomore Josh Howard, who has 64 blocks in just one and one-half seasons and is ranked 11th on WFU's all-time blocked shots list.
- Scott, Songaila, Howard and Josh Shoemaker are all ranked among the top 15 in the ACC.
Senior Trio Closing Out Final Regular Season
A highly-successful and popular senior trio plays its final regular season game Sunday at NC State.
The three Deacon seniors -- Robert O'Kelley, Josh Shoemaker and Rafael Vidaurreta -- have been a part of:
- Seventy-three Deacon wins over the last four seasons (73-51).
- Three consecutive postseason appearances.
- A record of 49-15 in Lawrence Joel Coliseum.
- Twenty-eight ACC victories.
- An NIT title in 2000 and a record of 7-2 overall in NIT play.
- O'Kelley will leave WFU ranked among Wake's all-time leaders in scoring and three-point field goals.
- Shoemaker and Vidaurreta are both listed among Wake's all-time leading rebounders.
- The senior trio has combined to play in 365 career games.
