Deacons Back In Action Tuesday Vs. A&T
12/29/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 29, 2003
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Game #8 #8/6 Wake Forest Deacons (7-0) vs. NC A&T Aggies (0-8)
Tuesday, Dec. 30 / 7:05 p.m. / Lawrence Joel Coliseum (14,665) / Winston-Salem, NC / No TV
Tip-Off: 7:05 p.m.
Television: None.
Radio: Deacon Radio Network (ISP). Stan Cotten (play-by-play) and Mark Freidinger (color analysis) call the action.
Records: Wake Forest is 7-0 after a memorable, three-overtime, 119-114 thriller at fourth-ranked North Carolina Dec. 20. North Carolina A&T is 0-8 following an 88-63 loss at High Point Dec. 27.
Rankings: Wake Forest is ranked 8th in the Associated Press poll and 6th in the ESPN/USA Today poll. North Carolina A&T is not ranked.
Coaches: Wake Forest head coach Skip Prosser (U.S. Merchant Marine Academy '72) is 53-19 in three seasons with the Deacons, 218-97 in 11 seasons overall. North Carolina A&T coach Jerry Eaves (Louisville '83) is 0-8 in his first season with the Aggies, 0-8 overall.
SID Contacts: Wake Forest assistant athletic director/media relations Dean Buchan; North Carolina A&T basketball SID Jim McNally.
Websites: Wake Forest -- WakeForestSports.com; North Carolina A&T -- www.ncat.edu/~athletic/.
The Series: Wake Forest leads 2-0.
Officials: Announced on game day.
On Deck: Wake Forest hosts New Mexico Jan. 3 in Joel Coliseum. North Carolina A&T plays at Norfolk State Jan. 3.
Four-Game Homestand Starts Tuesday
Wake Forest, which took a week off following a win at fourth-ranked North Carolina Dec. 20 in one of the most memorable games in ACC history, hosts winless North Carolina A&T Tuesday at Joel Coliseum (7:05 p.m./No TV).
The 8th-ranked Demon Deacons, 7-0 overall and 1-0 in the ACC, enjoyed break after playing the second-longest game in school history. Seven different Wake players scored in double figures in the Deacons' thrilling victory at Chapel Hill.
North Carolina A&T, 0-8, is rebuilding its program under first-year coach Jerry Eaves. The Aggies lost 81-62 at Miami (FL) Dec. 22 and 88-63 at High Point on Saturday.
Wake Forest leads the all-time series, 2-0.
Noteworthy
-Wake Forest will put its 20-game homecourt winning streak on the line four times between Dec. 30 and Jan. 10. The Deacons host North Carolina A&T (Dec. 30), New Mexico (Jan. 3), Brown (Jan. 6) and Clemson (Jan. 10).
-Junior forward Vytas Danelius, who sat out the Dec. 20 North Carolina game with a sprained right ankle, remains doubtful for the A&T game.
-The North Carolina A&T game could possibly mark the return of sophomore forward Chris Ellis, who has not played this season after breaking a bone in his foot on the first day of practice.
-Following the four-game homestand, the Deacons will play eight consecutive games against teams that are ranked or are receiving poll votes.
Ellis Cleared; Danelius Nursing Ankle
Wake Forest has seen four key members of the roster miss games this year with a variety of injuries and illnesses.
Sophomore Chris Ellis broke a bone in his right foot during Wake's first practice of the season on Oct. 18. He was available to play in each of Wake's last two games, but did not play.
Junior Vytas Danelius has missed two games this season with ankle injuries. He missed the Nov. 22 Elon game with a twisted left ankle and foot. He missed the Dec. 20 North Carolina game with a sprained right ankle.
Previous injuries that sidelined Deacon players:
Freshman Kyle Visser (twisted his left ankle) did not play against Indiana.
Freshman Todd Hendley (stomach virus) did not play in the Nov. 29 game at Yale.
Deacons Jump Into Top 10 In Both Polls
With road wins at SMU and then-4th-ranked North Carolina last week, Wake Forest is now ranked in the top 10 of both major polls.
The Demon Deacons leaped to 8th (from 14th) in the Associated Press poll and to 6th (from 9th) in the ESPN/USA Today poll. The No. 8 ranking is Wake's highest ranking since the final poll of the 2002-03 season when the Deacons were also ranked 8th. The Deacons haven't been ranked higher than 8th in the AP poll since Jan. 8, 2001 when they were ranked 6th.
Wake Forest has been ranked in the AP top 10 72 times in its history and 11 times since the Tim Duncan era ended in 1996-97. The Deacons have been ranked in the AP poll for 20 consecutive weeks dating back to last season. Wake has been ranked in the AP poll 34 times in 41 weeks under Skip Prosser.
At this same point last year, Wake Forest made its season debut in the AP poll at No. 25. The Deacons went on to remain in the poll the rest of the season.
Wake is ranked 1st in the Sagarin Ratings, 2nd in CollegeRPI.com and 7th by CBS Sportsline.
Deacon-Aggie Series History
-Wake Forest leads the all-time series, 2-0.
-The Deacons beat the Aggies last season in Winston-Salem, 104-64.
-The first meeting between the two teams came in the opening round of the 1995 NCAA Tournament in Baltimore. Wake Forest, behind then-sophomore Tim Duncan, beat A&T 79-47.
-North Carolina A&T is the third in-state opponent Wake Forest will have faced this season -- also Elon (Nov. 22) and North Carolina (Dec. 20).
-Wake Forest is 11-0 all-time against teams from the MEAC, including wins last season against A&T and Bethune-Cookman.
-Deacon head coach Skip Prosser is 1-0 all-time against the Aggies.
Wake Forest-A&T Connections
-North Carolina A&T's athletic director Charlie Davis is a former Wake Forest All-American. The former All-American's jersey is retired.
-North Carolina A&T's Michael Dubose and Wake Forest's Chris Paul are both freshmen guards from West Forsyth High School.
-Aggie freshman Greg Roberts attended West Charlotte High School -- the same high school Wake's Justin Gray attended before transferring to Oak Hill Academy.
-Wake Forest assistant football coach Keith Henry previously served as an assistant football coach at A&T and he also was head coach of the Aggie baseball team.
Deacons Are A Balanced Bunch So Far
-Five different Deacons average scoring in double figures. Seven Deacs scored in double figures Dec. 20 at North Carolina.
-Eight different players have scored in double figures at least twice and four different Deacs have scored 20 or more points in a game.
-Ten different Deacons have made at least one three-point field goal.
-Nine different Wake Forest players are averaging at least 10 minutes of action per game.
Deacons Take ACC Opener
The ACC schedule-makers haven't been kind to Wake Forest. In each of the last two seasons, the Deacons have opened the season on the road against teams ranked in the top five nationally. Last season Wake opened ACC play with a loss at No. 1 Duke. On Dec. 20, Wake Forest opened ACC play on the road against No. 4 North Carolina and came away with a 119-114 triple-overtime victory. What the win meant: -The win was just Wake Forest's third victory in an ACC opener over the last nine years. -Wake improved to 22-29 in ACC openers all-time. -The Deacons opened the ACC season with a road win for the first time since 1996. -The Deacs improved to 3-15 when opening ACC play against nationally-ranked teams and beat a ranked team in the opener for the first time since 2001.
Williams, Paul Sweep ACC Honors
Sophomore Eric Williams and freshman Chris Paul, both of whom played vital roles in Wake Forest road wins at SMU and North Carolina, were named the ACC Player of the Week and ACC Rookie of the Week, respectively, Dec. 22.
Williams wins an ACC individual weekly honor for the first time. Paul was named ACC Rookie of the Week for the second time this season. He is the first Deacon to win the honor twice in a season since Darius Songaila in 1999.
Wake Forest beat SMU 78-66 in Dallas Dec. 15, then topped fourth-ranked North Carolina, 119-114, in triple-overtime, in the Dec. 20 ACC opener.
Williams scored a team-high 24 points in the win at North Carolina. The Wake Forest, N.C., native hit on 11 of 18 from the floor and pulled down eight rebounds and blocked one shot against the Tar Heels. The 6-9, 275-pound sophomore was also instrumental in the Dec. 15 victory at SMU with 22 points, 10 rebounds and a steal. For the week, Williams scored 46 points, grabbed 18 rebounds, made 19-of-30 field goal attempts, 8-of-10 free throw attempts had two steals and one blocked shot.
Paul, a Lewisville, N.C., product, averaged 15.5 points, 8.0 assists, 5.5 steals and 4.5 rebounds in the two wins. The 6-0, 168-pound freshman played 46 minutes in the victory at North Carolina, scoring 18 points, dishing out eight assists and recording five steals against the 4th-ranked Tar Heels.
Remaining Schedule Is Loaded
Using this week's Associated Press poll as a guide, Wake Forest's remaining regular season schedule is surely one of the nation's most difficult.
Three ACC opponents -- (3) Duke, (4) Georgia Tech and (9) North Carolina -- are ranked in the top 10 of the Associated Press poll. Three other Deacon opponents -- (14) Cincinnati, (18) Texas and (24) Maryland -- are also in the top 25. And four more opponents -- Florida State, NC State, Virginia and past opponent SMU -- are receiving votes for the poll.
What this means is that nine of Wake Forest's remaining 21 games come against teams currently in the AP top 25. It also means that 15 of the final 16 games on the schedule come against teams that are ranked or are receiving votes for the poll.
Beginning Jan. 13 at Texas, Wake Forest plays three straight ranked teams (Texas, Duke and Georgia Tech) and eight straight games against teams that are at least receiving votes.
Wake Vs. Nationally-Ranked Opponents
-Wake Forest is 1-0 against ranked teams this season -- a win at 4th-ranked North Carolina on Dec. 20. -The Deacons are 4-3 in their last seven games against ranked teams.
Deacons Lead The Nation In Scoring
Wake Forest has been lighting up the scoreboard this season, averaging a lofty 92.3 points per game.
-The Demon Deacons lead the nation in scoring, just ahead of future opponent Texas (91.6).
-Wake already has two 100-point games this season and has scored at least 80 points in all but one game.
-Here's an indication of the offensive impact Skip Prosser has had on Wake Forest. In his three years with the Deacons, Wake has scored 100-plus points six times. Before his arrival, the Deacons reached the century mark just five times in the previous 13 seasons.
-With one more 100-point game this season, Wake Forest will have more 100-point games in a season than any Deacon team since the 1982-83 team reached the century mark three times.
-While Wake's scoring average will certainly go down, the Deacons are currently averaging 4.5 more points per game than the school record of 87.8 set in 1975-76.
Wake Forest ranks among the national and ACC leaders in other categories:
-The Deacons rank 10th nationally in scoring margin (+20.2).
-Wake is one of 16 remaining undefeated Division I teams.
-The Deacs lead the ACC in three categories -- scoring offense, steals and turnover margin.
Homecourt Streak At 20
Wake Forest has not lost a home game since Feb. 21, 2002 -- a streak of 20 consecutive wins. The Deacons went 16-0 at home last season and are 3-0 this year. The 20-game streak is the sixth-longest current streak in Division I. The Wake Forest school record for consecutive home court wins is 25 from 1995-97.