Wake Forest Schedule Includes Preseason NIT, Texas, Cincinnati, Illinois
8/18/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Aug. 18, 2004
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The 2004-05 Wake Forest men's basketball schedule, taking on a different look with the expansion of the ACC and loaded with powerful opponents, was officially announced today. The Demon Deacons, who open the regular season Nov. 15 at home against George Washington in the first round of the Preseason NIT, will play a minimum of 27 regular season games. That number could expand to 30 regular season games if Wake Forest advances to the semifinals of the Preseason NIT in New York. Wake Forest, 21-10 last season, faces a daunting non-conference schedule that includes road games at Illinois, Temple, New Mexico and Cincinnati. The Deacons' home non-ACC schedule includes Texas, George Washington and Richmond. "It's almost like the proverbial double-edged sword," said head coach Skip Prosser, who enters his fourth season at Wake Forest in 2004-05. "It's an extremely challenging schedule for our team. The non-conference schedule is probably as difficult as any team in the ACC. At the same time, it will be extremely exciting for our fans." While the non-conference schedule may be one of the nation's most challenging slates, it is the ACC regular season schedule that has taken on a new look and is receiving the most attention. With the addition of Miami and Virginia Tech, ACC teams will continue to play a 16-game regular season schedule but will play four teams just once. The Deacons will play North Carolina just once in the regular season (Jan. 15 in Winston-Salem). Not counting 1944, when Wake Forest did not field a team because of World War II, the last time the Deacons and Tar Heels failed to meet at least twice in one season came in 1921. Wake's other one-game ACC opponents include road games at Clemson and Virginia Tech and a home game against Maryland. Wake Forest and Clemson have met at least twice since 1946 and the Deacons have played Maryland at least twice every year since the ACC originated in 1953-54. The Deacs will play double-round robin games with Duke, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Miami, NC State and Virginia. "It hasn't set in yet that we will not play in places like the Comcast Center (Maryland) or Smith Center (North Carolina) this season," Prosser said. "That's the collateral damage of expansion. While we'll miss playing longtime rivals, you hope that it's counter-balanced with new rivalries against Virginia Tech and Miami." Although Wake Forest and Virginia Tech meet just once (Feb. 5 in Blacksburg), it renews a rivalry between the Deacons and Hokies. The two teams met 44 times, most recently in 1999. Wake Forest had just two previous meetings with Miami and the two teams have not met on the hardwood since 1991. Wake Forest is making its second Preseason NIT appearance and its first appearance since then-first-year coach Skip Prosser led the Deacons to the championship game in 2001-02. If Wake Forest beats George Washington, it will host either Virginia Commonwealth or American Nov. 18. The Demon Deacons beat VCU in the first round of the 2004 NCAA Tournament. Among the other teams in the 16-team field are Arizona, Michigan, Providence and Penn. "Wake Forest will be playing against some of the best teams in the country, within the conference and out," Prosser said. "It begins with a very difficult opener against George Washington, which is supposed to be the best team in the Atlantic 10. It should be an exciting opener for our fans and the place should be packed." The Deacons, 5-0 in the history of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge, will face their stiffest test in the event Dec. 1 when they play at highly-rated Illinois. After hosting Richmond, a 20-game winner last season, on Dec. 4, Wake will play in Philadelphia against Temple. Following a home game Nov. 15 versus Elon, the Deacons will host Texas, a team that knocked Wake Forest from the ranks of the unbeaten last January. On Dec. 22, Wake Forest will play at New Mexico, marking the Deacons' first trip to The Pit in Albuquerque since Bob Staak's WFU team lost to the Lobos in 1989. After a home game Dec. 30 against North Carolina A&T, Wake Forest kicks off the ACC schedule with road games at Virginia (Jan. 2) and Clemson (Jan. 8). On Jan. 22, Prosser returns to familiar territory when Wake Forest plays at Cincinnati. Prosser worked 16 years in the city of Cincinnati as a head coach (7 years) and an assistant coach (9 years) at Xavier. As head coach of the Musketeers, Prosser was on the sidelines for a pair of wins over Cincinnati when the Bearcats were ranked No. 1. Assistant coaches Jeff Battle and Dino Gaudio worked under Prosser at Xavier and assistant coach Pat Kelsey played for Prosser at Xavier. The game will mark the fourth meeting between WFU and Cincinnati over the last five seasons. The Deacons don't play their final non-conference game until Feb. 23 when they host Longwood in the first meeting ever between the two teams. Wake Forest, which returns all but one scholarship player from last season's NCAA Sweet 16 team, opens exhibition play Nov. 4 against USC-Upstate (formerly known as USC-Spartanburg). That game will feature Deacon sophomore guard Chris Paul, and his brother, C.J., a senior guard for USCU. On Nov. 11, Wake closes out exhibition play against cross-city Division II opponent Winston-Salem State -- the first meeting ever between the two schools. More on the Wake Forest schedule: -- The Deacons will be prominent on national television. Wake Forest could play as many as 10 regular season games on ESPN or ESPN 2. ABC will televise three Wake Forest games as will Fox Sports Net. -- Eleven of Wake's regular season games come against teams that were ranked in the final 2004 Associated Press top 25: (13) Illinois, (12) Texas, (19) Maryland, (18) North Carolina, (11) Cincinnati and two games against (6) Duke, (14) Georgia Tech and (15) NC State. -- Wake Forest will play at least nine different teams that participated in the 2004 NCAA Tournament for a total of 12 games: Illinois, Richmond, Texas, Maryland, North Carolina, Cincinnati, and two games against Duke, Georgia Tech and NC State. That number could go up if the Deacons advance in the Preseason NIT to face VCU and others. -- Four other Deacon opponents -- George Washington, Temple, Florida State and Virginia -- played in the 2004 Postseason NIT for a total of 13 different opponents to participate in postseason action last season. -- Four of Wake Forest's final 12 regular season games come against two 2004 Final Four teams -- Duke and Georgia Tech. -- Wake Forest will play on Saturday nine times and just three times on Sunday. 2004-05 Wake Forest Basketball Schedule Date Day Opponent Site TV Time Nov. 4 Thursday USC-UPSTATE (Exh.) Lawrence Joel Coliseum 7:00 Nov. 11 Thursday WINSTON-SALEM STATE (Exh.) Lawrence Joel Coliseum 7:00 Nov. 15 Monday GEORGE WASHINGTON (Preseason NIT) Lawrence Joel Coliseum ESPN 2 7:00 Nov. 18 Thursday VCU/AMERICAN (Preseason NIT) Lawrence Joel Coliseum 7:00 Nov. 22 Monday YALE Lawrence Joel Coliseum 7:00 Nov. 24 Wednesday Preseason NIT Semifinals New York, NY ESPN 2 TBA Nov. 26 Friday Preseason NIT Consolation/Finals New York, NY ESPN 2 (finals) 4:30/7:00 Dec. 1 Wednesday at Illinois (ACC/Big Ten Challenge) Champaign, IL ESPN 7:00 Dec. 4 Saturday RICHMOND Lawrence Joel Coliseum 2:00 Dec. 13 Monday at Temple Philadelphia, PA ESPN 2 7:00 Dec. 15 Wednesday ELON Lawrence Joel Coliseum 7:00 Dec. 18 Saturday TEXAS Lawrence Joel Coliseum ESPN 2:00 Dec. 22 Wednesday at New Mexico Albuquerque, NM RSN 9:00 (EST) Dec. 30 Thursday N. CAROLINA A&T Lawrence Joel Coliseum 7:00 Jan. 2 Sunday *at Virginia Charlottesville, VA Fox Sports Net 5:30 Jan. 8 Saturday *at Clemson Clemson, SC Raycom/JP 4:00 Jan. 11 Tuesday *MARYLAND Lawrence Joel Coliseum Raycom/JP 9:00 Jan. 15 Saturday *NORTH CAROLINA Lawrence Joel Coliseum ABC 1:30 Jan. 18 Tuesday *at Florida State Tallahassee, FL ESPN 2 7:00 Jan. 22 Saturday at Cincinnati Cincinnati, OH ABC 1:00 Jan. 27 Thursday *at Georgia Tech Atlanta, GA Raycom/JP 8:00 Jan. 29 Saturday *MIAMI Lawrence Joel Coliseum Raycom/JP 4:00 Feb. 2 Wednesday *DUKE Lawrence Joel Coliseum ESPN 9:00 Feb. 5 Saturday *at Virginia Tech Blacksburg, VA Raycom/JP 3:00 Feb. 10 Thursday *NC STATE Lawrence Joel Coliseum ESPN 7:00 Feb. 12 Saturday *FLORIDA STATE Lawrence Joel Coliseum ABC 1:30 Feb. 15 Tuesday *at Miami Coral Gables, FL RSN 7:00 Feb. 20 Sunday *at Duke Durham, NC Fox Sports Net 6:30 Feb. 23 Wednesday LONGWOOD Lawrence Joel Coliseum 7:00 Feb. 27 Sunday *VIRGINIA Lawrence Joel Coliseum Raycom/JP 2:00 March 2 Wednesday *GEORGIA TECH Lawrence Joel Coliseum ESPN 7:00 March 6 Sunday *at NC State Raleigh, NC Fox Sports Net 8:00 March 10-13 ACC Tournament Washington, DC TBA CAPS = Home game / *=ACC game / RSN=Regional Sports Network
