Deacons Hitting Homestretch; Host Virginia Sunday Afternoon
2/25/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 25, 2005
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Game 28
#6/6 Wake Forest (23-4/10-3) vs. Virginia (13-11/4-9)
Feb. 27, 2005 / 2:00 pm / Winston-Salem, NC / Lawrence Joel Coliseum (14,665) / Raycom/JP
Television: Raycom/Jefferson-Pilot. Steve Martin (play-by-play) and Dan Bonner (color) call the action. Bev Rumley produces.
Radio: Wake Forest/ISP Radio Network. Stan Cotten (play-by-play) and Mark Freidinger (color analysis) call the action. Chris Ferris is the producer/engineer.
Radio: XM Satellite Radio (nationally).
Records: Wake Forest is 23-4 overall and 10-3 in the ACC after an 88-47 win over non-conference opponent Longwood Wednesday night. Virginia is 13-11 and 4-9 after last Saturday's 92-89 overtime loss to Maryland.
Rankings: Wake Forest is ranked No. 6 in the Associated Press poll and No. 6 in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches poll. Virginia is not ranked.
Coaches: Wake Forest head coach Skip Prosser (U.S. Merchant Marine Academy `72) is 90-33 (.732) in his fourth season with the Demon Deacons, 255-111 (.697) in his 12th season overall. Virginia coach Pete Gillen (Fairfield `68) is 117-89 in seven seasons with the Cavaliers, 391-217 in 20 seasons overall.
Series: Wake Forest leads, 62-57.
Officials: Announced on game day.
Deacons Close Out February Against Virginia Sunday At Joel Coliseum
Wake Forest, needing a victory to stay alive in the race for the ACC regular season championship and the league tournament's No. 1 seed, entertains Virginia Sunday afternoon at Joel Coliseum (2 pm/Raycom-JP).
For the Demon Deacons to win on Sunday, they'll need to break a trend. Wake Forest and Virginia have split their regular season meetings in each of the previous seven seasons. Wake beat Virginia, 89-70 in Charlottesville back on Jan. 2.
Sixth-ranked Wake Forest, 23-4 overall and 10-3 in the ACC, rebounded from last Sunday's loss at Duke by whipping visiting Longwood, 88-47, Wednesday night in Winston-Salem. The Deacons out-rebounded the Lancers 53-34 and held Longwood to 27.6 percent shooting.
Virginia, 13-11 and 4-9, has not played since a 92-89 overtime loss to visiting Maryland last Saturday. Four Cavaliers average scoring in double figures, including Devin Smith (16.8 ppg) and Elton Brown (15.5 ppg).
Wake Forest leads the all-time series, 62-57. The Deacons own a 12-3 advantage over the Wahoos in Joel Coliseum.
Today's Tip-Off
- Wednesday's win over Longwood was the 200th all-time Wake Forest victory in Joel Coliseum and it marked the 90th win by the Deacons over the last four seasons combined.
- A Deacon victory Sunday would give them a tie for the fourth-most wins in one season and a tie for the sixth-most ACC wins in school history.
- A win Sunday would also make February Wake's winningest month of the season. The Deacons won five games in November, six in December and six in January.
Wake Forest Whips Longwood, 88-47
Taron Downey scored 13 points Wednesday night in No. 6 Wake Forest's 88-47 rout of Longwood.
Eric Williams added 12 points and 11 rebounds to lead five players in double figures for the Demon Deacons, who stepped out of a tight Atlantic Coast Conference race for an easy victory. Wake Forest led by as many as 40 points in the first half, dominated the glass and scored 30 points off 25 turnovers.
Michael Jefferson scored 14 points for the Lancers, who extended their school-record losing streak to 18 games in their first full season of Division I competition. Longwood shot just 28 percent and was outrebounded 53-34.
The Demon Deacons took all the interest out of this one right away, scoring the game's first 15 points and taking leads of 24-2 and 39-5. That margin grew to 47-7 on Chris Paul's transition layup off an alley-oop pass from Justin Gray with 4:33 left in the half.
More From Wednesday's Victory
- Wake Forest won its 200th all-time game in Lawrence Joel Coliseum.
- Wake held Longwood to 47 points, equaling the fewest points by an opponent in the Skip Prosser era (47 by Brown on Jan. 6, 2004).
- Longwood's 16 field goals tied for the fewest allowed by the Deacons in the Skip Prosser era.
- Longwood's 27.6 field goal percentage was the lowest by a Deacon opponent in the Skip Prosser era.
- The Deacs' 18 steals tied for the most in the Skip Prosser era (WFU also had 18 steals vs. Brown on Jan. 6, 2004)
- Wake had season bests for margin of victory (41), field goals allowed (16), opponent field goal percentage (.276), offensive rebounds (23), total rebounds (53), assists (23) and steals (18).
Deacs Continue To Reach Win Milestones
- Wake Forest's 23 wins ties for the fifth-most single-season victories in school history.
- The Deacons have double-digit ACC wins for just the second time in the last eight years. Wake's 10 conference wins ties for the ninth-most ACC wins in school history.
- Wake Forest's 22-3 start was its best through 25 games in nearly 80 years -- since the 1926-27 team finished the season at 22-3.
- The Deacons have won 20 games or more in each of the last four seasons.
- Wake Forest clinched a winning season for the 15th consecutive year.
- The Deacons have won 90 games over the last four seasons combined -- all under coach Skip Prosser -- to average 22.5 wins per season.
- WFU's 90 wins over the last four years is the fourth-most victories over a four-year span in school history.
- The Deacons own a 14-game home court win streak. Wake is trying to go unbeaten at home for the third time since Joel Coliseum opened in 1989-90.
Wake Forest-Virginia Series History
- Wake Forest leads the all-time series, 62-57 (complete series history on page 12).
- The Demon Deacons and Cavaliers have split the regular season series each of the past seven seasons. The last time a team swept the regular season series was by Wake Forest in 1996-97.
- Wake Forest won the most recent meeting, 89-70, on Jan. 2 in Charlottesville -- Wake's first win on the road against Virginia since March 2, 2000.
- The Deacons are 12-3 against Virginia in Lawrence Joel Coliseum. Virginia last won at Joel Coliseum on Jan. 30, 2000 -- the last time an unranked team beat Wake in Joel Coliseum.
- The Cavaliers are one of five teams from Virginia on the Wake Forest schedule. The Deacons have defeated Virginia Commonwealth, Richmond, Virginia Tech and Longwood.
- Deacon head coach Skip Prosser is 4-3 all-time against the Cavaliers.
- Virginia coach Pete Gillen is 6-7 all-time against Wake Forest.
Deacon-Cavalier Connections
- Wake Forest's coaching staff, especially Skip Prosser, has many ties with Virginia coach Pete Gillen. Prosser was Gillen's assistant coach at Xavier for eight seasons, from 1986 to 1993. After the 1993-94 season, Gillen left Xavier for Providence and Prosser replaced him as the head coach at Xavier.
- Wake assistant coach Dino Gaudio was also on Gillen's staff, from 1988-93. He returned to Xavier in 2000-01 to work as an assistant coach under Prosser.
- Deacon junior Taron Downey attended prep school in Virginia at Fork Union Military Academy. Virginia's Donte Minter, a Salisbury (NC) native, also attended Fork Union.
- Wake sophomore Trent Strickland also attended prep school in Virginia at Hargrave Military Academy.
- Wake Forest sophomores Justin Gray and Richard Joyce both played their final seasons of high school basketball in Virginia at Oak Hill Academy.
- Prosser made his college head coaching debut in the Commonwealth of Virginia when his Loyola (MD) team won at William & Mary on Nov. 29, 1993.
- Four foreign countries will be represented when WFU meets UVA -- Lithuania (Vytas Danelius), Panama (Jamaal Levy), Adrian Joseph (Trinidad) and Tunji Soroye (Nigeria).
- Virginia radio play-by-play man Mac McDonald previously worked in a similar capacity for the Demon Deacons (back when Mac was young).
- Wake Forest's fifth head coach was J.L. White, a 1917 Virginia graduate.
- Wake not only played Providence this season, but the Deacs also played against two former Friar head coaches -- Rick Barnes and Pete Gillen.
- Virginia's J.R. Reynolds is not to be confused with R.J. Reynolds, the tobacco company which makes its corporate home in Winston-Salem.
Deacons Hot From Behind Arc
Over the last two games, Wake Forest is 15-of-25 (60.0 percent) from three-point range. The Deacons are shooting 40.8 percent for the season, which ranks ninth nationally.
Deacons Slip To No. 6 In The Polls
Wake Forest dropped from No. 5 to No. 6 in both the Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today polls this week.
The Deacons have been in the AP top 25 for 48 consecutive weeks. Only five schools have a longer current streak. The school record for consecutive weeks ranked is 54, set from the start of the 1994-95 season through March 10, 1997.
The Deacons have been ranked in the top 10 for 15 consecutive weeks. The school record is 19 weeks, from March of 1996 to March of 1997.
Wake Forest was ranked No. 1 earlier this season for the first time in school history.
Wake Forest 6-3 vs. Ranked Teams
- Wake Forest is 6-3 this season against nationally-ranked teams with wins over then No. 18 Arizona, No. 14 Texas, No. 25 Virginia, No. 3 North Carolina, No. 20 Cincinnati and No. 4 Duke, and losses on the road at No. 5 Illinois, No. 22 Georgia Tech and No. 7 Duke.
- Wake's wins against ranked teams have come at home (Texas, UNC and Duke), on the road (UVa and Cincinnati) and at a neutral site (Arizona).
- Wake Forest also defeated George Washington and Maryland, both of which have been in and out of the polls all season.
- The Deacs have their most wins against ranked teams since going 6-4 in 1996-97 -- the last season Wake posted a winning record against ranked clubs.
- The Deacons defeated two ranked teams before Christmas for the first time in school history.
Nation's Toughest Schedule?
Wake Forest's schedule is proving to be one of the strongest in the nation:
- Wake Forest, according to the Sagarin Ratings, has the nation's seventh-most difficult schedule.
- Five of the 25 teams in the Associated Press poll are Wake Forest opponents -- #1 Illinois, #2 North Carolina, #7 Duke, #9 Arizona and #24 Cincinnati.
- Five different Deacon opponents are receiving votes for one or both major polls.
- Wake Forest is the only ACC school to play four games against non-conference ranked opponents.
- The Deacons have already played nine teams that were ranked at tip-off -- Illinois, Arizona, Texas, Virginia, North Carolina, Cincinnati, Georgia Tech and Duke (twice).
Seniors To Be Recognized On Sunday
Wake Forest will recognize seniors Vytas Danelius, Taron Downey, Scott Feather and Jamaal Levy prior to Sunday's game against Virginia. Also recognized will be senior student-managers Jackie Harris and Brian Geraty.
Prosser: Nine Straight 20-Win Seasons
Wake Forest head coach Skip Prosser gained his 250th career victory Feb. 2 against Duke. Prosser is now 255-111 (.697) in 12 seasons as a head coach.
More on Prosser:
- Prosser's teams have won 20 games or more in nine consecutive seasons.
- His winning percentage since joining the ACC (.732) is the fifth-highest in the 52-year history of the league. Only Dean Smith, Mike Krzyzewski, Vic Bubas and Bill Guthridge produced higher winning percentages.
- Prosser's record in ACC play is 41-20 (.672).
- Prosser is the only coach in NCAA history to lead three schools to the NCAA Tournament in his first season at each school -- Loyola (MD), Xavier and Wake Forest.
Three Deacs Reach 1,000 This Season
Senior Taron Downey scored his 1,000th career point Feb. 10 against NC State, becoming the third Demon Deacon this season and the 44th player in Wake history to eclipse 1,000 career points.
Junior Eric Williams scored his 1,000th career point Feb. 2. Junior Justin Gray scored his 1,000th point Dec. 30 against North Carolina A&T in just his 66th career game.
Senior Vytas Danelius has scored 936 career points and sophomore Chris Paul has 863 points in just two seasons.
Only six schools have produced more 1,000-point scorers than Wake Forest.
Deacons 6-1 In The Close Ones
Wake has played its share of barn-burners this season:
- Wake Forest has played seven games decided by five points or less and the Deacons are 6-1 in those games.
- Wake Forest has won nail-biters at home (89-88 over No. 14 Texas and 92-89 over No. 4 Duke), on the road (67-64 at Temple, 74-70 at Cincinnati and 68-63 at Miami) and at neutral sites (63-60 vs. No. 18 Arizona in New York).
- In Skip Prosser's four years, the Deacs are 11-5 in games decided by three points or less, 22-10 in games decided by five points or less and 39-20 in games decided by 10 points or less.
- The Deacons have played two overtime games this season.
Keys To Wake Forest's Success
When Wake Forest is playing winning basketball, the Deacons are also on top of their game defensively:
- Opponents have shot 50 percent or better against Wake Forest five times this season, including all four losses.
- Four times this season Deacon opponents have scored 91 points or more. All four of those resulted in loses. In fact, Wake opponents average 96.5 points per game in the Deacons' four losses.
- The Deacs have been out-rebounded four times this season. Two of those games resulted in losses.
Lighting Up The Scoreboard
- Wake Forest ranks third nationally in scoring (85.9 points per game) -- the Deacons' highest scoring average since 1976 and the third-highest scoring average in school history.
- In ACC games, the Deacons rank first in the league in scoring at 88.8 points per game.
- Wake scored more than 90 points in three straight games (from Jan. 27-Feb. 2) for the first time since 1993.
- The Deacons have scored 80 points or more in 17 out of the last 19 games and in 18 of the last 21 games.
- Wake Forest has scored at least 81 points in 12 of 13 ACC games.
- Wake has scored at least 100 points twice this season and eight times in the Skip Prosser era.
Wake Forest Undefeated When...
... (23-0) when holding opponents to less than 90 points.
... (22-0) when holding opponents below 50 percent shooting.
... (22-0) when leading with 5:00 remaining.
Deacons Earn 200th Win In The Joel
Wake Forest has always enjoyed success within the friendly confines of Lawrence Joel Coliseum. The Demon Deacons are 200-42 (.826) all-time at The Joel.
That winning percentage is even higher recently. In Skip Prosser's four seasons with the Deacons, Wake is 55-6 (.902), including an 14-0 record so far this season.
The Deacons have not lost a home non-conference game since Feb. 9, 2002 -- a 103-94 loss to sixth-ranked Cincinnati in Prosser's first season with the Deacons. Under Prosser, Wake is 30-1 at home against non-ACC competition.
Wake Forest won its 200th all-time game in Joel Coliseum Feb. 23 against Longwood.
Small Enrollment, Big Crowds
Wake Forest has an undergraduate enrollment of just 4,037 (6,444 including graduate students), so one might think there would be plenty of empty seats in the 14,665-seat Lawrence Joel Coliseum for home games.
However, near-capacity crowds are the norm at home games. Last year an average of 13,197 fans attended Deacon home games and that number should be even higher this year. Based on last year's numbers, Wake Forest's attendance was 204.8 percent of its total enrollment last year. No other ACC school had a percentage higher than 80.1 percent last year.
Out of the 4,037 undergraduate students, nearly 2,500 are members of the Screamin' Demons, Wake's student fan club.
"We hadn't faced a crowd like this all season. Some people don't think a crowd can affect anybody's game but when people are rowdy and jumping around it's hard to focus."
-- North Carolina's Rashad McCants
Paul In Line For Several Awards
- Chris Paul is a midseason finalist for the John R. Wooden Award, the Naismith Trophy and the Bob Cousy Award.
- An Academic All-District selection, Paul is a solid contender for Academic All-America honors.
- Paul has been named ACC Player of the Week twice this season.
- He was the ESPN.com National Player of the Week and ESPN's Big Man On Campus Jan. 17.
- Dick Vitale named Paul his mid-season National Player of the Year.
- Paul was named the co-Male Athlete of the Year by USA Basketball, an award he shares with North Carolina's Sean May.
- He was the leading vote-getter for the Associated Press Preseason All-America team.
- Paul edged NC State's Julius Hodge for pre-season ACC Player of the Year honors by a 38-to-35 count.
Paul Named Academic All-District
Wake Forest sophomore Chris Paul has been selected to the 2005 ESPN the Magazine Academic All-District III Men's Basketball University Division Team, announced by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).
To be eligible for the team, student athletes must have a cumulative grade point average of 3.2 or higher. Academic All-America selections will draw from the pool of All-District teams later this year.
Joining Paul on the All-District III team were Brian Bender of Gardner-Webb, Will Emerson of Mercer, Alex Loughton of Old Dominion and Shawan Robinson of Clemson.
Gray, Paul On Wooden Midseason List
Wake Forest guards Justin Gray and Chris Paul are two of 30 finalists for the John R. Wooden Award, which goes annually to the nation's top player. Gray and Paul are two of eight ACC players on the list of 30.
Making `Em When It Counts
Wake Forest, which shoots 69.4 percent from the free throw line, has shot 74.5 percent (123-165) from the line in the final five minutes of games this season. Senior Taron Downey shoots 87 percent (20-of-23).
Deacons Set NCAA Free Throw Record
Wake Forest broke an NCAA record Jan. 18 at Florida State by making its 50th consecutive free throw without a miss. The Demon Deacons made an ACC record 32-of-32 free throws against North Carolina Jan. 15, then made their first 18 attempts at Florida State.
The previous record of 49 consecutive free throws made was held by Indiana State in 1991.
With their 32-of-32 performance Jan. 15, the Deacons set a school, ACC and Lawrence Joel Coliseum record. Wake came within two free throws of tying the NCAA single-game record.
Stanley Redshirting 2004-05
Cameron Stanley, the only freshman on the Demon Deacon roster, is recovering from a torn ACL suffered last December and will redshirt this season. Stanley has practiced with the team all season, but is still trying to get completely comfortable with the knee.
New Banners On Display
Wake Forest has new banners in Lawrence Joel Coliseum, recognizing all former Demon Deacons who have their jerseys retired. In addition, there are banners for NCAA Tournament participation, ACC championships and ACC regular season titles.
Paul Receives USA Basketball Honor
USA Basketball teammates Sean May of North Carolina and Wake Forest's Chris Paul, who helped lead the 2004 USA World Championship For Young Men Qualifying Team to a gold medal, were selected USA Basketball co-Male Athletes of the Year by the USA Basketball Executive Committee. The announcement was made Dec. 28.
