Wake Forest Athletics
Wake Forest Begins February With Maryland Saturday Night
1/31/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 31, 2007
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Wake Forest Begins February With Some Momentum, Hosts Maryland Saturday
Wake Forest, which kicked off the second half of the ACC regular season with an impressive win over Georgia Tech Tuesday night, will try to get back to .500 and build some momentum when it hosts Maryland Saturday night at Lawrence Joel Coliseum (8 p.m./Raycom-Lincoln Financial TV).
The Demon Deacons, 10-11 overall and 2-7 in the ACC, snapped a frustrating six-game losing streak Tuesday with an 85-75 win over the visiting Yellow Jackets. Senior Kyle Visser scored 26 points and grabbed nine rebounds, sophomore Harvey Hale chipped in 19 points and the Deacons won the rebounding battle, 37-26.
Visser, 6-11, has been Wake Forest's consistent leader all season. He averages 17.7 points, 7.2 rebounds, 1.3 blocked shots and is shooting 61.1 percent -- all of which rank in the top 10 in the ACC. He is the only Deacon averaging scoring in double figures, although seven different Wake players average at least six points per contest.
Maryland, 16-6 and 2-5, lost 96-79 at Florida State Tuesday night. The Terrapins shot 57.4 percent, but ran into a sizzling Florida State team that shot 61.7 percent. James Gist scored 23 points to lead Maryland.
Senior guard D.J. Strawberry (14.9 ppg and 4.2 rpg) leads a balanced Maryland attack. Senior guard Mike Jones (13.2 ppg) and Gist (12.6 ppg and 7.0 rpg) are enjoying outstanding seasons.
Saturday's game is the second of a three-game homestand for Wake Forest. The Deacons host Winston-Salem State Tuesday night.
Maryland, which will play in Joel Coliseum for the first time since 2005, leads the all-time series, 58-54. The Terrapins won last year's only meeting, 90-86, in College Park.
More From Tuesday's Win Over Tech
Wake Forest beat visiting Georgia Tech, 85-75, Tuesday night to snap a six game losing streak. More from that game:
- The Deacons had a season-high free throws made -- their most free throws made (31) in a game since making 35 on March 2, 2005 vs. Georgia Tech.
- Wake shot better than 70 percent from the free throw line for just the fifth time this season.
- The Deacs shot their highest field goal percentage (.543) since Jan. 1 vs. East Carolina.
- Wake Forest enjoyed its largest rebound margin (+11) since Dec. 19 vs. Gardner-Webb.
- The Deacons won their second ACC game of the season. Last year's second win came on Feb. 22nd.
A Statistical Look At Wake-Maryland
- Wake Forest prefers an up-tempo pace, but the challenge will be playing at that pace while slowing down Maryland. The Terrapins average 80.6 points per game, which ranks third in the ACC. The Deacons are allowing 75.1 points per game, which ranks last. Wake Forest is 2-6 this season when opponents score 80 points or more.
- Maryland leads the ACC in field goal percentage defense, holding foes to just 38.0 percent shooting. Wake Forest is 1-6 this season when shooting less than 40 percent.
- Maryland went 8-of-14 from three-point range in a win over Wake Forest last season. The Terrapins lead the ACC this season in three-point field goal percentage (.393). Wake Forest ranks 11th in the ACC in three-point field goal percentage defense (.378).
- Both teams average a little more than six three-point field goals per game.
- The Deacons demonstrated Tuesday night that free throw shooting doesn't have to be a liability. Wake shot 75.6 percent against Georgia Tech after going 11-of-28 from the line in the previous two games.
Wake Forest-Maryland Series History
- Maryland leads the all-time series, 58-54.
- The Deacons and Terrapins will play just one time this regular season for the third consecutive year. Prior to 2005, the two teams met at least twice each season from 1954 to 2004.
- Maryland won last year's only meeting, 90-86, in College Park on Jan. 15, 2006.
- Wake Forest is 10-6 all-time in Joel Coliseum against the Terrapins. The Deacons won the last meeting in Joel, 81-66, in 2005.
- Maryland won three straight in Joel Coliseum in 2000, 2001 and 2002.
- Three of the last four meetings have been decided by eight points or less.
- Wake Forest and Maryland have met in the ACC Tournament just four times in the last 43 years. The Deacons have not beaten the Terrapins in the ACC Tournament since 1963.
- The Deacons and Terrapins first met on the hardwood in 1953.
- Wake Forest coach Skip Prosser is 4-6 all-time against Maryland.
- Terrapin coach Gary Williams is 20-18 all-time against the Demon Deacons.
- Wake Forest is 67-64 all-time against teams from the state of Maryland.
Deacon-Terrapin Connections
- Both head coaches -- Wake Forest's Skip Prosser (Xavier) and Maryland's Gary Williams (Ohio State) -- previously coached in the state of Ohio.
- As a player at Maryland from 1965-67, Williams went 4-2 against Wake Forest.
- Prosser's first college head coaching job came in the state of Maryland, at Loyola in 1993-94. Prosser's Greyhounds lost to the Terrapins that season, 94-71. Deacon associate head coach Dino Gaudio also previously served as Loyola's head coach.
- All three of Maryland's assistant coaches -- Michael Adams (Boston College), Chuck Driesell (Maryland) and Keith Booth (Maryland) -- played against Wake Forest as collegians.
- L.D. (Williams) and D.J. (Strawberry) are initially expected to start Saturday.
