Wake Forest Athletics
Wake Forest's ACC Tournament Notebook
3/5/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
March 5, 2007
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Deacons Look For Repeat Of Last Year's ACC Tournament Surprise Run
Wake Forest, the surprise semifinalist in last year's ACC Tournament, embarks on the first tournament held in Tampa Thursday against one of the league's hottest teams, Georgia Tech (approximately 9:20 p.m./Raycom-Lincoln Financial TV).
The Demon Deacons, 14-15 overall and 5-11 in the ACC, finished tied for 10th in the conference standings. They are the No. 10 seed, losing the tie-breaker to NC State. Wake Forest is coming off an impressive 78-72 upset of Virginia Saturday in Winston-Salem.
The Yellow Jackets, 20-10 and 8-8, are the No. 6 seed, winning the tie-breaker with Duke. Georgia Tech comes to Tampa as one of the ACC's hottest teams, beating North Carolina (84-77) last Thursday and Boston College (74-60) on Sunday.
Wake Forest and Georgia Tech split a pair of regular season meetings. The Deacons won 85-75 in Winston-Salem on Jan. 30. The Yellow Jackets won in Atlanta, 75-61, Feb. 21.
The Deacons have won all three previous meetings with Georgia Tech in ACC Tournament play. The teams last met in the 2002 quarterfinals, 92-83. Wake Forest leads the all-time series, 33-29.
Thursday's winner will advance to Friday's quarterfinals to play No. 3 seed Virginia Tech (approximately 9:20 p.m.) at the St. Pete Times Forum.
Wake Forest, which has earned 16 consecutive postseason bids and hasn't endured a losing season since 1990, has been led all season by senior center Kyle Visser (16.9 ppg. and 7.2 rpg).
Thursday's game will also feature two outstanding freshmen point guards -- Wake Forest's Ishmael Smith and Tech's Javaris Crittenton.
Wake Forest's ACC Tournament History
- All-Time Record (41-49) -- The Deacons, who will play in the 54th ACC Tournament, will participate in their 91st all-time ACC Tournament game on Thursday.
- ACC Championships (4) -- Wake Forest has won ACC titles in back-to-back years twice, in 1995 and 1996, and 1961 and 1962.
- In Opening-Round Games (1-0) -- Wake Forest's 78-66 upset win over 5th-seeded Florida State last season is the Deacons' only previous opening-round game.
- In Quarterfinal Games (26-26) -- The Deacons evened their record in quarterfinal games last year by beating 25th-ranked NC State, 82-71.
- In Semifinal Games (10-17) -- Wake Forest has lost its last five semifinal games with its last win coming in 1996. The Deacons last appeared in the semifinals last season, losing to Duke, 78-66.
- In Championship Games (4-6) -- Wake Forest won its last two championship games (in 1995 and 1996). The Deacons have not lost in a title game since 1978.
- Under Skip Prosser (4-5) -- The Deacons have reached the tournament semifinals three times under Prosser (2006, 2003, 2002).
- In Florida (0-0) -- This will be the first ACC Tournament held south of Atlanta.
- Outside of North Carolina (2-8) -- The Deacons are a combined 2-8 in ACC Tournament play in Atlanta, Washington and Landover.
- Tournament MVPs (2) -- Randolph Childress in 1995 and Tim Duncan in 1996.
- Most Successful Coach -- Hard to go with anyone but Bones McKinney, whose Deacon teams went 12-6 and claimed championships in 1961 and 1962. Dave Odom (9-10) also led Wake to two titles.
- Least Favorite Opponent -- In terms of winning percentage, Duke has enjoyed the most success against Wake Forest. The Blue Devils are 14-4 all-time against the Deacons in ACC Tournament play.
What's At Stake For Wake Forest
Aside from an ACC championship and the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, what at stake for Wake Forest this week at the ACC Tournament in Tampa?
- The Deacons, 14-15 overall, need to advance to at least the semifinal round to be eligible for postseason play. Wake Forest currently holds the league's longest streak of consecutive postseason appearances with 16.
- Wake Forest is trying to avoid its first losing season since 1990.
Deacons Better In March Than January
On January 27th, Wake Forest lost its sixth consecutive game to fall to 1-7 in the ACC. Since then, the Demon Deacons have been a much better team.
Wake Forest closed the season by winning five of its last nine games, including four of its final eight conference games.
