Wake Forest Athletics
Basketball Gameday - Wake Forest at Virginia Tech
1/14/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
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| Wake Forest at Virginia Tech Saturday, January 15, 8:00 p.m. Cassell Coliseum | Blacksburg, Va. |
Wake Forest Game Notes  | Virginia Tech Game Notes Live Stats | Radio: Listen Live | TV: ACC Network (affiliates) | Tickets |
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Wake Forest is looking for its first ACC win of the 2010-11 season as the Demon Deacons travel north to Blacksburg to take on the Virginia Tech Hokies on Saturday evening at Cassell Coliseum.
Tip-off is scheduled for 8 p.m. The game will be televised on the ACC Network and can also be heard on the Wake Forest Sports Network from IMG College.
The Demon Deacons (7-10, 0-2) are coming off a 74-55 loss to Maryland in Wake Forest's ACC home opener on Wednesday in Winston-Salem.
Freshmen Carson Desrosiers and Travis McKie led the Deacons against the Terrapins. Desrosiers, making his fourth straight start, posted career-highs of nine rebounds and seven blocks. His seven blocks were one shy of Tim Duncan's freshman record and were the most by a Wake Forest freshman since Duncan recorded seven blocks at Virginia on Feb. 26, 1994.
Over his last three games, Desrosiers is averaging 6.3 points and 6.0 rebounds and 4.7 blocks in 29.7 minutes per contest.
McKie posted his fifth double-double of the season with team-best totals of 13 points and 10 rebounds. McKie leads all ACC freshmen in double-doubles and ranks second among the rookies in both scoring and rebounding. He has scored in double figures in six of his last eight games.
Virginia Tech (10-5, 1-2 ACC) comes in on the heels of a 64-61 loss at North Carolina on Thursday evening in Chapel Hill. The loss snapped the Hokies' six-game winning streak.
In its 53rd all-time meeting, the series between Wake Forest and Virginia Tech is tied at 26 wins apiece. The series dates back to the 1911-12 season when Wake Forest dropped a pair of decisions in Blacksburg.
The Hokies overcame an 11-point second-half deficit to post an 87-83 win in Blacksburg in the teams' only meeting last season. It was Virginia Tech's third-straight win in the series.
Next Up...
Wake Forest will play its third road game in four contests when the Deacons travel to Atlanta to face Georgia Tech on Wednesday, Jan. 19, at 7 p.m. The game will be televised on ESPNU. Wake Forest will return home to host No. 1-ranked Duke on Saturday, Jan. 22, at 4 p.m. The game will be nationally televised on ESPN.
Last Time Out
Travis McKie's double-double and Carson Desrosiers' best performance to-date were not enough, as Wake Forest fell to 0-2 in conference play with a 74-55 loss to Maryland on Wednesday at the Joel Coliseum.
McKie posted his fifth double-double of the year with team-bests of 13 points and 10 rebounds. He also added two assists, two blocks and a steal on the night.
Desrosiers, making his fourth straight start, posted career-highs of nine rebounds, seven blocks and two assists.
Desrosiers' seven blocks were one shy of Tim Duncan's freshman record and were the most by a Wake Forest freshman since Duncan recorded seven blocks at Virginia on Feb. 26, 1994.
C.J. Harris added 10 points and was a perfect 6-of-6 from the free-throw line, while Gary Clark dished out a team-best four assists.
As a team, the Deacons shot 31.7 percent (19-of-60), their lowest mark of the season. The Deacs were also 14-of-19 (73.7 percent) from the free throw line.
Maryland shot just 38.2 percent (26-of-68) from the field, but the Terrapins cleaned up the glass with 52 rebounds, including 22 on the offensive end.
After trailing 36-22 at halftime, Wake Forest fought back into the game early in the second half. The Deacons used a 14-6 run to cut Maryland's advantage to just six (42-36) at the 14:39 mark.
With the Terrapins clinging to a 46-40 advantage at the 12:03 mark, Maryland rattled off 15 straight points over the night three minutes to take a commanding 61-40 lead.
Wake Forest was unable to close the gap to less than 18 for the remainder of the game.
Jordan Williams posted a rare stat line, going just 2-for-13 from the field but managing to finish with a double-double of 13 points and 15 rebounds. Williams was 9-for-14 at the line.
Desrosiers Coming on Strong
Freshman center Carson Desrosiers has been coming into his own this month. Over his past three games, Desrosiers has averaged 6.3 points, 6.0 rebounds and 4.7 blocks.
During the stretch, Desrosiers has averaged 29.7 minutes per game which ranks second on the team behind C.J. Harris. Prior to the stretch, Desrosiers had played 20+ minutes in a game just twice.
The Windham, N.H. native had his best performance to-date on Wednesday against Maryland. He finished with career-highs of nine rebounds, seven blocks and two assists.
Desrosiers' seven blocks were one shy of Tim Duncan's freshman record and were the most by a Wake Forest freshman since Duncan recorded seven blocks at Virginia on Feb. 26, 1994.
Desrosiers has started each of the past four games after missing the Richmond game due to a bout of bronchitis.
Clark Leads ACC In Scoring Improvement
Senior guard Gary Clark has waited patiently for three years to get his chance at significant playing time. Now that it's here, Clark is taking full advantage of the opportunity.
Clark currently leads the ACC in per game scoring improvement (+8.3) from a year ago. The Sarasota, Fla. native battled a case of mono to average 3.2 points in 24 games last year.
This season, Clark has been an impact player for the Deacons, averaging 11.5 points per game. Clark's 8.3-point jump from last season tops Maryland's Jordan Williams, who is second in per-game scoring improvement at +8.1.
Clark also leads the country in 3-point shooting at 63.6 percent (28-44) from beyond the arc. He is the only player in the country shooting 60 percent or better from 3-point range.
Clark, who has started 11 games this year, ranks third on the team in scoring. He has scored in double figures in 10 of his last 14 games, which includes a career-best 23-point performance vs. Winthrop and a 20-point outing vs. UNC Wilmington.
Wake Boasts Some of ACC's Top Freshmen
Wake Forest's freshmen class was ranked as the No. 8 recruiting haul in the country last season. The young Deacs have wasted no time in trying to live up to the hype.
Forward Travis McKie and guard J.T. Terrell have proven to be two of the ACC's biggest impact rookies this season, and center Carson Desrosiers is coming on strong as the conference season begins.
McKie is an ACC Rookie of the Year candidate, as he has been one of the league's most consistent freshmen. McKie leads all rookies in double-doubles (5) and ranks second in both scoring (13.2 ppg) and rebounding (7.8 rpg). He has led his team in scoring eight times, which tops all ACC freshmen.
Terrell leads all conference freshmen in scoring at 13.3 points per game. He is just one point ahead of teammate McKie for the lead. Terrell's 32 points vs. Iowa are the most for an ACC freshman this season. He is also second among the rookies in leading his team in scoring (5 games).
Desrosiers ranks second among ACC freshmen in blocks with 1.8 per game. He only trails Georgia Tech's Daniel Miller, who averages 2.0 per contest.
What's Up Next...
Following the Virginia Tech game, Wake Forest will travel to Atlanta to take on Georgia Tech on Wednesday, Jan. 19, at 7 p.m. The Yellow Jackets are 7-8 overall and 0-2 in the ACC entering their home game against UNC on Sunday. Georgia Tech has lost three straight games entering the weekend.
The Georgia Tech game will mark Wake Forest's third road contest in its first four conference games of the season.
Wake Forest leads the all-time series with Georgia Tech, 36-33. The teams have split the season series each of the past two years, but the Deacons have lost six straight at Alexander Memorial Coliseum.
Following the Georgia Tech game, the Deacons will host No. 1-ranked Duke on Saturday, Jan. 22, at 4 p.m. The game will be nationally televised on ESPN.
The Blue Devils are 15-1 overall and 2-1 in the ACC following Wednesday night's loss at Florida State.
Wake Forest has won each of its past two home games against Duke, posting upset victories in 2007-08 and again in 2008-09. The Blue Devils have won the past two meetings overall, but both of those games were played in Durham.
