Wake Forest Athletics
Basketball Gameday - Wake Forest vs. Virginia
1/28/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
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| Wake Forest vs. Virginia Saturday, January 29, 4:00 p.m. Lawrence Joel Coliseum | Winston-Salem, N.C. |
Wake Forest Game Notes  | Virginia Game Notes | Radio: Listen Live | TV: ACC Network (affiliates) | Tickets |
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - After enjoying a mid-week bye, Wake Forest looks to get back to work as the Demon Deacons wrap up the month of January by hosting the Virginia Cavaliers on Saturday afternoon at the Lawrence Joel Coliseum.
Tip-off is scheduled for 4 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 (7-13, 0-5) are coming off an 83-59 loss to Duke last Saturday in Winston-Salem. The Deacons hung tough early on against the defending national champions, leading 18-13 before a big Duke run. Wake Forest also cut the deficit to four early in the second half, but the Deacons could not weather a pair of big Duke runs.
Travis McKie led Wake with 12 points and nine rebounds, while C.J. Harris chipped in 11 points, five rebounds and three assists.
Gary Clark also had 11 points and went 3-for-5 from 3-point range. Ari Stewart dished out three assists in his first start in four games, while Ty Walker had a pair of blocked shots off the bench.
In his first game at the Joel since breaking his left foot in the season opener, freshman point guard Tony Chennault had two points and an assist in nine minutes off the bench.
Virginia (11-9, 2-4 ACC) comes in following a 66-42 loss to Maryland on Thursday night in Charlottesville. The Cavaliers have lost four of their past five ACC games after opening conference play with a December road win over rival Virginia Tech.
Wake Forest leads the all-time series with Virginia, 68-59. The Deacons have won five straight over the Cavaliers, including each of the past eight meetings at the Joel Coliseum. Wake Forest swept both games last season, earning a 69-57 win in Winston-Salem before prevailing 64-61 in overtime in Charlottesville.
| STATISTICAL COMPARISON | ||
| Wake | UVa | |
| Overall Record | 7-13 | 11-9 |
| Conference Record | 0-5 | 2-4 |
| Scoring Offense | 69.3 | 63.0 |
| Scoring Defense | 76.1 | 63.2 |
| Scoring Margin | -6.8 | -0.1 |
| Rebounding Offense | 34.3 | 31.7 |
| Rebounding Defense | 37.8 | 32.3 |
| Rebound Margin | -3.4 | -0.6 |
| FG Percentage | .428 | .424 |
| 3-pt FG Percentage | .374 | .381 |
| FT Percentage | .747 | .704 |
| FG Percentage Defense | .444 | .446 |
| 3-Pointers Per Game | 6.0 | 7.0 |
| Assists Ger Game | 11.4 | 11.4 |
| Turnovers Per Game | 15.9 | 11.3 |
| Turnover Margin | -3.7 | +0.7 |
| Assist/Turnover Ratio | 0.7 | 1.0 |
| Steals Per Game | 5.3 | 5.5 |
| Blocked Shots Per Game | 5.9 | 2.9 |
Next Up...
Wake Forest will play two straight road games beginning with Florida State in Tallahassee on Tuesday, Feb. 1, at 7 p.m. The Deacons will then be at Maryland on Saturday, Feb. 5, for a 1 p.m. showdown with the Terps. The FSU game is untelevised, and the Maryland game will be broadcast on the ACC Network.
Last Time Out
Facing long odds with the defending national champion Duke in town, Wake Forest hung tough early on but ultimately ran out of gas in an 83-59 loss to the Blue Devils last Saturday at the Joel Coliseum.
The Deacons trailed by nine at halftime and got as close as four points in the second half, but the Blue Devils put together two long second-half runs to hold on for the victory.
Travis McKie led Wake with 12 points and nine rebounds, while C.J. Harris and Gary Clark chipped in 11 points apiece.
Harris and Ari Stewart dished out three assists each, and Ty Walker had a pair of blocked shots off the bench.
The Blue Devils used a three-pronged attack to earn the win. Kyle Singler poured in 24 points and grabbed seven rebounds, Ryan Kelly had a perfect shooting day, going 6-of-6 from the field for 20 points, and Nolan Smith added 19 points.
Duke took care of the basketball, only turning the ball over nine times, compared to 17 for Wake Forest. The Blue Devils came up big at the free throw line, converting 22-of-26 attempts (84.6 percent), accounting for their final 13 points of the contest. The Deacs went 10-of-14 (71.4 percent) from the charity stripe.
The Deacons jumped out to an 18-13 lead as Melvin Tabb forced a turnover and McKie converted an old-fashioned three-point play on the ensuing fastbreak.
Duke responded with a 12-1 run to take a 25-19 lead with 6:33 to go in the opening period. Clark cut the lead to 29-25 with a 3-pointer, but the Blue Devils again surged ahead with a 14-2 run. Duke went into halftime with a 41-32 lead.
The Deacons came out of the locker room inspired, and 3-pointers from Clark and Harris got Wake Forest within four points at 44-40 at the 17:34 mark. Duke answered right back with a 14-2 run, with the first nine Blue Devil points being scored by Singler, to extend the advantage to 58-42.
Wake Forest got as close as 11 midway through the second period after consecutive baskets from J.T. Terrell.
Chennault Makes Long-Awaited Return
Freshman point guard Tony Chennault made his return from a broken left foot on Jan. 19 at Georgia Tech.
Chennault had three points in 15 minutes of action and was the Deacons' first player off the bench in his return. He followed with two points and an assist in nine minutes against Duke last Saturday.
Chennault, who returned to full basketball activity on Jan. 17, missed a total of 17 games after breaking the fifth metatarsal in his left foot in the Demon Deacons' season opener against Stetson on Nov. 12.
The Philadelphia native sat out much of the preseason with a stress reaction in the foot. After breaking it in the season opener, Chennault had surgery three days later on Nov. 15.
Tabb Seeing Extended Action of Late
Freshman forward Melvin Tabb has seen his playing time increase over the Deacon's past four games.
Tabb has played in 11 games since returning to the team in mid-December. In his first seven games back, he saw more than seven minutes of action just once when he played 17 minutes in the Presbyterian game.
Over his past four games, Tabb has averaged 11 minutes per, including 12 minutes vs. Maryland and 13 at Virginia Tech. Against Duke, Tabb went 2-for-3 from the floor and finished with five points and a steal in 16 minutes.
What's Up Next...
Following the Virginia game, Wake Forest will travel to Tallahassee to take on Florida State on Tuesday, Feb. 1. The Seminoles are 15-5 overall and 5-1 in the ACC entering Saturday's game at Clemson.
Wake Forest leads the all-time series with Florida State, 23-17. The Deacons have won three of the past five meetings but suffered a 51-47 loss in Tallahassee last season.
Following the Florida State game, the Deacons will travel to College Park to meet Maryland for the second time this season. The Terps handed the Deacs a 74-55 setback on Jan. 12 in Winston-Salem.
Maryland is 13-7 overall and 3-3 in the ACC entering Sunday's game at Georgia Tech. The Terrapins will also host Duke (Feb. 2) before facing the Deacons.
The Terps lead the all-time series, 63-56, but the Deacons won in their last trip to the Comcast Center in 2008-09.
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 heats up.
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 scoring (13.0 ppg), rebounding (7.5 rpg) and double-doubles (5). He has led his team in scoring nine times, which tops all ACC freshmen.
Terrell is second among all conference freshmen in scoring at 12.3 points per game, trailing McKie by 14 points. 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 1.7 per game. He only trails Georgia Tech's Daniel Miller, who averages 1.9 per contest and has just four more total blocks. Desrosiers ranks second among all ACC player in blocks in conference games only, with 2.8 per game.
As a five-man class, Wake Forest's freshmen are averaging a combined 34.7 points per game. That figure makes them the fifth highest-scoring rookie class in Deacon history.
