Wake Forest Athletics
Basketball Gameday - Wake Forest at Florida State
1/31/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
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| Wake Forest at Florida State Tuesday, February 1, 7:00 p.m. Donald L. Tucker Center | Tallahassee, Fla. |
Wake Forest Game Notes  | Florida State Game Notes | Radio: Listen Live | TV: theACC.com | Tickets |
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Wake Forest will look to build some momentum off its first ACC win of the season when the Demon Deacons travel to Tallahassee to take on the Florida State Seminoles on Tuesday at the Donald L. Tucker Center.
Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. The game can be heard on the Wake Forest Sports Network from IMG College and at WakeForestSports.com.
The Demon Deacons (8-13, 1-5) are coming off a 76-71 win over visiting Virginia on Saturday at the Joel Coliseum. The victory snapped Wake Forest's five-game losing streak and gave head coach Jeff Bzdelik his first career ACC win.
Wake Forest had to battle back from a 10-point deficit in the second half to come away with the win. The Deacons utilized a 20-9 run midway through the period to claim a 58-57 advantage. Wake went a perfect 14-for-14 at the free throw line in the second half to seal the victory.
C.J. Harris was largely responsible for the Deacons' success at the charity stripe. The sophomore guard was 10-for-10 on the day, including 8-of-8 in the second half. Harris finished with 15 points to lead six Deacons in double figures.
Travis McKie posted his sixth double-double of the season with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Ty Walker scored 11 points on 5-of-6 shooting off the bench, more than doubling his career points total in conference games.
Florida State (15-6, 5-2 ACC) comes in following a 62-44 setback at Clemson on Saturday afternoon. The loss snapped the Seminoles' four-game winning streak.
Wake Forest leads the all-time series with Florida State, 23-17. The Deacons have won three of the past five meetings overall but just one of the previous five games in Tallahassee. In last year's only meeting, the Seminoles posted a 51-47 defeat of the Deacons at the Tucker Center. Wake Forest will host FSU later this season on Saturday, Feb. 19.
| STATISTICAL COMPARISON | ||
| Wake | FSU | |
| Overall Record | 8-13 | 15-6 |
| Conference Record | 1-5 | 5-2 |
| Scoring Offense | 69.6 | 69.3 |
| Scoring Defense | 75.9 | 60.6 |
| Scoring Margin | -6.2 | +8.8 |
| Rebounding Offense | 34.0 | 40.3 |
| Rebounding Defense | 37.5 | 33.8 |
| Rebound Margin | -3.5 | +6.5 |
| FG Percentage | .430 | .427 |
| 3-pt FG Percentage | .379 | .329 |
| FT Percentage | .754 | .664 |
| FG Percentage Defense | .446 | .351 |
| 3-Pointers Per Game | 6.1 | 6.5 |
| Assists Ger Game | 11.5 | 12.5 |
| Turnovers Per Game | 15.5 | 16.6 |
| Turnover Margin | -3.4 | -0.7 |
| Assist/Turnover Ratio | 0.7 | 0.8 |
| Steals Per Game | 5.2 | 8.7 |
| Blocked Shots Per Game | 5.8 | 6.1 |
Next Up...
Wake Forest will play its second straight road game when the Deacons take on Maryland on Saturday, Feb. 5, in College Park. Tip-off is set for 1 p.m., and the game will be televised on the ACC Network. The Deacons will then return home to host Miami on Wednesday, Feb. 9, at 7 p.m.
Last Time Out
Six Demon Deacons scored in double figures, and Wake Forest rallied from 10 down in the second half to post a 76-71 win over Virginia on Saturday at the Joel Coliseum.
The win snapped the Deacons' five-game losing streak and gave head coach Jeff Bzdelik his first career ACC victory.
Wake Forest led by as many as eight in the first half but saw Virginia rally to take a 34-32 lead at halftime.
The Cavaliers pushed their advantage to 10, 48-38, early in the second period. The Deacons fought back with a 20-9 run to claim a 58-57 lead with over five minutes remaining.
Gary Clark's 3-pointer at the 2:46 mark put Wake ahead to stay, and the Deacons sealed the win by going 6-for-6 at the free throw line in the final minute and a half.
C.J. Harris led Wake Forest with 15 points to go along with seven assists and six rebounds. Harris also came up huge at the free throw line, hitting all 10 of his attempts, including a perfect 8-for-8 performance in the second half.
Travis McKie (12 points), Ari Stewart (12), J.T. Terrell (11), Ty Walker (11) and Clark (10) joined Harris in double figures. McKie also grabbed 10 rebounds to record his sixth double-double of the year.
Walker was a pleasant surprise off the bench, going 5-for-6 from the field and adding a block and a steal. The 7-0 junior came into the game with just eight career points scored in ACC games and more than doubled that total by the final buzzer.
The Deacons shot 48 percent (24-of-50) from the field, including 9-for-19 (47.4 percent) from beyond the arc. Wake Forest was a superb 19-of-21 (90.5 percent) from the free throw line, including a 14-for-14 showing in the second half.
Virginia shot 50 percent (28-of-56) from the field but committed 11 turnovers compared to nine for Wake Forest. The Deacons scored 20 points off Cavalier miscues.
Walker Steps Up vs. Cavaliers
Junior center Ty Walker entered Saturday's game against Virginia with a very non-descript career stat line in conference games: eight points on 3-17 (17.6%) shooting in nine games.
Walker flipped the script against the Cavaliers, helping the Deacons to their first ACC win of the season. Walker finished the afternoon with 11 points on 5-of-6 shooting in 23 minutes off the bench. He had 10 of his 11 points in the second half.
The Wilmington native was one point shy of his career-high but did manage to set a new career-best in field goals made.
What's Up Next...
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 14-7 overall and 4-3 in the ACC entering Wednesday's home game against Duke.
The Terps lead the all-time series, 63-56, but the Deacons won in their last trip to the Comcast Center in 2008-09.
Following the Maryland game, Wake Forest will host Miami on Wednesday, Feb. 9. The Hurricanes are 12-9 overall and 1-6 in the ACC entering Wednesday's game against Georgia Tech. Miami will host Virginia on Feb. 5 before facing the Deacons.
Wake Forest leads the all-time series with Miami, 8-4. The Hurricanes won two of three meetings last season, including an 83-62 upset in the opening round of the ACC Tournament. The Deacons have never lost in five all-time games with the Canes at the Joel Coliseum.
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 (7.6 rpg) and double-doubles (6). He has led his team in scoring nine times, which tops all ACC freshmen.
Terrell is second among all conference freshmen in scoring at 12.2 points per game, trailing McKie by 15 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 2.1 per contest. Desrosiers ranks third among all ACC players in blocks in conference games only, with 2.3 per game.
As a five-man class, Wake Forest's freshmen are averaging a combined 33.8 points per game. That figure makes them the fifth highest-scoring rookie class in Deacon history.
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 (+8.1) 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 11.3 points per game. Clark is just ahead of Maryland's Jordan Williams (+8.0) for the conference lead in per-game scoring improvement.
Clark also leads the country in 3-point shooting at 62.7 percent (37-59) 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 15 games this year, ranks third on the team in scoring. He has scored in double figures in 13 of his last 18 games, which includes a career-best 23-point performance vs. Winthrop and a 20-point outing vs. UNCW.
Tabb Misses Virginia Game With Ankle Injury
Melvin Tabb missed Saturday's game against Virginia with an ankle injury. The freshman forward had seen his playing time steadily increasing until the setback.
Over the previous four games, Tabb 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.
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.
