ACC Hoops: Virginia Defeats Wake Forest, 83-75

Winston-Salem, NC: In memoriam of another wasted season by the Wake Forest Demon Deacons and head coach Steve Forbes. The Demon Deacons (19-9, 11-6)  fell at home against the Virginia Cavaliers (14-14, 7-10 ACC), 83-75. This is the Deacons second consecutive loss to a sub-500 team, something that just cannot happen to good teams and definitely cannot happen to bubble teams like the Deacs. This is the third consecutive season that the Demon Deacons lose to bad teams at the end of the season that end their chance for the postseason. Wednesday night saw many bubble teams getting win: Arkansas beat Texas, UConn beat Georgetown, Vandy beat Texas A&M, Carolina handedly beat the same UVA team on Saturday and the Deacs lost.

The Demon Deacons last lead came at 18-16 with 11 minutes to go in the first half. The Deacons were consistently down double digits until a spurt around the 10 minute mark of the second half where they cut the deficit down to 66-64. The Wahoos then went on a three point shooting spree that pushed the lead to a place the Deacs could not return from.

The Hoos went 10-22 from deep compared to the Deacs 2-14 for a total of 14% from the arc. Coach Steve Forbes commented on the three point disparity saying “One of the things that we wanted to do was limit the volume of their threes. Twenty-two was the number and they reached that number, but they made 10. We only made two and one of them was a fluke, so you’re minus-nine in terms of three-point shots.” In this modern era, the only way to stay in games is to make shots from the perimeter.

Hunter Salis and Cameron Hildreth lead the Deacs once again in scoring. Salis poured in 25 while Hildreth scored 22. Efton Reid was the only other Deacon in double figures securing another double double with 12 points and 10 rebounds. In 30 combined minutes from the Deacons bench, they could only muster 2 points. Omaha Biliew and Parker Friedrichsen combined for 0 points with only Friedrichsen attempting a shot. Juke Harris scored the benches only 2 points from the free throw line going 2-4.

The Cavaliers were lifted by Issac McKneely’s 27 point outing shooting 10-14 from the floor and 4-7 from three and 5 assists. Dai Dai Ames added 14 points. 

As February comes to close at the LJVM Coliseum, the Deacs open March with another game against a below .500 Notre Dame team and a .500 Georgia Tech team. The only game the Deacs have left to move the needle is at Duke against a Blue Devils team vying for the ACC Regular season championship and a 1 seed in the NCAA tournament.

After a second loss to a bad team, the Deacons must make a run in the ACC tournament to make the Big Dance. If the Deacons fail to do so again, it is time to have a serious talk about coach Steve Forbes. The Deacs are in a way better place than they have been over the last decade, but they seem to have hit a NIT plateau. Is Forbes the right choice to guide the Deacs into the NCAA tournament?