University of North Carolina Athletics
Know Your Opponent: Wake Forest
January 20, 2016 | Men's Basketball
Wake Forest (WakeForestSports.com)
Location: Winston-Salem, N.C.
Rankings: WFU - No. 127 KenPom, NR AP; UNC - No. 6 KenPom, No. 2 AP
Records: WFU - 10-7, 1-4 ACC; UNC - 16-2, 5-0 ACC
Carolina Series History (Last Meeting): Carolina leads 157-66 (UNC 87, Wake 71, Jan. 21, 2015, Joel Coliseum)
A very encouraging start that featured wins over Indiana, UCLA, Arkansas and LSU is in danger of going to waste for Wake Forest, thanks to losses in four of five to open ACC play. The latest setback was the most disappointing to date, as Syracuse thumped the Demon Deacons by 28 Saturday in Winston-Salem. That dropped Wake to 1-4 in the ACC with three road games in a four-game gauntlet of UNC, Miami, Virginia and Notre Dame up next.
The Deacs have been worse at both ends of the floor in league play, but it's the defense that has been especially troubling. In five ACC contests, opponents are averaging 1.17 points per possession, and three of those five opponents (Syracuse, NCSU, Virginia Tech) rank in the bottom five in the league in offensive efficiency.
While the offense has lagged of late, Wake still has plenty of scoring weapons. Senior Devin Thomas is the team's leading scorer and rebounder, averaging 16.4 points and 10.5 boards per contest. Thomas does it the old-fashioned way - getting to the rim and getting to the foul line. The 6-9 forward is an above-average ball handler for his size and he draws better than eight fouls per game, tops in the ACC and sixth-most nationally. His frontcourt partner is Dinos Mitoglou, a 6-10 Greek sharpshooter who is more comfortable behind the arc. The big sophomore takes more than 60 percent of his shots from 3, where he is a 38 percent career shooter.
Wake's backcourt depth was boosted by the addition of Codi Miller-McIntyre, though the senior from Concord has struggled to find his scoring touch in the nine games since returning from a broken foot. In CMM's absence, freshman Bryant Crawford emerged as the team's primary point guard, leading the Deacs in assists and making better than 40 percent of his 3s. He has struggled of late, however, scoring just one point in a season-low 17 minutes in the loss to Syracuse. Crawford's classmates John Collins and Doral Moore both have loads of potential inside but have seen limited minutes against ACC competition.
Sophomores Cornelius Hudson and Mitchell Wilbekin round out the usual starting five for a Wake team that will be happy to run with Carolina. Among ACC teams, only the Tar Heels and Florida State play faster than the Deacs.
While Wake has been above average at getting to the line all season (eighth nationally in free throw rate), Danny Manning's club has struggled mightily once it gets there. The Deacons have made just 67.4 percent of their freebies on the season, and that mark dips to a league-worst 59.2 percent in conference games.
Wake Forest will see Wednesday night as a big opportunity to right the ship in the midst of a brutal stretch in its schedule. Despite having 13 league games left, time is running short for a team that will probably not be favored again until Boston College comes to Winston on Feb. 21.
