Blogger So Dear - All PostsThe Wake Forest Demon Deacon sports blog where Charlie Brown is still trying to kick that football...https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/47639/blogger-fave.png2024-03-18T10:00:00-04:00http://www.bloggersodear.com/rss/current/2024-03-18T10:00:00-04:002024-03-18T10:00:00-04:002024 Blogger So Dear Bracket Challenge
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<figcaption>Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>Next year for sure</p> <p id="xyjJ9M">March Madness is here and that means it’s time for the Blogger So Dear Bracket Challenge. I know everyone is still probably pretty disappointed about not making the tournament yet again, but it’s still fun to follow along and enjoy the best sports month in the calendar year. Hopefully this is the last year Wake isn’t in the Big Dance for a long, long time.</p>
<p id="ZP9YKn"><a href="https://fantasy.espn.com/tc/sharer?challengeId=240&from=espn&context=GROUP_INVITE&edition=espn-en&groupId=9fbe3860-76e2-38db-95dc-1bfcf99b88ce&joinKey=d21a65b8-a216-3ee1-bd1e-e5a8de25249c"><strong>CLICK HERE</strong></a> to go to the official BSD group, or search for “Blogger So Dear 2024” on ESPN. The password for the group is <strong>GoDeacs</strong>. If you were in the group last year, you should be able to just rejoin it from the Groups tab on ESPN.</p>
<p id="9Sg122">Per the rules at ESPN “All Game picks will lock at the scheduled tip off time of the first Game of Round 1 during the Tournament currently scheduled for Thursday, March 21, 2024 at 12:00 PM (noon) ET (the “<strong>Lock Time</strong>”). Your Game picks for the Tournament must be submitted, received and recorded by Sponsor’s computer by the scheduled Lock Time. Selections submitted after the Lock Time are considered invalid.”</p>
<p id="ngWGkR">Good luck and GO DEACS!</p>
https://www.bloggersodear.com/2024/3/18/24104740/2024-blogger-so-dear-bracket-challenge-deacs-wfu-demon-deacons-big-dance-march-madnessAdam Bridgers2024-03-17T22:13:22-04:002024-03-17T22:13:22-04:00Wake Forest To Face Appalachian State As Top Regional Seed In NIT
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<figcaption>Cory Knowlton-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p>The matchup takes place in the Joel on Tuesday.</p> <p id="OEER4s"><a href="https://www.bloggersodear.com">Wake Forest</a> is one of four top seeds in the <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/nit-tournament">NIT</a>. They will face Appalachian State in the friendly confines of the Joel, and then, should they win, they will face the winner of the Georgia/Xavier matchup.</p>
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<p id="769qI0">App State finished 27-6, and an impressive, conference-topping 16-2 in the Sun Belt conference. The Mountaineers’ most impressive victory was by far a 4 point early season victory against Auburn at home. There really isn’t much else to speak of about their resume other than the fact that they clearly ran absolutely roughshod over the Sun Belt. as did the second place James Madison Dukes. We’ll have more detailed coverage soon, but I wanted to go ahead and get the announcement up and also soap box for a minute.</p>
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<p id="2bu0EL">A lot of teams declined NIT bids this season, including Pitt. Honestly, this might be an unpopular take, but I think that’s absolutely bush league and sour grapes. If you’re a young team, getting guys some more in-game experience, especially in a tournament setting, is potentially invaluable, and if you have a veteran squad, it’s likely full of guys who will never play basketball again. Why wouldn’t you give them a chance to go out in one more blaze of glory? So I, for one, am very glad to see Wake accept the invite, and I hope they come out as the best version of themselves, because if they do, they could very much win the whole damn thing. Is it the same as a National Title? Of course it’s not. But it’s still an opportunity for a very good feather in the cap for the program.</p>
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<p id="ucjLEF">What do you all think about the bracket? Are you glad Wake took the invite? Sound off in the comments.</p>
https://www.bloggersodear.com/2024/3/17/24104467/wake-forest-to-face-appalachian-state-as-top-regional-seed-in-nit-demon-deacons-mountaineersSamuraiFoochs2024-03-17T19:30:28-04:002024-03-17T19:30:28-04:00Virginia comeback stuns Wake Forest in series-decider
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<figcaption><em>Note: Photo from a prior game</em> | Wake Forest Athletic Communications</figcaption>
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<p>The Cavaliers were down to their final strike before a game-tying home run</p> <p id="TGgnZE"><strong>CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA – </strong>Casey Saucke and Virginia were down to their last strike against <a href="https://www.bloggersodear.com">Wake Forest</a>, the series victory on the line. The right fielder responded by launching a solo home run to right field to tie the game. An inning later, the Cavaliers took home the comeback 11-10 win. </p>
<p id="vCbP18">In the tenth, Harrison Didawick led off with a walk against closer David Falco. Cam Nelson then dropped out No. 2, allowing Didawick to reach third, and a fielding error by Falco sent him home for the game winner.</p>
<p id="jm7nSU">Wake Forest led 10-6 going into the bottom of the eighth, but a Didawick three-run shot down the right-field line brought the Cavaliers within one. Coach Tom Walter challenged the call on grounds of the ball being foul, but there was insufficient evidence to overturn. </p>
<p id="YmorBn">The Deacons’ 10 runs all came in the first seven innings. Adam Tellier led off the scoring in the first on a two-run home run. Jack Winnay and Tate Ballestero added homers in the fourth. Two innings later, a single-single-double stretch by Marek Houston, Javar Williams and Tellier scored four runs. A wild pitch during Wake Forest’s next trip to the plate represented the final tally on the scoreboard.</p>
<p id="pB4p8p">Williams and Tellier combined for seven of the Deacons’ 10 hits on the afternoon. Nelson walked four times.</p>
<p id="ya4uU2">Williams finished the series 8-17 at the plate, while Tellier has reached base in 18 of Wake Forest’s 19 games to start the season.</p>
<p id="qClbAG">Freshman Haiden Leffew started on the mound with traditional Sunday pitcher Michael Massey injured. He held strong for the first two innings, only allowing a single run, but three in the third sent him to the dugout. </p>
<p id="cNSyF7">Nelson accounted for the three-run shot in the eighth, while fellow Josh Gunther gave up one in the seventh. Blake Morningstar, Zach Johnston and Ben Shenosky combined for four innings of one-run, none earned baseball.</p>
<p id="5XG7Zu">Sunday’s loss represents the second-straight rubber match Wake Forest has dropped. The Deacs will return to action Tuesday at home against High Point.</p>
https://www.bloggersodear.com/2024/3/17/24104357/virginia-comeback-stuns-wake-forest-in-series-deciderEssexThayerWFU2024-03-16T19:46:56-04:002024-03-16T19:46:56-04:00Wake Forest defeats Virginia, evens series
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<figcaption>Wake Forest Athletic Communications</figcaption>
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<p>Chase Burns posted his third-straight outing with 10 or more strikeouts</p> <p id="FpSGoy"><strong>CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA – </strong>A day after giving up 16 runs in a Friday loss to Virginia, <a href="https://www.bloggersodear.com">Wake Forest</a> cut that number to three in a six-run, series-evening victory Saturday afternoon.</p>
<p id="IMQylh">Chase Burns shined again on the mound, earning his second ACC win of the season with seven near-flawless innings. The Tennessee transfer finished with just one run — a solo homer in the second — and 13 strikeouts, his third-straight game with at least 10.</p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Make. Them. Feel. You. <a href="https://t.co/vSud5yO4HM">pic.twitter.com/vSud5yO4HM</a></p>— Wake Forest Baseball (@WakeBaseball) <a href="https://twitter.com/WakeBaseball/status/1769127137494044957?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 16, 2024</a>
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<p id="ZbTAHY">Burns retired seven consecutive batters from the final out of the second inning through the end of the fourth, when he struck out the side. In his seventh trip to the mound, battling a pitch count that ran above 100, Burns maneuvered through a situation with runners on second and third to keep additional runs off the scoreboard.</p>
<p id="p3Lt5i">The junior’s performance kept Wake Forest from having to further expend its bullpen — the Deacs used seven pitchers Friday including starter Josh Hartle. Will Ray recorded four outs before closer David Falco nabbed the final two. The pair combined for just 27 pitches.</p>
<p id="C422Pe">The Wake Forest bats maintained their heat Saturday, knocking 14 hits. Marek Houston and Adam Tellier led with three each, while Jack Winnay, Seaver King and Javar Williams all tacked on two.</p>
<p id="71xK3S">Tellier singled home the initial run in the first inning, but the Deacs hit a lull until catcher Cameron Gill’s RBI triple in the fourth.</p>
<p id="aBTMrT">Winnay cracked his first home run of the afternoon in the team’s ensuing trip to the plate, his second led off the seventh for a three-RBI day.</p>
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<p lang="it" dir="ltr">Arigato ✌️<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MTFY?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MTFY</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/WinnayJack?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@WinnayJack</a> <a href="https://t.co/pFsAQOdTT8">https://t.co/pFsAQOdTT8</a> <a href="https://t.co/sLM3gDsLFs">pic.twitter.com/sLM3gDsLFs</a></p>— Wake Forest Baseball (@WakeBaseball) <a href="https://twitter.com/WakeBaseball/status/1769120314892358112?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 16, 2024</a>
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<p id="zE6eHP">The latter homer was the beginning of a critical insurance-run effort in the final three innings. Wake Forest found its sixth score on a bases-loaded walk in the eighth before plating three more in the ninth off the bats of Williams, Tellier and Seaver King.</p>
<p id="wRkt7a">Without the five extra runs, a Virginia ninth-inning, two-run blast to right-center would’ve tightened Wake Forest’s lead to one.</p>
<p id="pTUpF2">With the series tied at one, the Deacs enter Sunday with their second-straight rubber match — they fell in the first to Duke last week. Wake Forest will do so potentially without two vital players. Per the ACCN broadcast, coach Tom Walter said Nick Kurtz is expected to be out several weeks with a shoulder injury. It was also noted that Sunday starting pitcher Michael Massey potentially might not be available.</p>
<p id="sWMiPK">According to a source, freshman Haiden Leffew is likely to start on the mound tomorrow for Wake Forest.</p>
<p id="SvcvNB">First pitch is set for 1pm ET on ACCNX. </p>
https://www.bloggersodear.com/2024/3/16/24103480/wake-forest-baseball-defeats-virginia-evens-seriesEssexThayerWFU2024-03-15T21:39:05-04:002024-03-15T21:39:05-04:00Wake Forest’s two nightmare innings end in loss to Virginia
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<figcaption>Dylan Widger-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p>Of the 16 Cavalier runs, just eight were earned</p> <p id="QsQm5l"><strong>CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA – </strong><a href="https://www.bloggersodear.com">Wake Forest</a> spotted Virginia one nightmare inning, but the bats were working. A second even-worse disaster was just too much to overcome, allowing Virginia to jump ahead and run away with a 16-10 series-opening victory.</p>
<p id="jd4QXn">With two outs in the sixth, the Deacons led 10-7. Will Ray walked a batter out of the bullpen to load the bases. He hit the next, one run. But, he induced a pop-up to third base to get out of the jam. That is, until the ball squirted out of Adam Tellier’s glove. A pair of baserunners scampered home running on two outs. </p>
<p id="LeV49s">Two walks — one intentional, the other not — later, Virginia was back in the lead. Two singles scored four additional runs, the second of which occurred due to a balk that nullified a flyout to right.</p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">2nd hit of the inning for Griff!<br><br>It's 13-10! <br><br> : ACCNX | <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/GoHoos?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#GoHoos</a> <a href="https://t.co/w6Q9tRp6Ws">pic.twitter.com/w6Q9tRp6Ws</a></p>— Virginia Baseball (@UVABaseball) <a href="https://twitter.com/UVABaseball/status/1768798737164378378?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 16, 2024</a>
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<p id="DEhTfO">Of the six runs that crossed the plate with Ray on the mound, not a single one was earned.</p>
<p id="XtY3lm">After pitching a scoreless first, starting pitcher Josh Hartle met the initial nightmare inning in the second. With one out, back-to-back doubles spotted Virginia two runs. Following a groundout, the two-out struggle began. Three singles, then a double. Four more tallies on the board.</p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr"> , !!<br><br>Henry Ford pushes the 3rd and 4th 2-out runs of the inning for UVA! <br><br> : ACCNX | <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/GoHoos?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#GoHoos</a> <a href="https://t.co/bMjOul4MYD">pic.twitter.com/bMjOul4MYD</a></p>— Virginia Baseball (@UVABaseball) <a href="https://twitter.com/UVABaseball/status/1768766133199360008?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 15, 2024</a>
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<p id="X9whyi">The final score of the second crossed home on an unearned passed ball with freshman Josh Gunther on the mound.</p>
<p id="fMgM5X"><a href="https://www.bloggersodear.com/2024/3/8/24095100/wake-forest-baseball-drops-acc-opener-duke">After being unable to get through the fourth inning in his first ACC start of the season against Duke</a>, Hartle went to the dugout following one-and-two-thirds with eight hits, seven runs — six earned — and just one strikeout.</p>
<p id="vdmG6U">Gunther went on to settle the Deacons with 2.1 innings of one-hit baseball. No runs were attributed to him.</p>
<p id="VF0qgd">Wake Forest had its own shining trip to the plate minutes prior to the first collapse. In the top of the second, Javar Williams got the Deacs going with a two-out double. Tate Ballestero was walked and Cam Nelson was hit by a pitch to load the bases. After a Marek Houston walk, Tellier blasted a grand slam to left to give Wake Forest a 5-0 lead.</p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Special player ☝️<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MTFY?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MTFY</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/tellier_adam?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@tellier_adam</a> <a href="https://t.co/bJqjkyelD7">https://t.co/bJqjkyelD7</a> <a href="https://t.co/TrDOZa9ewW">pic.twitter.com/TrDOZa9ewW</a></p>— Wake Forest Baseball (@WakeBaseball) <a href="https://twitter.com/WakeBaseball/status/1768760240571355313?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 15, 2024</a>
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<p id="pkTc7l">The two freshmen — Williams and Nelson — produced again in the third. Williams singled home a run and Nelson knocked a two-RBI double, rocketing the Deacs ahead following the first of the nightmare innings.</p>
<p id="NO054T">A fielder’s choice and wild pitch in the fourth and sixth, respectively, accounted for Wake Forest’s ninth and 10th runs. Virginia added an insurance run in the eighth on a solo home run.</p>
<p id="O7BBbE">Coach Tom Walter expended much of his bullpen in the loss. Gunther threw 46 pitches, Zach Johnston (27), Joe Ariola (14), Will Gervase (14) and Ray (29) are some of the Deacs’ highest-leverage arms available at the moment.</p>
<p id="50NKKu">Just eight of Virginia’s 16 runs were earned.</p>
https://www.bloggersodear.com/2024/3/15/24102566/wake-forests-two-nightmare-innings-end-in-loss-to-virginiaEssexThayerWFU2024-03-14T19:09:29-04:002024-03-14T19:09:29-04:00Wake Forest can’t complete comeback, falls to Pitt
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<figcaption>Andy Hancock, ACC</figcaption>
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<p>The Deacons trailed by 19, but got within three twice</p> <p id="Y7aPtu"><strong>WASHINGTON D.C. – </strong>Right there. Twice within the final five minutes, <a href="https://www.bloggersodear.com">Wake Forest</a> was back within three after trailing by as much as 19 in the second half. Both times, and in many others, the Deacons just couldn’t get the final stop to push them over the edge of a mountain they had been climbing for the final 20 minutes. In turn, Pitt did just enough to keep Wake Forest from cresting the peak, pulling away in the end for a 81-69 victory.</p>
<p id="RIQJg4">“I thought, when we got it back to three, [it was an] unbelievable fight in our team,” coach Steve Forbes said postgame. “We just didn’t get any crunch-time stops. They just bullied their way to the rim with either layups or fouls, and we had a critical turnover, an air ball.”</p>
<p id="BMZshh">4:16 was left on the clock when Hunter Sallis made a free throw for the initial three-point deficit. Ishmael Leggett converted to make it five. Andrew Carr secured an offensive rebound and ensuing bucket 30 seconds later for Wake’s second look at a one-possession game. Blake Hinson then hit the shot on the other end to extend the lead to five again.</p>
<p id="Av3CUO">Both of those critical Pitt scores came on second-chance opportunities. Pitt recorded 10 offensive rebounds in the game — six in the second half — creating 12 total extra points. 15 Wake Forest turnovers supplied an additional 13.</p>
<p id="T12Z4O">“[Those] were killers…” Forbes said. “It’s just a hard way to win.”</p>
<p id="XTm8Uj">With 1:42 remaining, and Wake Forest trailing by six, Sallis drove down the lane and pulled up for the jumper. Hinson contested with an arm and the shot fell short. Leggett responded on the opposite end with a layup to make the deficit eight, a four-point swing.</p>
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<cite>Evan Harris/Blogger So Dear</cite>
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<p id="iXJVqv">“I think it was a six-point game with a little under two to go, and Hunter drove the ball, obvious foul,” Forbes said. “They didn’t call it, so [Pitt] goes down — now we should be shooting two to make it four — they go up eight, that’s pretty tough from there.”</p>
<p id="X1lniu">“I thought I was fouled, but they ultimately didn’t call it,” Sallis said. “That’s what the referee saw and that’s how the game went. I can’t sit here and dwell on it.”</p>
<p id="Ap63vk">Leggett, who finished the game with 30 points, scored 12 in the final six minutes of play, carrying the Panthers to victory when Wake Forest was threatening to snatch it away.</p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">The Ish Legg-acy game <br><br> ESPN2 <a href="https://t.co/jAdTs7GxCY">pic.twitter.com/jAdTs7GxCY</a></p>— Pitt Basketball (@Pitt_MBB) <a href="https://twitter.com/Pitt_MBB/status/1768376800348913904?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 14, 2024</a>
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<p id="X4Y3wZ">“It’s a tough matchup for our team because we have to guard Hinson with Cameron [Hildreth],” Forbes said. “Cameron can’t guard the whole team, and so he has to guard Hinson, putting our four-man on Leggett, and that’s a problem. He exposed us today.</p>
<p id="8XPfou">“Then finally in the second half, we just had to go ahead and switch Cam back to [Leggett], and that took Efton [Reid] off the floor or Andrew, because we couldn’t play them both together.”</p>
<p id="ZAwlyN">That in turn left a big to sometimes guard Hinson, per Forbes. He scored 10 points in the second for a total of 20 in the game.</p>
<p id="7RIRTB">In the first half, offense was a battle for Wake Forest, and success didn’t come often. The Deacs started 0-4 from the field and struggled to get good looks throughout. The team shot 42% in the first 20 minutes, but just 3-11 from three-point range. Pitt went 6-15.</p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Your ACC Sixth Man of the Year with the first three of the game <br><br> ESPN2 <a href="https://t.co/nDYtsK3SDM">pic.twitter.com/nDYtsK3SDM</a></p>— Pitt Basketball (@Pitt_MBB) <a href="https://twitter.com/Pitt_MBB/status/1768347730131189774?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 14, 2024</a>
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<p id="23njcy">“We just didn’t move a lot,” Forbes said. “When we drove it, we didn’t come off of it. We got ripped. We turned it over. I just thought we were sluggish offensively…I thought we missed a lot of shots around the basket, too. Andrew got one blocked, Efton, maybe Hunter missed one. I thought we got [to the rim] some, too, and didn’t finish.”</p>
<p id="iE4Zs3">The defense, though, kept Wake Forest competitive for a time. Some of the offense was coming off forced turnovers and transition plays. It was in settled sets where the Deacons struggled most.</p>
<p id="e3ChD2">“Just felt like we weren’t as sharp, [weren’t] executing what we needed to do to have good offense,” Carr said. “A little slow. When we settled down and got into our rhythm, got into our flow on offense, we were really running our sets a lot faster and crisper.”</p>
<p id="aOI3By">Midway through the first half, Pitt embarked on an 8-0 run in less than a minute, pushing the lead to 11. It got as high as 14, before settling at 12 for halftime.</p>
<p id="depQ0Q">After Wake Forest got the deficit down to eight with seven-straight points out of the locker room, the Panthers responded with a 12-1 stretch. At the under-12 official timeout, the Deacons trailed by 17.</p>
<p id="3zNKps">It was at that point where Wake Forest made its move. Sallis knocked down back-to-back threes. Hildreth put home the and-one. The Deacs went on a 19-6 run in five minutes of game time to cut the lead to four.</p>
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<cite>Craig Hunter Ross, ACC</cite>
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<p id="9oXEgm">“I’d say it kind of looked like we woke up a little bit,” Sallis said. “We knew that we had to get something going with the time. We were fighting against time at that point. Just players trying to make plays, and I feel like my team did a great job down the stretch.”</p>
<p id="8xRDSS">“A bit unfortunate with that not being there the whole game,” Carr said. “[We didn’t] come out with that type of intensity. We understood what was on the line in the game. When you get backs against the wall, you have to decide whether you’re gonna fight or not. Proud of the guys that did step up there and really came up with that momentum, that fight.”</p>
<p id="J4IAA6">After making just one shot in the first half, Sallis was one of the key players to flip the switch, going 4-5 for 12 points in the second.</p>
<p id="JRfkhC">“[Pitt] had a really good gameplan coming into the game,” he said. “They sat there in the gaps, and it was hard for me to kind of create. They sent a couple people at me on my drive. I had to really figure out how to get my shots. </p>
<p id="HqDf0q">“My coach showed me film coming in here at halftime. Basically [they were] giving me the three. So my three started falling. And that’s how I started getting my energy.”</p>
<p id="Sn3oeW">“I think we finally put score-pressure on them,” Forbes added. “I knew this would happen if we could get it under 10, it would get a little tight or the shots wouldn’t go as easy, and that’s what happened. To [Pitt’s] credit, we fought back, and then they regrouped and made plays like a good team does.”</p>
<p id="dHbHt4">Now, Wake Forest is forced to play an unpopular game in March — that of waiting. The team is likely on the outside looking in for the NCAA Tournament, and it’s unclear if it would earn a bid even in a perfect scenario. There’s a level of unknown to all this, too. Efton Reid missed Wake’s first seven games of the season due to a transfer waiver review.</p>
<p id="hM2agH">“I just had some conversations with [North Carolina athletic director and NCAA Tournament committee member] Bubba Cunningham before he went into the bunker…” Forbes said. “We’ll see how much they weigh that — it’ll be talked about…one of the committee members already said a couple days ago that they were going to look at the young man from Indiana State who was ill or didn’t play in a couple games they played in.</p>
<p id="KEwkUR">“We have a good team, and I firmly believe, and everybody that’s watched us play all year long, [if] we get in the tournament, we can win. It’s not going to be charity now. Nobody is going to want to play us if we get in there.”</p>
https://www.bloggersodear.com/2024/3/14/24101315/wake-forest-cant-complete-comeback-falls-to-pittEssexThayerWFU2024-03-13T20:20:51-04:002024-03-13T20:20:51-04:00Game Preview: Wake Forest vs Pitt
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<figcaption>Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p>The Panthers have five key players hitting at least 30% from deep</p> <p id="cONV2z">One step at a time. <a href="https://www.bloggersodear.com/2024/3/13/24100133/wake-forest-handles-notre-dame-acc">Wake Forest handled step one of the process Wednesday, taking down Notre Dame 72-59.</a> Revenge best served cold. Thursday, in the quarterfinals, the Deacs will look to avenge another loss from the regular season — they’ve already done it once — against Pitt to reach the semis.</p>
<p id="83QOIu">This is the big-ticket game, too. The one some folks have tabbed a “win and get in” scenario for the NCAA Tournament. As referenced in the above linked game story, coach Steve Forbes doesn’t care about March Madness right now. He cares about making it to Friday, to a level of the ACC Tournament Wake Forest hasn’t reached since 2006.</p>
<p id="pzAdRt">Right now, the only concern is the Panthers.</p>
<h3 id="0e5D4h"><strong>Game Info</strong></h3>
<p id="sGgack">Teams: Wake Forest (20-12, 11-9 ACC), Pitt (21-10, 12-8)</p>
<p id="W1Z4z1">Date: Thursday March 14</p>
<p id="qSHybk">Time: 2:30pm ET</p>
<p id="4Ik2yY">Location: Capital One Arena; Washington D.C.</p>
<p id="Xu0H06">Broadcast: ESPN2; Dan Shulman and Jay Bilas</p>
<h3 id="LKhcDH"><strong>The Metrics</strong></h3>
<p id="R4q1al">Pitt trails Wake Forest in each of the three major ranking metrics — 26 to 46 in KenPom, 38 to 44 in NET and 33 to 43 in Torvik.</p>
<p id="gpL6sM">Efficiency-wise, Pitt is a pretty balanced team, rated No. 36 in offense and 56 in defense per KP. Offensively, the Panthers are an average shooting team, ranking near the middle on two-point shots, but are a good bit better on threes (38% of their points come from behind the arc.) They are poor from the free-throw line, but create extra possessions through offensive rebounds and seldom turning the ball over (No. 9 turnover % in the nation).</p>
<p id="R6DeIJ">On the other end, opponents tend to struggle shooting against Pitt, with a 49 effective field-goal percentage. The Panthers, though, don’t cause turnovers.</p>
<h3 id="BcKOvI"><strong>The Games</strong></h3>
<p id="M6Zile">Q1: 2-6, Q2: 5-2, Q3: 7-2, Q4: 7-0</p>
<p id="1hb9Tz"><em>Best Win: </em>80-76 road win over Duke (Jan. 20)</p>
<p id="enJu3p"><em>Worst Loss: </em>71-64 home defeat to Missouri (Nov. 28)</p>
<h3 id="NvLZQk"><strong>Last Time vs Wake</strong></h3>
<p id="LAZiDB">It was the beginning of perhaps Wake Forest’s best week all season, a 91-58 home victory over Pitt led to a win over Duke days later. Hunter Sallis and Boopie Miller combined for 35 points. Five Deacons were in double-digits. Wake Forest knocked down 10 threes, shooting 50% from behind the arc and scoring 1.542 points per possession.</p>
<p id="ugKv7h">The Deacs held Blake Hinson, Pitt’s best player, to 10 points.</p>
<h3 id="W3mEzu"><strong>How Pitt Got Here</strong></h3>
<p id="Cn7KCi">Pitt had the double-bye due to its No. 4 rank in the ACC. This will be its first game in the ACC Tournament.</p>
<h3 id="r6B7sg"><strong>Players To Watch</strong></h3>
<h4 id="JQjmG1"><em><strong>Pitt</strong></em></h4>
<p id="qUPOFL"><strong>Blake Hinson</strong></p>
<p id="gZOI0W">It has to be Hinson. It has to be. The first-team All-ACC honoree is scoring 18.8 points per game, while shooting 42.4% from three. He dropped 41 a month ago against Louisville, knocking down nine threes. He went a perfect 7-7 from deep in the upset win over Duke.</p>
<p id="kuNBSR">In the January victory over Wake Forest, he scored a respectable 17, but the Deacons held him to 1-5 from deep in Winston-Salem. Winning this game likely occurs in part because of managing Hinson’s scoring threat.</p>
<h4 id="Emkd4w"><em><strong>Wake Forest</strong></em></h4>
<p id="aZIHu3"><strong>Hunter Sallis</strong></p>
<p id="jNWvmR">Sallis is Wake Forest’s own first-team All-ACC player, but he’s been hot-and-cold shooting the basketball recently. He went 7-13 with three triples in last weekend’s pivotal win over Clemson, but Wednesday, he was 4-14 against Notre Dame.</p>
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<cite>Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports</cite>
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<p id="oqKf5y">Sallis is a key cog of the Wake Forest offense. The Deacs don’t always need him shooting at a high volume, but most of the time, he has to be “that guy.” If he can elevate to that elite level we’ve seen at times, it makes Wake Forest that much more daunting.</p>
<h3 id="ebJ2PN"><strong>Keys to the Game</strong></h3>
<h4 id="cu6yHh"><em><strong>Physicality</strong></em></h4>
<p id="mFEnot">We saw it in the game against Notre Dame, physicality was a huge factor. Wake Forest crashed the boards on both ends, but gave up a decent share of offensive rebounds. The Deacs went inside to Andrew Carr and Efton Reid. They had to defend the paint hard.</p>
<p id="AsgIZY">I expect a similar scenario against Pitt. Wake Forest can go at Hinson and Fede Federiko when on offense. It’s going to be a battle for offensive rebounds, something the Panthers defend very well.</p>
<p id="ifhz2n">Plus, both teams will know how much this game means for their futures. It’s going to be gritty.</p>
<h4 id="YK3W0M"><em><strong>Win the three-point line</strong></em></h4>
<div class="c-float-right"> <figure class="e-image">
<img alt=" " data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/aXhMFvzCPEbcjUmiQQ_B8scBQ2M=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25335050/USATSI_22415454.jpg">
<cite>Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports</cite>
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<p id="lBEl2T">Pitt is a very good three-point shooting team. Of course there’s Hinson, but Jaland Lowe, Ishmael Leggett, Carlton Carrington and Zack Austin are all 30% or above too. </p>
<p id="RbVYDY">The Panthers shot 42% from deep in their win over Wake Forest. In the loss, 27%. That’s a massive difference.</p>
<p id="mzvGFT">In turn, the Deacs have their own bevy of three-point shooters — Sallis, Carr, Boopie Miller and Parker Friedrichsen. Them lighting it up would be big.</p>
<h4 id="Umdnp0"><em><strong>Start hot, finish the job</strong></em></h4>
<p id="pgNf7V">Wake Forest’s second-half troubles away from home have been well-documented, so I won’t rehash those. But Wednesday, the Deacs found a way to take a big lead early, and when the going got tough in the second half, they grabbed momentum with both hands and took care of business.</p>
<p id="2Ok5y9">In a game like this, a Pitt run will come. Wake Forest will at some point be on its heels. The key is to take control and work through those moments. The Deacs cannot allow Pitt to set the tone.</p>
<h3 id="CCl3U8"><strong>Prediction</strong></h3>
<p id="fOXkC2">Now, the next game is the biggest game, but this one feels especially important. It could be enough to secure an NCAA Tournament bid for either squad. Wednesday, Wake Forest showed what it could do under pressure.</p>
<p id="I27tiJ">Can the Deacs channel that pressure into positive performance? Can they get the job done? We’ve seen what Wake Forest can do to Pitt when it’s at top-tier level. Bring that same intensity and the Deacs are victorious.</p>
<p id="AYvdfW"><strong>Wake Forest wins 78-71</strong></p>
https://www.bloggersodear.com/2024/3/13/24100203/game-preview-wake-forest-vs-pitt-basketballEssexThayerWFU2024-03-13T19:00:00-04:002024-03-13T19:00:00-04:00Wake Forest handles Notre Dame
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<figcaption>Andy Hancock, ACC</figcaption>
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<p>After combining for eight three-pointers Tuesday, Wake Forest held Burton and Shrewsberry to one each</p> <p id="UDkNS6"><strong>WASHINGTON D.C. – </strong>Wake Forest went into halftime against Notre Dame winning by six. It’s a familiar territory when playing away from LJVM Coliseum in Winston-Salem. That territory usually doesn’t end well. In those first few minutes of the second half, though, the Deacons found the momentum swings — the game-changers — to secure a 72-59 victory over the Irish. </p>
<p id="MMtYIK">Those shifts that saw the game flip from hotly-contested to a double-digit winning margincame on Wake Forest’s defensive end. </p>
<p id="ZMfBdG">With the Deacons leading by eight at the 14:55 mark, Cam Hildreth poked an inbounds ball free and laid home the and-one on the opposite end, a potential five-point swing. Parker Friedrichsen did the same four minutes later, upping the lead to 13. The freshman stole the ball again to maintain the 13-point advantage with five minutes remaining.</p>
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<cite>Andy Hancock, ACC</cite>
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<p id="7FY9lw">In total, Wake Forest caused 10 turnovers, scoring 15 off them. The equal number of points occurred on fast breaks. Correlation doesn’t equal causation, but you get the idea. Wake Forest took the ball away in pivotal times, flew down to the other end and scored game-shifting buckets.</p>
<p id="AP1rRx">“I mean, those are huge when you’re turning your defense into offense,” coach Steve Forbes said postgame. “It gives you a lot of confidence, and then it doesn’t put as much pressure on you to come down and score in your half-court offense…It’s really important to us to try to generate easy baskets.”</p>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-dnt="true" align="center">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Deacs collecting a handful of AND-1s <a href="https://twitter.com/CSH_02?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@CSH_02</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ACCMBB?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ACCMBB</a> <a href="https://t.co/PxJFkREdSE">pic.twitter.com/PxJFkREdSE</a></p>— Wake Forest Men's Basketball (@WakeMBB) <a href="https://twitter.com/WakeMBB/status/1768008228657410345?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 13, 2024</a>
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<p id="nz8EVD">On a day where several specialty stats stood out, Wake Forest’s 16 second-chance points were another critical one to do so. The Deacs out-rebounded Notre Dame 37-35, pulling down 13 offensive boards. Andrew Carr had five of them, finishing the afternoon with 11 total and 12 points for the double-double.</p>
<p id="AWekqk">“I think it was really important to establish,” Carr said. “We knew coming in and playing [Notre Dame] before that that’s what they like to do a lot of, being super physical. The guards get in there, pump feet, pivot, be physical with you, try to draw fouls and things like that. Coming into the game, we knew that’s what the game was gonna be like…We were battle tested and ready.”</p>
<p id="HIKWWE">The physicality Wake Forest prepared for was one it undoubtedly succeeded in, with Carr and Efton Reid combining for 20 points on offense. The Deacs finished with 38 of its 72 points in the paint.</p>
<p id="VqerAR">“I thought we hurt them at the rim,” Forbes said. “We made an emphasis on getting the ball inside when they doubled us. We wanted to finish at the rim because they had a small guy at the rim.”</p>
<div id="pDXZwm">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-dnt="true" align="center">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Right before the first media timeout <a href="https://twitter.com/apc_andrew?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@apc_andrew</a> <a href="https://t.co/NL7e30SQXg">pic.twitter.com/NL7e30SQXg</a></p>— Wake Forest Men's Basketball (@WakeMBB) <a href="https://twitter.com/WakeMBB/status/1767988159692836964?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 13, 2024</a>
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<p id="zaFwf5">In addition to the work on the inside, defeating Notre Dame meant handling the threats from the outside. Markus Burton and Braeden Shrewsberry accounted for over half of their team’s points in Tuesday afternoon’s first-round win over Georgia Tech. The two were a combined 8-14 from three.</p>
<p id="b0GSIe">The following day, Wake Forest held the pair to 1-6 each behind the arc. </p>
<p id="9eGyqy">“This game, we wanted to make Burton a passer, not let him get downhill in the ball screen and the zoom action,” Forbes said. “I thought we did, for the most part, a really good job of that. We weren’t in the drop this time. We were up to touch, not letting him turn the corner. We switched our matchups. We let Cameron guard Shrewsberry. Boopie [Miller] did an unbelievable job on Burton. I thought that was a big thing for us.”</p>
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<cite>Craig Hunter Ross, ACC</cite>
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<p id="icnT1e">Notre Dame only shot 26% on threes, with six makes in the first half. After halftime, the Irish went 0-8. They only made five shots total in the second half, finishing the day at 28.6% from the field.</p>
<p id="7UBfYN">“They just got a couple of open ones on some of our rotations,” Hildreth said. “But we came in here at halftime, and in the media timeouts, we just talked about how we were going to adjust. We just made some slight adjustments. We played great defense as a team.”</p>
<p id="YDwHsA">With foul trouble a factor — three Deacons finished with four fouls, two for Notre Dame — the Wake Forest bench contributed at a larger-than-normal clip. Friedrichsen, Zach Keller and Matthew Marsh played a total of 43 minutes. Keller registered two blocks and a steal, while Friedrichsen supplemented the caused turnovers with a three-pointer and put-back two. </p>
<p id="pvdvds">“It was maybe one of the most important things of the game,” Forbes said. “Especially when you’re in a tournament situation you’ve obviously got to have some bench production. A lot of times, I think we think bench production is just scoring points. It’s not.”</p>
<p id="ajLvCh">“It’s a huge focus,” Friedrichsen said of his steals. “I feel like that’s what keeps me on the floor coming off the beach. Defense leads to offense. If I’m impacting defense, it really translates [and] helps me on offense. Getting involved, it’s obviously a big piece.”</p>
<p id="3bN47H">Notre Dame never led the entire game, much to do with Wake Forest coming out on fire from tip-off. The Deacons began on a 7-0 run. In turn, the Irish missed their first seven shots. By the under-12 media timeout, the lead was already out to 11. And, while that mattered, with Wake Forest’s history, keeping that heat in the second half was the real edge.</p>
<p id="pH1FZ7">“The second half of the other games, the away games, we started off slow,” Miller said. “But I feel like this half, the coaches told us about the emphasis they wanted to put on defending, finishing out strong, coming out with rebounds, scoring the ball. I feel like we did that perfectly in the second half.”</p>
<p id="ZtYntz">“We talked about it,” Forbes added. “I think it was about the same score on the road at Notre Dame…Yeah, it’s time to change, time to grow up, whatever you want to use. It’s go time. I thought we came out and did a really good job establishing on both ends of the court in the second half and not relying on just our offense or our defense to win the game.”</p>
<p id="EVDdsH">In the “survive and advance” times of March, Wake Forest lives to see another day. Thursday afternoon, the Deacs will face another familiar foe — Pitt. In the context of NCAA Tournament hopes, it’s a massive game, but Forbes is only worried about one thing.</p>
<p id="QjvNOd">“What I’m worried about is getting to Friday,” he said. “I’m not worried about all that other stuff, and neither are [the players]...We came here to play on Friday and Saturday, and the only way to do that is to win on Wednesday and play on Thursday.”</p>
<p id="Lyr2s1">Tip off is set for 2:30pm ET on ESPN2.</p>
https://www.bloggersodear.com/2024/3/13/24100133/wake-forest-handles-notre-dame-accEssexThayerWFU