Playbook: Wake Forest Demon Deacons vs NC State Wolfpack

The Deacs dropped their 11th conference game of the season in Raleigh last night, and this one was yet another blowout. Unless I’m counting incorrectly, 7 of Wake’s 11 conference losses have been by 20 points or more, so if it sounds like my enthusiasm is waning, that’s probably why. Anyways, on to the plays.

Wake gave up 90+ points for the 2nd time in 3 games, largely due to their inability to keep the Pack from scoring fast break points.

I think at this point, most followers of college basketball know that Kevin Keatts loves this style of play. He wants to pressure the ball full court and fast break as often as possible. The Deacs basically let State play in their wheelhouse for the entire game.

If you look at the stats, the Deacs actually only had 10 turnovers, which means they did a good job taking care of the basketball. The main issue in this game was that Wake allowed NC State way too many fast break opportunities off of defensive rebounds.

When you allow the opponent to get easy transition buckets off of missed shots while simultaneously shooting 37% from the floor, there’s going to be a lot of fast break chances for the other team. Too many for a team like NC State, who is so good in the open court.

The good news is we only have 1 day off before we get another crack at it, so we are on to Miami.