WRAL Sports Fan

North Carolina State University

Previewing Wake Forest at N.C. State

By Pack Pride

Feb 11, 2009

After a tough loss at Virginia Tech, NC State (12-9, 2-6) returns home looking to upset Wake Forest (18-3, 5-3). Pack Pride takes a closer look at Wednesday's opponent -- tip-off is at 7:00 p.m. The game will be broadcast in the Triangle on 99.9 FM The Fan.

PROJECTED STARTERS
G 00 Jeff Teague (20.9 ppg, 3.8 rpg)
G 42 L.D. Williams (8.7 ppg, 2.7 rpg)
F 01 Al-Farouq Aminu (13.2 ppg, 8.5 rpg)
F 23 James Johnson (13.4 ppg, 8.0 rpg)
C 13 Chas McFarland (9.1 ppg, 6.4 rpg)

STAR WATCH
Jeff Teague - As of right now, Teague might be the ACC's Player of the Year. An explosive talent, his quickness and athleticism presents major problems for opposing defenses.

Wake Forest Game Notes

NO. 7/8 WAKE PLAYS IN-STATE RIVAL NC STATE
No. 7/8-ranked Wake Forest will head two hours east to take on in-state rival NC State on Wednesday, Feb. 11. The game, which will tip-off at 7 p.m. at the RBC Center in Raleigh, will be available on the Wake Forest ISP Radio Network. The contest will also be available online on ACC Select.

The Demon Deacons (18-3, 5-3 ACC) are coming off a 93-76 defeat of Boston College on Sunday in Winston-Salem. Wake Forest, who swept the season series with BC, shot 57.4 percent from the fl oor and overcame a one-point halftime defi cit to post the 17-point victory.

Jeff Teague and Al-Farouq Aminu led the way for the Deacons, scoring 27 and 26 points respectively. Teague tied his career-high with eight assists, while Aminu went 8-for-9 from the floor.

James Johnson posted a double-double of 12 points and 10 boards, and L.D. Williams scored 11 points on 5-of-7 shooting. NC State comes in at 12-9 overall and 2-6 in the ACC. The Wolfpack have lost two of their last three games, including a 91-87 overtime setback at Virginia Tech on Sunday afternoon. NC State leads the all-time series with Wake Forest, 130-97. In its 228th all-time meeting, the series is the third-most frequent in the ACC.

The teams split the season series last year and will meet again this season on Feb. 26 in Winston-Salem.

NOTING THE BOSTON COLLEGE GAME
Wake Forest pulled away in the second half to post a 93-76 defeat of Boston College and sweep the season series with the Eagles on Sunday afternoon in Winston-Salem. The Deacons trailed by one, 47-46, at halftime but outscored the Eagles 47-29 in the second period.

A 7-0 run midway through the second half gave Wake a 10-point advantage, 71-61, with 11:01 remaining. BC could not get closer than six the rest of the way. Jeff Teague and Al-Farouq Aminu led the Deacons, scoring 27 and 26 points respectively. Teague tied his career-high with eight assists and went 4-for-6 from beyond the arc.

Aminu went 8-for-9 from the floor, pulled down seven rebounds and made 9-of-11 at the foul line.

James Johnson posted a double-double of 12 points and 10 boards, while L.D. Williams scored 11 points on 5-of-7 shooting. Ishmael Smith had seven points and three assists, and Tony Woods chipped in eight points off the bench.

Wake Forest shot 57.4 percent from the fl oor, including a season-best 6-for-11 on three-pointers. The Deacons also went 25-for-30 at the charity stripe.

The Deacs outscored the Eagles 48-28 in the paint and Wake also tallied 23 points off 15 BC turnovers. The Deacons ruled the transition game, outscoring the Eagles 22-5 in fastbreak points. Boston College scored 16 second-chance points in the first half but only managed four in the second period.

BACK TO THE BREAD & BUTTER
Wake Forest’s performances in last week’s loss at Miami and Sunday’s win against Boston College could not have been any different. The Deacons struggled in the Sunshine State, losing by 27 to the Hurricanes, but came back to rout a BC team that had won five straight.

In their defeat of the Eagles, the Deacs were able to get back to what had made the team successful all season--scoring in the paint and scoring in transition. Against BC, Wake Forest had 48 points in the paint and took just 11 three-point attempts. The Deacons also scored 22 points on fastbreaks. Not coincidentally, Wake shot a torrid 57.4 percent from the floor and posted its sixth 90+ point game of the year.

At Miami, the Deacons scored just 20 points in the paint and seven on fastbreaks--both of which were season-lows. Wake Forest attempted 20 three-pointers, its second-highest total of the season, and made just three. The Deacs shot 31.7 percent from the floor at Miami, their only performance this season under 40 percent.

DEACONS FOCUSING ON INSIDE SCORING
In comparing the numbers from last season to this season, it is apparent Wake Forest has shifted its offensive focus to scoring inside and not relying on the three-pointer. In 2007-08, the Deacons took 33.0 percent of their field goal attempts from beyond the arc and scored 26.2 percent of their points on three-pointers.

In 2008-09, Wake Forest is taking just 20.2 percent of its total field goal attempts from beyond the arc and 14.8 percent of the team’s points have been scored on three-pointers. In terms of paint production, Wake is scoring over 10 more points per game in the paint this season. Last year, the Deacs scored 33.1 points in the paint per game, compared to 43.8 this season.

TEAGUE NAMED COUSY AWARD FINALIST
Sophomore guard Jeff Teague has been named one of 17 finalists for the 2009 Bob Cousy Award, which is presented to the nation’s top collegiate point guard.

Teague is one of three ACC point guards who are finalists for the award, along with Toney Douglas of Florida State and Ty Lawson of North Carolina.

Teague has put together quite a resume for postseason awards after exploding onto the national scene this year. Teague is currently second in the ACC in scoring with 20.9 points per game. In ACC games only, he is third in the league in scoring with 22.9 points per game.

Teauge has led Wake in scoring 14 times this season and has been in double digits in every contest. He leads the ACC with three 30-point games this season (vs. UNCW, at BYU, vs. UNC). Teague has scored 29+ points five times, which not only leads the ACC but matches last year’s top mark set by Player of the Year Tyler Hansbrough. Dating back to last season, Teague has scored in double figures in 25 straight games and 28 of his past 29 games. In his last 43 games, Teague has scored in double figures 40 times. Over that span, he has had 17 games of 20 or more points, including 11 times this season.

In addition to scoring the ball himself, Teague has also helped his teammates out. He leads the Deacs with 80 assists, ranking him fifth in the ACC with 3.8 per game. Teague has started all 21 games at the point and has had five games with at least six assists this season. Teague also ranks among the ACC leaders in steals (2.1, 2nd), minutes played (31.6, 8th), field goal percentage (.513, 8th) and free throw percentage (.827, 9th). If he had enough three-pointers to qualify, Teague’s 51.5 percent mark from beyond the arc would lead the league.

The 6-2 Teague is no slouch on the boards, either, ranking fourth on the team with 3.8 rebounds per game.

SMITH APPROACHING 400 CAREER ASSISTS
Junior point guard Ishmael Smith is approaching the 400 career assists mark. Smith has 390 assists, an average of 4.9 per game for his career. Smith is currently eighth on the school’s all-time assists list, fi ve assists behind Chris Paul. Barring an injury setback, Smith is on pace to become just the seventh Demon Deacon to eclipse the 400-assist mark.

He would be the first since Randolph Childress (1991-95) to join the elite club.

Smith was slowed early this season after fracturing his left foot on Sept. 19. He had surgery two days later and missed all of the preseason and the first two games of the year.

AMINU IMPRESSIVE IN ROOKIE SEASON
Forward Al-Farouq Aminu has established himself as one of the most talented freshmen in the country this season. The 6-9 forward is averaging 13.2 points and a team-high 8.5 rebounds per game. On the team, he is second with 29 blocks, third in steals with 22 and fourth in assists with 38.

Aminu leads all ACC freshmen in rebounding and is second among the rookies in scoring. His eight double-doubles are the most by an ACC freshman, doubling the combined total of the rest of the rookies. Aminu also ranks second in double-doubles among all conference players.

The Norcross, Ga., native has been named ACC Rookie of the Week four times this year, picking up the honors on Dec. 1, Jan. 5, Jan. 19 and Feb. 2.

Aminu joins Chris Paul and Jeff Teague as the only Deacons to win multiple Rookie of the Week awards in the past 10 seasons. Aminu is one weekly freshman award shy of the school record of fi ve, which is shared by Paul and Rodney Rogers.

KEYS TO WAKE FOREST’S SUCCESS
Wake Forest’s success so far this season can be attributed in large part to the following key components:
# Accurate Shooting: Wake leads the ACC and ranks sixth nationally with a field goal percentage of 49.1. Wake Forest has shot 50 percent or better in 11 games this season and has out-shot its opponent 19 times. Four of the Deacons’ five starters are shooting 50 percent or better, and the fi fth starter (Williams) is at 49.3 percent.

# Stout Defense: The Deacons lead the ACC and rank seventh nationally in field goal percentage defense with a mark of 37.6 percent -- Wake’s lowest percentage since 1996-97 (36.4). Wake Forest also leads the ACC and is sixth in the country in three-point field goal percentage defense. The Deacons have held opponents under 40 percent shooting in 13 games this season. Wake Forest is also second in the ACC in blocked shots and third in steals. The Deacs rank in the top 16 of both categories nationally.

# Potent Offense: Wake Forest ranks second in the ACC and sixth in the country in scoring offense at 82.0 points per game. The Deacs are 11th nationally in scoring margin at +13.9, which is currently the highest mark in school history. Wake has hit the 80-point mark 13 times this year and has held opponents under 70 points 11 times.

# Paint Production: The Deacs have used their size to produce points in the paint. Wake Forest has outscored its opponents 920-529 in the paint this season. Of Wake’s total points on the season, 53.4 percent have come in the paint. Opponents have scored 37.0 percent of their points in the paint.

# Free Throws: Wake is getting to the foul line at a rapid rate and is converting on a decent number of its attempts. The Deacons have taken 567 free throw attempts on the year, compared to 451 for their opponents. Wake is averaging 27.0 free throw attempts per game, which is the highest mark in the ACC. The Deacs have attempted at least 23 free throws in 15 games this season.

# Rebounding: Wake ranks fourth in the ACC with 41.7 rebounds per game -- which is the Deacons’ highest rebounding average since 1968-69 (46.7). The Deacs are fifth in the ACC and 34th nationally with a margin of +5.4 and have won the battle of the boards 13 times this season and tied in another game. Three Deacons (Aminu, Johnson, McFarland) are among the league’s top 16 rebounders. Wake leads the country with 29.4 defensive rebounds per game.

# Transition: The Deacons, who like to play an up-tempo game, have been excellent in transition offense and defense. Wake is scoring over 15 points per game on fastbreaks and is allowing less than five points per in fastbreak defense.

# Experience: Despite having just one scholarship senior on the roster, Wake Forest is an experienced squad overall. The Deacs returned 10 letter-winners, including all five starters, from a season ago. However, despite the veteran experience, Wake Forest is the only team in the ACC to not have a senior start at least one game.