Five key stats from Wake Forest's win over Utah Valley
In their first overtime game of the season, Wake Forest downed Utah Valley on a buzzer-beater three from Tyree Appleby, giving the Deacs a 3-0 record. Read below for five key stats from the victory.
Utah Valley lost the game at the three-point line
The Wolverines were not afraid to shoot the ball from deep — they did so 31 times. The only problem, they only hit four of them for just a 13% conversion rate. Three of the made shots came from Le’Tre Darthard, and the other was hit by Jaden McClanahan. Trey Woodbury missed nine three-pointers alone.
READ: Appleby's buzzer-beater lifts Wake Forest to 68-65 OT win over Utah Valley
If Utah Valley was able to convert at the NCAA average (~33.7%), that would have added over 19 points to their final score. With that, they would’ve coasted to victory, and Wake Forest would never have been able to complete the comeback.
Wake struggled on the boards
All throughout the game, Utah Valley lessened the impact of their missed shots by snagging offensive rebounds. They finished with a 53-43 rebounding advantage over the Deacs and snagged 18 offensive rebounds. Those extra possessions resulted in 15 second-chance points for the Wolverines.
Wake kept Utah Valley off the charity stripe
Compared to Utah Valley’s 19 fouls, Wake Forest was more disciplined with 14. Even more noticeable, the Wolverines were assessed a technical foul, which gave the Deacs a much-needed two free throws and extra possession. They also had a flop warning, which led to one free throw.
In overtime, the most critical point of the game, Utah Valley lost one of their best players in Darthard after he fouled out. On the other hand, no Demon Deacon had more than three fouls.
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Threes over twos for the Deacs?
In perhaps the oddest stat of the evening, Wake Forest was more successful shooting the ball from behind the three-point line than from the field. The Deacs hit 35% of their threes, as opposed to 32% of all field goals. Wake shooting woes surprisingly came from two of their most consistent shooters — Appleby and Daivien Williamson combined for 8-25 (32%) shooting.
Free throws, free points
Down the stretch, Appleby snagged many of his points on the night from the free-throw line. With 14 shots from the stripe, the Florida transfer converted on 12, and both misses came on a singular trip to the line in the second half. Two of Appleby’s most important shots of the night came from the line — he hit two free throws to put an end to Wake’s scoring drought in overtime and bring the team within two of the Utah Valley lead.
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Essex is the lead football writer and a managing editor for Deacons Daily. Essex served as the Sports Editor for the Old Gold & Black for two years, in addition to roles as a beat and feature writer.