Keys to the Game: Wake Forest Basketball vs Miami

The Deacs will have to execute on both ends of the floor to beat the Canes

Wake Forest returns to action after the bye week on Saturday afternoon on the road against the No. 15 Miami Hurricanes. The Deacs are entering crunch time with only five games remaining in the regular season — here are a few keys to the game that will help them grab an elusive Quad 1 win and boost their tournament resume.

Lock down the perimeter

Steve Forbes has said in the past, on nights where Wake hasn’t fared well defensively, the team needs to simply do better at guarding their man. It sounds easy enough, but the Deacs have struggled on defense frequently throughout conference play, giving up 75-plus points in 10 of 15 conference games so far. They’ve shown vulnerability defending the three, giving up a combined 33 triples to Pittsburgh and Virginia. As a result, the Deacs are the 13th ranked scoring defense in the ACC.

Conversely, Miami has the best scoring offense in the ACC, putting up 79 points per game. The Hurricanes have an elite group of scoring guards in Nijel Pack (13.0 ppg), Jordan Miller (15.0 ppg) and Isaiah Wong (16.0 ppg) that can shoot the three ball, hit tough mid-range twos and slash to the rim.

Individually, Wake Forest doesn’t have an abundance of elite on-ball perimeter defenders that can lock down big time scoring threats. The way they succeed defensively is when — as a group — they remain disciplined in their rotations and consistent in the way they defend the ball screen. This group is at their best when they force long possessions and play with active hands — three starters average at least one steal per game. Securing a win on the road against the Canes will require a unified defensive effort for all 40 minutes, because if there is a noticeable weak link, Jim Larrañaga’s group will certainly find and exploit it.

Get hot and stay hot

I touched earlier on Miami’s elite offensive capabilities — they put up nearly 80 points a game and four of their starters average at least 13 ppg. They’re a force to be reckoned with for sure, but Wake Forest actually measures up pretty well with them on the offensive end of the floor. The Deacs average 77.7 points per game and also have four starters in double figures.

Wake and Miami have similar offensive ceilings, the statistics show that much. However, the Deacs have also shown a low offensive floor in some key spots this year, especially on the road. They shot 37.5% from the field and 29% from three in a recent loss to Duke at Cameron Indoor, scored just 57 points in two road blowout losses against Rutgers and Clemson and scored four points in the first 10 minutes away from home against Notre Dame.

It goes without saying, but a lackluster offensive showing simply isn’t an option against this Miami group. The team (especially Damari Monsanto) needs to have an efficient night from three, and Cam Hildreth and Tyree Appleby will both need to take smart, quality looks to keep the offense in-rhythm. On top of that, one of the bench players — possibly Bobi Klintman, who has been excellent recently — will need to provide quality minutes.

Win the small ball battle

Miami is perhaps the best small-ball team in the country, trotting out a four-guard lineup that has given teams fits all season. The Canes have found ways to be deadly on offense despite not having a major rotation player taller than 6-7 — that’s the height of both starting guard Jordan Miller and starting forward Norchad Omier. However, the size of Miller, Wong (6-4), and Wooga Poplar (6-5) has allowed the Canes to utilize a size advantage on the perimeter against a lot of teams.

Thankfully, Steve Forbes has plenty of small ball options. The size, shooting and mobility of Andrew Carr and Bobi Klintman — both at 6-10 — allow this group to move quickly in transition and space the floor well. Forbes has also experimented with tossing Daivien Williamson in the starting lineup to go with a four-guard group. It’s even possible that Forbes could go with Bobi at the four and Carr at the five off the bat with a new-look starting lineup.

However, Wake’s small ball starting lineup featuring Williamson looked very vulnerable in their recent one-point win over Georgia Tech. The Yellow Jackets only have one major rotation player over 6-7 and went small against the Deacs for essentially the entire game. struggled in several areas, allowing 15 offensive rebounds and 20 second-chance points in addition to losing the overall rebounding battle by eight. The Deac’ offense wasn’t at their best either, shooting just over 27% from three-point land.

Small ball execution will likely determine the complexion of Saturday’s game. Wake will need to adjust and improve upon their most recent performance if they want to earn that coveted Quad 1 win.

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