Keys to the Game: Wake Forest Basketball vs Virginia
Wake Forest will face their second consecutive ranked opponent on Saturday afternoon as the No. 10 Virginia Cavaliers come to the Joel. Wake is flying high after a 10-point win over No. 19 Clemson on Tuesday night — here are a few keys to the game that can help the Deacs keep the momentum rolling.
Defend the three-point line
Virginia is another team with the ability to shoot the ball from deep at a high clip. They’ve connected on just over 38% of their triples as a team this season, and in their recent win over Florida State the Cavaliers knocked down 11 of 22 threes in a nine-point victory.
UVA’s biggest threats from deep are Reece Beekman (47.5% 3PT), Armaan Franklin (41.2% 3PT) and Kihei Clark (38.5% 3PT). Beekman has taken fewer attempts than the other two (he’s 19/40 from downtown) but the three-point shot has been an important addition to his game this season — his percentage is way up from 33.8% last year. He’s knocked down at least one three in five of his last six contests.
Wake’s ability to defend the three has been a crucial statistic in some of their key wins this season. In two of the Deacs’ biggest wins this season (Clemson, Duke), their opponents shot below 30% from deep and Wake won by double digits on both occasions.
Continue the hot shooting
Virginia is a stellar defensive team — they’ve allowed an opponent to score more than 70 points only once this season. Meanwhile, Wake Forest has displayed some remarkably efficient offensive play this season. They’ve crested 85 points in each of their last three contests and have had five different players knock down a triple in each of those games. The Demon Deacons have failed to score over 70 points on only three occasions this season.
Wake Forest will have their work cut out for them on offense against a Virginia squad that allows only 59.9 points per contest. The Demon Deacons have four players currently averaging in double figures and will need that balanced scoring to continue to find the holes in a stout UVA defense. They’ll need some production off the bench too — Daivien Williamson made a couple of big shots against Clemson and the Deacs would get a huge boost if he or perhaps Bobi Klintman could find a few buckets.
Wake’s ability to knock down the three-ball will also be crucial. Over their four-game win-streak, Steve Forbes’ group has hit at least nine triples in each game. Tyree Appleby and Cam Hildreth are both excellent at driving into the lane and finding the open man on the perimeter. The Deacs will need to take and make those in rhythm-threes in order to pull off the upset.
Control the tempo
Wake Forest plays at a much faster pace than Virginia, averaging nearly seven more possessions per game than the Cavaliers. If the Deacs can get out in transition and beat Virginia down the floor, it will result in some key easy buckets for the Demon Deacons.
Steve Forbes’ group also excels at forcing turnovers, causing nearly 14 cough-ups per contest this season. Yet Virginia is top five in the nation at taking care of the ball, only giving it up 9.2 times per game on average. Three starters average at least one steal per game, and the Deacs will need to play with active hands on defense to turn some UVA mistakes into easy points.
As I mentioned before, the Virginia defense is pretty airtight. However, the difference in pace of play represents a chink in the armor. Steve Forbes talks a lot about playing fast without getting “sped up.” Controlling the speed of the game without getting sloppy will be essential if the Deacs are to notch their second consecutive ranked win.
Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. ET at Joel Coliseum.
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Ben is a managing editor and lead contributing writer for Deacons Daily. Ben has a year of experience as the Sports Editor for the Old Gold & Black, and a year of experience as the publication’s print managing editor. He has a journalistic profile of over 40 published news and sports pieces for the Dayton Daily News.