Takeaways from Wake Forest's 81-71 win over Georgia
Wake Forest advanced to 2-0 on Friday night, defeating the visiting Georgia Bulldogs 81-71. The Deacs showed flashes of their potential on both ends of the floor — here’s what we learned about this year’s team in the victory.
Veteran guard play is this team’s number one strength
Wake Forest has one of the most experienced backcourts in the nation. Tyree Appleby and Daivien Williamson have started a combined 185 college games since 2017. Both 6-1 guards were fantastic last night in the win over Georgia, and their experience shined through.d
Appleby: 22 points, 6 assists, 6 rebounds, 6-10 FGs, 2-4 3PTs, 8-9 FTs, 2 TOs
Williamson: 24 points, 4 assists, 4 rebounds, 7-13 FGs, 3-7 3PTs, 7-8 FTs, 2 TOs
Both guards scored efficiently, set their teammates up well, controlled tempo and took care of the basketball. Both of these guys are close to automatic at the free throw line. Appleby really let the game come to him and did a great job of picking his spots on when to attack. Williamson is deadly with his quick release on catch and shoot three-pointers, and he seems to have taken a step forward as a playmaker. While not imposing defenders, these guys work really hard and provided constant ball pressure that contributed to the 15 turnovers the Deacs forced.
This tandem did so many different things well Friday night. It's a luxury to have this much experience and ability from his starting guards, which goes a long way in college basketball.
READ: Key Stats from Wake Forest's 81-71 victory over Georgia
Bradford and Carr will see the most minutes at the five
Sophomore big man Matthew Marsh looked lost in three minutes of action vs Fairfield, and subsequently did not play against Georgia. Freshman Zack Keller played 12 scoreless minutes and committed three fouls on Friday, but he grabbed two boards and added two steals. Keller is talented and is going to improve a lot as the season goes on, but he looked like a freshman tonight. He’s a little bit frantic but he works hard, has the ability to space the floor and moves great for his size.
This means that when starting five man Davion Bradford is out of the game, the next best option at the five is Andrew Carr. Bradford was awesome in 20 minutes last night, connecting on all five of his field goal attempts and blocking two shots. He knows his role as an energy big man, and we’ll look to clean up on the turnovers (3) and to shoot it better from the stripe (1-4 FTs).
Carr played 36 minutes last night after notching 24 against Fairfield. He’s too important to this team on both ends to leave the floor very much. Carr will frequently step into the five spot when Bradford checks out, even though Keller is an option to absorb minutes there too. Carr is a little thin still, but at 6-10 220 lbs he’s got enough size to defend at that position. The real benefit, though, is the offensive capabilities of this team with him playing at the five. The floor spacing when Carr is at center makes Wake Forest difficult to guard.
This team’s defense will make them a tough out
Wake Forest’s defense was impressive last night, especially in the first half. The guards play with active hands and the team is averaging eight steals per game through the first two contests. Not only that, this group seems to be adept at forcing opponents into long possessions that eat up much of the shot clock.
The Deacs were dynamite from the field against Georgia, connecting on over 50% of their field goals. But as we saw last night, this team will rely heavily on the starting guards to score the basketball and will put up a lot of threes. As such, there will be cold shooting nights where the defense needs to pick up some of the slack. If Forbes can keep this group disciplined and rotating well on the defensive end, I could see the Deacs winning — or at least competing in — some games where the offense doesn’t have its best stuff.
The defense wasn’t perfect last night — Wake gave up a big 15-3 run in the second half and let Georgia hang around for a while. But the dominance in the first period showed flashes of the potential this group has on that end of the floor.
As a young team with a lot of new pieces, this trait could come in handy when ACC play arrives. Due to the nature of the conference, Wake will be facing high-level opponents in hostile road environments night in and night out. Getting consistent defensive stops will help the team generate momentum and work through some of the growing pains.
This team excels at getting to the line
Through two games, Wake Forest has attempted 65 free throws. This team has drawn a ton of fouls so far — despite the plethora of three-point shooting on the roster, they’ve shown willingness to attack the basket and play with physicality down low. The starting guards garner a ton of contact — Appleby alone drew 10 fouls against Georgia. The combo of Williamson and Appleby attempted 17 of Wake’s 26 FTs last night.
The Deacs have connected on 47 of their 65 FT attempts this season, good for a mark of just over 72%. Steve Forbes will inevitably want that number to climb a bit higher, but if the team can keep generating fouls and getting to the rack it’ll keep their offense from becoming one dimensional.
The other benefit of this trait is that it could take other teams’ key pieces out of the equation due to foul trouble. We saw it against Fairfield — standout forward Supreme Cook had to spend some time on the bench after picking up several fouls.
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