Wake Forest Basketball: Minutes and Lineup Review

Head coach Steve Forbes has used 58 different lineups this season

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In the win over Wisconsin on Tuesday, Wake Forest had their entire lineup available for the first time all season. With Jao Ituka, Daivien Williamson and Matthew Marsh all returning from injuries of various durations, many lineups employed in Madison were used for the first time.

Including the win at Wisconsin, Steve Forbes has used a total of 58 different lineups. Read below for a breakdown of some of the best and worst.

Most minutes this season

Lineup	Minutes
Appleby, Hildreth, Monsanto, Carr, Keller	34:51
Appleby, Hildreth, Williamson, Carr, Keller	26:25
Taylor, Appleby, Williamson, Carr, Bradford	22:01
Appleby, Hildreth, Monsanto, Carr, Marsh	14:40
Appleby, Hildreth, Monsanto, Klintman, Carr	14:16

With Daivien Williamson out since the loss to Loyola-Marymount, the newfound starting lineup of Tyree Appleby, Cam Hildreth, Damari Monsanto, Andrew Carr and Zach Keller takes the top spot for this season's minutes thus far. Though Williamson returned to action against Wisconsin, he did not start. And, with Damari Monsanto performing well, it is unclear what the future of the starting lineup holds.

Most points this season

Lineup	Points
Appleby, Hildreth, Monsanto, Carr, Keller	88
Appleby, Hildreth, Williamson, Klintman Carr	66
Appleby, Hildreth, Williamson, Carr, Keller	37
Appleby, Hildreth, Monsanto, Klintman, Carr	34
Appleby, Hildreth, Monsanto, Carr, Marsh	33

The lineup of Appleby, Hildreth, Monsanto, Carr and Keller leads the team in points by a large margin. When Wake Forest is scoring, Appleby and Hildreth are on the court. The two guards are included in all of the top five groups in points. More often than not, Monsanto is on the floor too.

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Best +/- for the season

Lineup	+/-
Appleby, Hildreth, Monsanto, Carr, Keller	+36
Appleby, Hildreth, Klintman, Carr, Marsh	+16
Appleby, Hildreth, Williamson, Klintman, Carr	+16
Appleby, Hildreth, Williamson, Carr, Bradford	+15
Appleby, Hildreth, Klintman, Carr, Bradford	+13

Appleby, Hildreth, Monsanto, Carr and Keller are the best lineup Wake Forest has this season for both scoring points and effectively defending. Appleby (14), Monsanto (11) and Hildreth (8) lead the team in steals and are all defensive stalwarts for the Deacs. It should be noted that this group posted a +30 stat line in the win over Hampton, which pads their stats. They did not first play together until the game against La Salle at the Bahamas Classic.

Worst +/- of the season

Lineup	+/-
Hildreth, Williamson, Monsanto, Klintman, Marsh	-15
Appleby, Hildreth, Monsanto, Klintman, Keller	-10
Kennah, Xu, Dunn, Kmety, van Beveren	-9
Appleby, Hildreth, Williamson, Klintman, Marsh	-7
Taylor, Hildreth, Ituka, Klintman, Bradford	-6

Without Appleby and Carr on the floor, the top group struggled to defend their opponents. Their worst performance came against Fairfield, when they went -7 in just 1:19 of action. The group has not played together in the past three games. The second group of Appleby, Hildreth, Monsanto, Klintman and Keller were -10 against Wisconsin. The walk-ons make the list for giving up points in garbage time.

Most minutes over the past two games

Lineup	Minutes
Appleby, Hildreth, Monsanto, Carr, Keller	22:29
Appleby, Hildreth, Williamson, Klintman, Marsh	7:21
Appleby, Hildreth, Monsanto, Carr, Marsh	5:51
Hildreth, Ituka, Klintman, Carr, Bradford	5:06
Appleby, Hildreth, Monsanto, Klintman, Keller	4:17

Starting both of the previous two games, Appleby, Hildreth, Monsanto, Carr and Keller lead by a wide margin in minutes for Forbes. The second group, which includes Williamson, earned all their minutes in the victory over Wisconsin. Ituka makes his debut in a top five for his minutes played against Hampton.

Most points over the past two games

Lineup	Points
Appleby, Hildreth, Monsanto, Carr, Keller	63
Appleby, Hildreth, Monsanto, Carr, Marsh	17
Appleby, Hildreth, Williamson, Klintman, Marsh	14
Appleby, Hildreth, Williamson, Monsanto, Marsh	12
Appleby, Hildreth, Klintman, Carr, Bradford	8

Appleby, Hildreth, Monsanto, Carr and Keller are at the top because of their 49 points against Hampton. All 17 of Appleby, Hildreth, Monsanto, Carr and Marsh's points came in the win over Wisconsin, as with the groups that include Williamson.

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Best +/- over the past two games

Lineup	+/-
Appleby, Hildreth, Monsanto, Carr, Keller	+30
Appleby, Hildreth, Monsanto, Carr, Marsh	+14
Appleby, Monsanto, Klintman, Carr, Keller	+6

Appleby, Hildreth and Monsanto are all recurring members of these three groups. As mentioned before, they statistically represent the best defenders for the Deacs.

Worst +/- over the past two games

Lineup	+/-
Appleby, Hildreth, Monsanto, Klintman, Keller	-10
Taylor, Hildreth, Ituka, Klintman, Bradford	-7
Appleby, Hildreth, Williamson, Klintman, Marsh	-7

Though Appleby and Hildreth are very good defenders, the first and third groups struggled mightily against Wisconsin.

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