Wake Forest Basketball vs Rutgers: 2015 Game Flashback
All the way back in 2015, the Demon Deacons traveled to New Jersey and took on the Scarlet Knights at the RAC. Part of the Big 10-ACC Challenge, this is the only meeting in men’s basketball between the two programs, until this week. Ahead of the second edition of Wake Forest vs Rutgers, let’s flashback to an exciting game from seven years ago.
The 2015 Wake Forest Demon Deacons were led by head coach Danny Manning. In his second season at the helm, Manning had put together an exciting recruiting class. Four-stars Doral Moore and Bryant Crawford were big-time wins for the program, while a lesser-known three-star named John Collins and eventual fan-favorite walk-on Anthony Bilas rounded out the group of incoming freshmen. The three newcomers had big shoes to fill — four players from the 2014 team had left the program, including Darius Leonard (graduated) and Aaron Rountree (grad transfer).
In 2015, Wake Forest was attempting to improve on their 13-19 record from the previous season. Going into the Rutgers game, they were 4-2, including solid wins over UCLA and Indiana. Losses to Richmond and Vanderbilt showed the variability of the young team to start the year.
READ: Carr drills buzzer beater, Wake Forest survives Appalachian State 67-66
On the other side, Rutgers was coming off a 10-22 season, good for last in the Big Ten. Heading into his third season, the pressure was on coach Eddie Jordan to produce a winner for the Scarlet Knights. After starting the season 3-1, losses to Creighton and Clemson increased the heat. Rutgers needed a strong showing against Wake Forest, one of their last big non-conference games before a difficult Big Ten schedule.
An early 11-3 scoring run gave the Deacs a 17-8 lead midway through the first half. However, the Scarlet Knights fought back. At halftime, the Wake Forest lead had been cut to only five points, 29-24. Rutgers held Wake to a 33.3% shooting percentage in the first half, but they shot just 26.3% themselves.
In the second half, the offenses came alive. Rutgers began the second period with their own run, taking a 41-37 lead early on, and extended their lead to double-digits. With just under 10 minutes remaining, the Scarlet Knights led 56-46. However, Wake Forest found a way to claw back — a John Collins dunk with four minutes remaining then gave the Deacs a 62-60 edge.
Two free throws put Rutgers back in the lead — a slim one-point advantage — with 41 seconds left, but Wake Forest won the game on a layup from Cornelius Hudson with 18 seconds on the clock.
Devin Thomas led the Deacs in the victory, scoring 23 points and securing 17 rebounds. Mitchell Wilbekin added 12 points on 4-of-7 from three-point range, and the Wake Forest defense registered 10 blocks. In addition to missing a go-ahead three pointer, Rutgers struggled from the free-throw line, ending the game 11 of 18.
READ: Takeaways from Wake Forest's 67-66 victory vs Appalachian State
In the end, Wake Forest got just enough paint to eke out a victory. The Demon Deacons finished the season 11-20, however, winning only two ACC games. Rutgers somehow finished the year worse off at 7-22.
With the Scarlet Knights placing last in the Big Ten for the second-straight season Jordan was fired, and Steve Pikiell — their current head coach — was hired. Rutgers has done a lot better since then, going 98-91 since 2016 and reaching the NCAA Tournament twice.
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Ben is a contributing writer for Deacons Daily A '22 Wake Forest graduate, Ben has also written at RedbirdRants, the St. Louis Cardinals FanSided site, for two and a half years.