Thoughts on Wake vs. USF: 74-61

For all the complaining done about ACC Select, I’ll be honest and admit that I appreciate the service and the convenience of it. The ability to go enjoy (well maybe not enjoy so much, but at least see) the Rockets play tonight and then come home and watch the Deacs on ACC Select on-demand was really a perfect night. It was also a pleasant surprise to hear Evan Lepler (who I enjoy listening to) joined with some color commentary from Jeff Tiberii. Add to all that a 74-61 victory and you’ve got the makings of a great evening.

Things generally seemed to click for the Deacs last night against South Florida. Led by Jamie Skeen’s 17 points, 4 other Deacons scored in double figures – James Johnson (who also turned in 13 rebounds – another double-double), LD Williams, Jaimie Skeen, and Harvey Hale – and Chas McFarland added 8 of his own in one of his best games since he broke out against Iowa.

As a team Wake shot 47% from the field and 39% from beyond the arc, numbers that are exactly what I’ve been hoping to see all season long (better late than never). South Florida certainly didn’t play their best game, shooting under 35% on the night and only 16% from beyond the arc, but some of that credit definitely goes to the stingy defense Wake played all night long (most noticeably by LD Williams).

After winning ACC Rookie of the Week last week, Jeff Teague turned in what I thought was one of his best performances. Not only did he score 11 points but he also had 5 assists with only 2 turnovers. He looked comfortable and under control and really had a good idea of what he was doing with the ball. The entire team deserves more credit for that, making smarter choices on offense with better shot selection and (usually) better passes.

It wasn’t flawless by any means; the Deacs turned the ball over 17 times and went through a couple of cold streaks (both offensively and defensively), most notably towards the end of the first half before the Deacs made a little run in the closing seconds, and then again at the start of the second half. South Florida trimmed the lead to 7 late in the second half, but Wake once again responded with a couple baskets towards the end for the comfortable 12 point win.

I watched most of the Bucknell game from Sunday yesterday afternoon and wasn’t particularly impressed, but what I saw last night was definitely encouraging. We’re yet to string together consecutive performances like this, so I’ll reserve my greater judgment of the post-exams team until we play a couple more games, but for now at least I’m very satisfied. Last night’s win will hopefully be a good confidence boost for the team in preparation for an early season ACC match-up on Sunday with Virginia Tech. It would certainly be great to start ACC play off on the right foot with a win in that game.

Edit: I messed up some of the stats - looked at first half percentages instead of full game...it has been fixed.