Wake Forest vs. Florida State: Final Thoughts
After a rocky first half Wake Forest played a second half that could have beaten any team in the ACC, defeating Florida State 74-57 and improving to 2-2 in ACC play, tied for fourth in the conference.
As a team Wake Forest shot considerably better than they did at Maryland, making six of fifteen three pointers (40%) and shooting 45% overall. On offense the Deacs only turned the ball over nine times, with only two in the second half (one of which came on a shot clock violation the team intentionally took with time running down). Meanwhile on the defensive end Wake forced 15 turnovers, six steals and held FSU to 36% shooting on the afternoon.
In the first half Wake had some good moments but as a whole struggled to play consistently. The team took too many threes and only made one of them, and also turned the ball over seven times. As I said at the half, though, it was clear the team was working on taking better shots and getting the ball in the paint where they outscored FSU 18-8. Trailing by three at the half 31-28 it looked like Wake could make some adjustments and come away with a win.
The game turned almost immediately at the start of the second half when Wake went on a 13-1 run in the first four minutes to lead 41-32. Wake never looked back, forcing turnovers and taking good shots against an FSU team that seemed to be getting worn out. The Deacs scored 11 points off of turnovers and outscored FSU 18-10 in the paint, thanks primarily to James Johnson. As time was running out the students began to chant “Just Like Football,” and it was clear this one was in the books.
James Johnson led the Deacs with 26 points and nine rebounds, dominating the game in the paint and also making four of five three point attempts and looking strong against anyone FSU tried to guard him with.
Jeff Teague poured in 12 points of his own and also tied for the team lead with three assists combined with only one turnover. His shooting percentage wasn’t outstanding but it was another solid performance from the freshman.
Ishmael Smith had exactly the type of afternoon I was hoping he would have. Even though he didn’t put up big numbers he was clearly the team leader and he continued to make sure he didn’t turn the ball over. He brings a lot of intangibles to the team and everything seems to run more smoothly when he’s on the floor.
Harvey Hale had a better game today, but still needs to improve his shooting (1-6 beyond the arc with several questionable shots). I like the pump-fake he used to step up from a three to a two and want to see more of that out of him. Talking to him after the game it’s clear the confidence is still there and that he thinks the shots will start falling soon. Here’s to hoping he’s right.
This afternoon’s performance was exactly what Deacon fans were hoping to see in this return to the Joel. As James Johnson put it, “I like road trips but there’s nothing like home. Winning at home is great, especially when you get the crowd behind you.” Dino said there’s just something about the positive energy at home that a young team like this feeds off of, and that is exactly what I saw today.
Unfortunately the Deacs don’t get to stay at home and have a quick turnaround to play at Clemson on Tuesday night. Maybe having the quick turnaround will keep the team from thinking too much about playing on the road again, but we’ll see. Because of the holiday tomorrow the team will be able to practice early before driving down. The team definitely knows the importance of getting a win on the road, as L.D. Williams said, “We’re going to do everything we can to get better tomorrow because you can’t take a step back in this [conference].”
This team is a lot of fun to watch here in the Joel, I’m just hoping we all get to enjoy watching them on TV Tuesday. Beating Clemson and improving to 3-2 would be huge. Either way we can all look forward to having them back here next Tuesday against
