ACC Tournament - Wake Forest vs. Florida State: Live Thoughts

Final - NIT here we come. With that Wake is the first team eliminated from the ACC Tournament, losing 70-60 to FSU. Maybe we won't have to see what could have been pretty ugly tomorrow. I'll be back later with a full analysis, but I'll let some of the disappointment wear off first.

0:59 - 66-58 FSU after a Weaver 3.

1:21 - Not good at all. FSU scores with only 1 second on the shot clock. Wake can't make a basket and response and the fouling starts 64-55 FSU.

2:13 - A defensive stop and a Teague layup cuts the lead to 5, 60-55. It isn't over yet...

3:16 - A good play by Teague who will go to the line to finish the 3 point play. Wake doesn't really have an answer for FSU right now, but maybe a late push will be enough 60-53 FSU.

4:25 - It's hard to fault what the Deacs are doing right now, but FSU's Jason Rich has taken over and practically can't miss. 59-51 FSU.

6:10 - FSU comes out of the previous timeout with a three point play. Weaver gets a dunk on a nice Teauge assist but FSU responds with a basket of their own. The lead is now 10 and seems to be moving in the wrong direction. Where's the spark? 57-47 FSU.

7:26 - It's a continuing struggle for the Deacs, who now trail by 7. Wake's awful shooting percentage is not going to do them any good, and someone is going to have to step up big here down the wire to grab a Wake victory. 52-45 FSU.

8:53 - Chas gets called for an offensive foul which it looked like he deserved. His 3rd and the team's 7th, so FSU will be in the bonus. 47-42 FSU.

9:53 - Wake hangs around with a great fast break dunk by Johnson to cut the lead to 2, but FSU puts a little dagger in Wake by hitting a three on the other end. Now Teague hits 2 freethrows and the lead is 3, 45-42.

11:11 - It looks like James Johnson just got called for a defensive foul which I don't think he deserved. The other official called a charge but got over ruled. James did not need to get that foul, particularly now that he's getting some points on the board. 41-38 FSU.

12:12 - Good run for Wake here, provided by James and LD who have both been relatively quiet today. only down 3 at 39-36.

13:40 - James Johnson scores! it took two missed Ish freethrows ot make it happen, but hopefully that can be the catalyst he needs.

14:14 - A couple more lazy possessions have cost Wake, but Skeen just did good work to get to the line but he misses both and the lead is 5, 35-30.

15:43 - 1st media timeout. Unfortunate travel call on Johnson, one ref looked like he was going to call a foul. But after a good defensive posession Johnson gets fouled and I believe will be going to the line after the timeout.

Definitely a much much stronger start to the 2nd half. The defensive is working very hard and the offense is generally making smarter decisions. 33-30 FSU.

2nd Half - 17:19 - Teague has a great block on an FSU fast break and Wake has 2 buckets to cut the lead to 1 at 31-30. After an FSU offensive foul it's Wake ball.

Halftime - All things considered Wake is pretty fortunate to only be down 5 at the half. The shooting was incredibly cold and at times the defense didn't play particularly well either. I think the switch to a zone defense was a very good call.

Three Deacs deserve credit for playing a good half of basketball: Ish, Teague, and David Weaver. Gary Clark's three deserves some credit as well. Chas and James Johnson need to step it up in the 2nd half. Johnson has done it before against FSU, so hopefully we'll see more of the same.

If Wake could only shoot slightly better than they do and avoid fumbling balls out of bounds Wake would be much better off.

0:00 - Wake scored 2 straight baskets, first a little alley oop from Ish to Weaver and then a three by Gary Clark. That cuts the lead to 31-26 and puts Wake in a much better place for the second half. I'll post full 1st half thoughts in a minute.

2:47 - Wake gets bailed out on a definite foul by an FSU travel. Weaver's 2 free throws cut the lead a bit, and Wake has the ball. 29-21.

3:17 - Final media timeout of the half. Wake seems to be getting things together a little bit, even thought the lead hasn't been cut out that much. Weaver made a great play inside to get fouled and will go to the line after the timeout.

Teague and Ish need to take this game over with their penetration. We can't count on anyone to shoot well outside or for James Johnson to all of a sudden turn it on. He might, but we can't wait for it. Still 29-19 FSU.

4:15 - on an Ish foul FSU makes 1 of 2. FSU has now been called for 2 straight fouls on the same possession, seems like Wake's first free throws have to be coming soon. 29-19 FSU.

5:08 - Wake scores 1 basket (an Ish runner) and FSU calls a timeout. It was definitely a better offensive posession, though. Cuts the lead a bit, 28-17.

6:09 - Wake has to call a timeout after FSU hits 2 straight 3's. FSU now leads 28-15. Wake is 7-20 overall shooting, which is just awful. I don't even know what to say about it, we just need better shot selection and flat-out better shots.

7:54 - 3rd media timeout. I don't feel like Wake is doing anything particularly well, they just aren't really terrible at anything either. Some possessions the offensive looks pretty strong, others you'd think they were a JV high school team. Defense has been a similar exercise. Some great and some terrible possessions.

21-15 FSU.

8:25- Wake switches to a 2-3 zone after James picks up his 2nd foul with an illegal screen. Defense rebounding is a little lax, but Ish is doing good work on the offensive end. 21-15 FSU.

9:36 - Wake's interior defense is struggling - in fact they just seem a step slow all over the defense end. James Johnsons is now 0-3 having missed a three as well. It wasn't really even close. 21-13 FSU.

10:57 - Still no luck for Wake. FSU makes a good pass for a dunk and on our offensive end Clark has one go in and out. Chas picks up his 1st foul. Still no points for James Johnson. 17-11 FSU.

11:51- 2nd media timeout. Teague and Hale each just picked up fouls, and not necessarily smart ones either (although I didn't see Teague's as a foul). The run to tie the game back up was good, but Hale's missed shots were hurting us a lot. We need to keep penetrating and getting to the basket; it's much more effective.

I think we'll be okay, just need to settle in and make smart decisions. 15-11 FSU

12:30 - FSU gets 2 quick buckets. Harvey Hale has been in and has missed his first 2 shots. Gary Clark checks in, perhaps he can have more success. 15-11 FSU.

13:38 - Ish picks FSU's pocked and beats everyone down the floor for a very easy layup to tie the game at 11.

14:22 - LD looks to have rolled an ankle. Not good at all - limped to the bench and being checked by trainers. Hopefully they can tape him up and put him right back on the court. Foul on Weaver and FSU hits 2 freethrows, Wake trails 11-9.

14:39 - Weaver hits a three!!! Don't ever shoot it again!!!! Tied at 9!

15:24 - Wake plays an incredible defensive posession in which FSU doesn't even get to the foul line before turning it over with 10 seconds on the shot clock. Teague hit a midrange jumper to bring Wake even closer, now down only 9-6.

The big problem so far is turnovers. The defense has been decent and when Wake holds on to the ball they are making pretty good shots. Just avoid the turnovers and we'll be okay.

16:16 - Chas gets one inside and FSU gets called for an offensive foul. Weaver checks in. Wake down 9-4.

17:05 - FSU has hit a three and a couple quick twos, but both teams are turning the ball over plenty. More Wake than FSU. 7-2 FSU lead.

18:55 - L.D. with the first basket of the game from the elbow, and Wake makes a defensive stop. 2-0 Deacs.

Tipoff - First, I'm glad to see Steve Martin and Billy Packer calling this one instead of Capel and Hodgewood. Looks like those two are doing the studio show, and these guys have the actual call. Very good news.

Starting lineup - Teague, Ish, Chas, Johnson, L.D.

Wake wins the tip - what a surprise!

It's here. Time to make the miraculous run that will launch this team back into the national spotlight. Shock the basketball world. Make Skip proud. Roll the quad. You get the idea.

It all starts here.

I'll be blogging throughout the game, so if you're stuck at work or don't have access to the game otherwise, stick around here and I'll keep you updated. I won't exactly be able to do a play-by-play (which would be difficult to keep up with anyway) but I'll try to give an update whenever there's a long enough dead ball to post something. Should be every couple of minutes or so.

If you have comments or questions about the game or if you're able to see the game yourself feel free to leave comments in the comment section below - no login required. The more people who participate the more fun it will be.

We're 10 minutes (probably a bit more) away from tip, so check back then.