Wake Forest Preview

Who: Virginia Tech Hokies (11-3, 0-0) @ Wake Forest Demon Deacons (9-5, 0-0)

When: Saturday, January 7 @ 12:00 p.m.

TV: ACC Network (Mike Hogewood and Dan Bonner)

Where: Joel Coliseum (14,665), Winston-Salem, NC

The Opponent: The Hokies enter conference play as winners of six straight after a gritty 67-61 win at Oklahoma State last Saturday, snapping the Pokes’ 37-game non-conference home winning streak in the process. Tech has been playing really good basketball and has had contributions from a lot of different guys.

Dorenzo Hudson scored his 1,000th point against Oklahoma State and led the team with 18 points. He’s one of six players that has led the team in scoring in the first 14 games this year. Interestingly enough, the Hokies have held the lead at halftime in every one of their games this year.

A good opening to ACC play is critical for Tech. After Wake, the Hokies host a scuffling Florida State team on Tuesday and then have an extremely winnable road game at Boston College next weekend. Starting strong is emphasized even more by what lies afterwards (UNC, @UVA, BYU, @UMD, Duke) in a span of 15 days.

As for this game, Wake is a much improved team from the squad that finished 1-15 in ACC play last year. This comes despite the Deacs losing 3 of their top 5 scorers to graduation or transfer. They’re coming off a 56-52 loss to Wofford on Monday, but they were without leading scorer C.J. Harris.

Here’s a look at the projected Demon Deacon starting five:

First off, the Deacs are nowhere near as bad as they were a year ago, but they’re still struggling to play solid defense from time to time. Wake is giving up 69.8 ppg, the second-worst mark in the conference and are allowing opponents to shoot 43 percent from the field, the worst percentage of any ACC team. The Demon Deacons also are not a very good at rebounding, being out-rebounded by nearly five boards in non-conference play. Look for Tech to have a big day on both the offensive and defensive boards.

As was said earlier, C.J. Harris is Wake’s best player, but has a good supporting cast with Travis McKie and Tony Chenault. That trio accounts for 68 percent of Wake’s offense (48 of 70.5) with Harris leading the charge as the second-leading scorer in the conference. Harris is shooting 54 percent from the field and 53 percent from beyond the arc, but is still recovering from a pulled groin, so it’s not known if he’s 100 percent. Off the bench, Chase Fisher is the Deacs’ primary threat, adding 6.6 ppg, most of which come on three-pointers (60/78 attempts are three’s).

Here are some other game notes to keep an eye on:

• Virginia Tech is #1 in the nation at three-point defense holding to a 24.1% clip from beyond the arc.
• The Hokies lead the ACC in free throw shooting at 75 percent.
• Wake Forest gets about 18 points per game from the free thrown line.
• Tech has won five straight and eight of 10 against Wake since joining the ACC in 2005.
• This is the only meeting of the year between the two teams.
• The Hokies haven’t won an ACC opener since a win against Wake in the 06-07 season.

If Tech can hold Harris in check, dominate the glass and get out in transition there should be no problem. Wake can hang around if they start hitting outside shots and have Harris and McKie play great games. This game will be closer than last year’s contests, but Tech should be able to start conference play with a win.

Prediction: Virginia Tech 75, Wake Forest 65