Nail-Biter at John Paul Jones Arena: Wake Forest Edges Out Virginia in a Defensive Showdown
The Wake Forest Demon Deacons, with a record of 0-0, secured a narrow victory over the Virginia Cavaliers, who held a rank of 21 and had an identical record. The final score read 47-49 in favor of the Demon Deacons.
In an intense matchup at John Paul Jones Arena, the Demon Deacons showcased their defensive capabilities by limiting the Cavaliers to just 49 points. Despite being out-blocked with only 2 blocks compared to Virginia's impressive tally of 13, the Demon Deacons maintained composure throughout the game. The team's resilience was evident as they fought for every possession, resulting in a total rebound count of 38 against Virginia's 36.
Offensively, Wake Forest struggled from beyond the arc with only five three-pointers made from twenty-one attempts, translating to a mere twenty-four percent success rate. However, they excelled at free throws where they achieved an eighty percent completion rate by making four out of five attempts. Points in the paint were crucial for Wake Forest as they accumulated twenty-four points from close-range efforts.
The game was tightly contested with two ties and seven lead changes indicating how closely matched both teams were throughout regulation time. The Demon Deacons' ability to capitalize on turnovers was key; they scored nine points off turnovers while keeping their own total turnovers to twelve.
Wake Forest also demonstrated efficiency under pressure by converting eight second-chance points and maintaining an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.1 despite aggressive defense from Virginia which resulted in thirteen personal fouls committed by Wake Forest players.
On the other side of the court, Virginia managed forty-nine points against Wake Forest’s defense but fell short due to lower shooting percentages across all categories except two-point field goals where they edged out with forty-four percent accuracy compared to Wake Forest’s forty-one percent.
Looking ahead for fans of the Demon Deacons is another exciting home game scheduled on February 20th at Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum against Pittsburgh Panthers (PITT). This upcoming contest will take place in Winston-Salem and can be watched nationally on ACC Network channel number six hundred twelve starting at nine PM Eastern Time.