NC State hopes trip to Wake Forest isn’t another visit to the abyss
Wake Forest lost by 21 points at Penn State on Wednesday night in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge.
In other words, the Demon Deacons are right where they want to be before they play N.C. State.
The Deacs (5-4, 0-1 ACC) have a knack for beating N.C. State (6-2, 0-1) in their annual matchup in Winston-Salem. They have won six of the past seven meetings at Joel Coliseum, where they will square off on Saturday afternoon (2 p.m., ACC Network).
Before five of those six wins, Wake has lost the previous game. Last season, the Deacs lost 76-65 at Miami, three days before a 71-67 home win over the Wolfpack. And in the game after a home win over N.C. State, the Deacs typically revert back to form with a 1-6 record.
N.C. State’s red road uniforms (or black alternates) are a welcomed sight to Wake coach Danny Manning. He’s 4-1 (80 percent) at home against the Wolfpack and 15-25 (37.5 percent) against the rest of the ACC.
So, while N.C. State coach Kevin Keatts was pleased with how his team played in a 69-54 home win over Wisconsin on Wednesday, he knew it was only the start of a deceptively difficult stretch.
“We always are going to have a tough stretch because we play in the ACC,” Keatts said after the Wisconsin win.
A road game with Wake and then a road game at UNC-Greensboro might not strike fear into the other Triangle ACC schools, but it could be problematic for the Wolfpack.
Keatts did bring his first team to Winston-Salem in 2018 and pick up a 90-84 win. That’s one of only six wins (to 23 losses) N.C. State has at Joel Coliseum since 1990.
UNCG knocked off Keatts’ first team in Raleigh early in the 2017-2018 season. The fourth game of the stretch is a trip to Auburn.
So it’s Wisconsin-Wake Forest-UNCG-Auburn and then two breathers before the meat of the conference schedule. How N.C. State gets through these four games will go a long way in determining what it needs to do once the ACC schedule hits full swing.
The win over Wisconsin was a good start to the stretch. The Wolfpack put together its most complete defensive effort of the young season. It held the Badgers to 21.7 percent (5-of-23) shooting from the 3-point line. The continued improvement of sophomore forward Jericole Hellems (four 3-pointers, career-best 23 points) was also an encouraging sign.
“I do think we did some good things,” Keatts said. “I like where we are at. Obviously, I know we have to continue to get better.”
Despite Wake’s woes at Penn State, it has been playing better than it did since it dropped a 77-70 decision at Boston College in the opener.
The Deacs went to California for the Wooden Legacy tournament last week and won two of three games. Junior big man Olivier Sarr has started to emerge as a reliable force for Manning. The 7-footer from France has averaged 16.0 points and 11.4 rebounds per game over the past five games.
Last season, N.C. State had a win over Auburn, a Final Four team, outside the league but fell short of the NCAA tournament because it lacked other quality wins.
Inside the league, N.C. State went 9-9 but 0-6 against the top-5 teams. The Deacs, with a loss to Boston College to open the season, are not expected to be one of the top teams in the ACC.
But, given the recent history, it might a boost for N.C. State’s confidence to find a way to win a game it usually loses.
NC State at Wake Forest
When: Saturday, 2 p.m.
Where: Joel Coliseum, Winston-Salem
Watch: ACC Network
Listen: WRAL-101.5
NC State (6-2, 0-1 ACC)
G Markell Johnson 12.1 ppg, 6.0 apg
G Braxton Beverly 9.0 ppg, 2.4 rpg
G C.J. Bryce 15.5 ppg, 6.8 rpg
F Jericole Hellems 12.3 ppg, 4.1 rpg
F Manny Bates 6.5 ppg, 3.4 bpg
Wake Forest (5-4, 0-1 ACC)
G Brandon Childress 15.1 ppg, 4.9 apg
G Andrien White 8.1 ppg, 4.0 rpg
G Torry Johnson 6.0 ppg, 1.2 rpg
F Isaiah Mucius 7.8 ppg, 4.9 rpg
F Ody Oguama 2.6 ppg, 4.1 rpg
This story was originally published December 6, 2019 at 3:26 PM.
