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.

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7:50 - Well at least it isn't 30 any more... Wake trails 45-69.

I don't know what else to say about this one. We're getting beat bad (proven by the fact that Bobby Hoekstra's in the game) and don't show any signs of really making up all the necessary ground.

At this point the only thing that could salvage this game is getting to see Jimmy McQuilkin in the game.

14:35 - What a surprsie - Deron Washington and the Hokies continue to kill the Deacs, now growing the lead to 30 at 62-32. The question now is whether or not they'll get to 50.

I don't know what Dino said to the guys at halftime, but it must not have been enough to get them going. I feel like I'm watching the 1st half all over again.

Halftime - Wake couldn't even keep it under a 20 point deficit to end the half.

Basically Wake played the worst first half they've played all year, and it rivals the second half at BC for worst half of the season. VT deserves credit for playing a great half, but Wake lacked effort and hustle, plus they couldn't shoot a lick.

The question I posed before the game was whether or not Wake would come out firing or if the losing streak and lack of Tournament hopes would make them come out flat. Clearly we all hoped for the former, but all we've gotten is the latter. James has looked almost bored on the floor, and although Teague and Ish showed a couple flashes there wasn't much good to see. The offense was abysmal and the defense wasn't much better.

They always say that if you can be beat by 20 in the first half you can beat them by 20 in the second, but I can't imagine that it actually happens more than once in a blue moon, and I see practically no chance of it happening tonight.

I'll stick it out for the second half, but I don't expect it to be pretty.

3:38 - The slaughter continues, as Wake is now down 42-20. To be fair, VT is playing incredibly well, including shooting 50% from beyond the arc. Wake made a couple of decent offensive plays (Johnson and Skeen, I believe) but VT is out-running, out-hustling, and just flat out out-playing Wake. Ugh.

7:28- Now Wake trails 13-30. Ish showed a couple of flashes in the lane, but we've seen bad shots from Chas, Harvey, James, and just about anyone you can name. Teague hit a couple of shots, but even in those cases the offense didn't really seem to be doing anything.

I don't even know what can be done to salvage this right now. The team isn't even showing flashes of brilliance or indicating they can do anything to cut into this lead. Baring an incredible outburst from some individual player I'm not sure much will salvage this. I never thought I'd be saying that so early in a game, but I feel terrible about this one.

11:13 - Did you read what I wrote at at the 14:57 mark? Well the score is now 21-9. Other than that, I don't really need to write anything else because I would only end up writing the same thing. I guess I'll add that James Johnson is really frustrating me (lack of hustle, awful shooting, etc.). Now I'm done.

14:57 - Well wasn't that a wonderful start. Wake trails 13-3 only 5 minutes into the game. The offense has been about as abysmal as it could possibly be and the defense hasn't been any better. I could try to offer more substantial analysis, but there isn't much more to say. If you can imagine awful ball movement on offense with terrible shots, and defense that is a similar level of bad, you have the appropriate picture of this game.

I previewed the game earlier here, so I won't say much else about it before the game.

We all know a win here would be great. The question is whether or not the young guys will respond in this situation. We'll see what happens.

Feel free to share your comments and thoughts in the comment section below.

I'll post some of my thoughts throughout the game, particularly at halftime.

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First of all, I apologize for not having any preview for this game or even letting you know there wouldn't be one. Things got surprisingly busy for me towards the end of this weekend and I just wasn't able to make it happen.

HUGE thanks to Evan Lepler for the excellent work he did for Old Gold & Blog Thursday night. His services are greatly appreciated, both because he was able to lend me a hand and because he did some superb writing. We'll have to forgive him for not bringing home a win.

I've been on the road this afternoon for the beginning of the game which is why there wasn't a post until now, but I have been listening on the radio. Obviously the first half has been frustrating in many ways (continued foul trouble and poor decision making) but Wake has managed to hang in there this half and Wake will have a chance in the second half. Having this game in very reachable single digits at the half is great.

Feel free to post your thoughts and comments throughout the game. I'm still pretty busy so I may check in with some thoughts a couple of times but not regularly. I do hope to have a little post-game analysis ready right at the end of the game.

Let's hope the guys keep it together and grab this win. At the half, Wake trails 44-37.

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Final - Wake loses 18-8. Not pretty. In the last two games the team has given up 40 runs. That would indicate that this team has some pretty significant pitching issues to address. At this rate, the Diamond Deacs are going nowhere, fast.

Through top half of the 5th - The Mountaineers have poured it on in the 4th and 5th innings, scoring 4 and 3 runs respectively. Wake finds a way to get a couple guys on each inning but can't string together the hits to bring them in.

I've had to leave Hooks for class (the late start and long first inning means I didn't get to see as much as I'd hoped), but I don't think I'll be missing much. The Deacs just don't seem to have it today, plus it's miserably cold. If they pull out a big comeback, I'll eat my words.

Now in the bottom of the 5th Wake trails 13-3.

Through 3 Innings - Wake responded in the 1st with 2 hits and 3 runs of their own to make it a 6-3 game. The next two innings have gone on without too much action - no runs scored, but another 4 hits for App and and 1 for Wake. Still 6-3 for now.

Top 1st - Ugly Ugly start to this one at Hooks Stadium. I was hoping to see the Deacs come out and play well to start, but starting pitcher Matt Hammond went all the way through the Mountaineer's order retiring only 1 batter, giving up 5 runs, and leaving the bases loaded.

Joel Ernst came in to relieve Hammond and the Deacs gave up one more run to end the top half of the inning 6-0. Only 3 hits were given up in the first, but the two errors (which included a throwing error from Dustin Hood at Shortstop where he just under-threw the ball to first, and then a shallow fly to right field got lost in the sun) were costly. 4 earned runs and 2 unearned. Ugly start.

Also interesting to note today is that Allan Dykstra is playing third base today instead of 1st. Evan Ocheltree is playing first. So far I haven't heard an explanation.

I'm out at Hooks Stadium today for the Diamond Deacs home opening baseball game against App State. It's cold (38 degrees) and pretty windy, so it could be a rough one. App State comes in 2-2 and Wake is currently 1-2 after the weekend Series at Pepperdine.

Let me know in the comments section what kind of updates you'd like for these games. I feel like gametracker probably does a pretty good job with play-by-play, so I think my goal will be to provide color every now and then. Let me know and I'll see what I can do.

I'm going to have to leave at 4:30 so I probably won't see the whole game but I'll cover as much of it as possible. Here's to hoping the Deacs open the season in style.

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Final - That's all she wrote, folks. It certainly wasn't pretty and Wake definitely didn't deserve to win. I guess that's how it goes sometimes, particularly on the road at Carolina. We'll talk about this one a bit over the next 24 hours, but the most important thing right now is focusing on Thursday's game against Maryland. At this point that one is much more important than this loss.

Final Score - Wake 73 UNC 89

3:59 - This one is comfortably out of hand. There isn't much left to say at this point. Carolina has beat up on Wake for the entire half and that's pretty much all there is to it. I know some will want to blame the refs but the refs did not create this 20 point lead, Carolina did.

I'd still like to see the lead close a little bit so that the game doesn't look quite as terrible, but this one is in the books.

Wake 65 UNC 84

7:58 - This one's falling apart, and the appears to be very little left that can revive it. Is there a way to take away a couple of Chas's fouls? No? Dangit. I guess we're screwed then.

At this point I'd just love to see Wake close down the lead a little bit and make it more respectable.

Wake trails 61-76.

11:23 - Things haven't gotten enough better. Wake is making some good plays and scoring some points, but defensively doesn't seem to have any idea how to slow down Carolina. Not having Chas in the middle is a big part of that.

I don't have a lot of confidence at this point. I'm not saying it's impossible, but I'm not expecting anything huge to happen here.

Wake 57 UNC 69 with Johnson going to the line (but I would have rather him just scored than drawing a foul)

2nd Half - 15:57 - It's pretty simple at this point: Wake isn't shooting well while Carolina is. Chas has gotten his 4th foul and is out for awhile. Without some defensive stops and an offensive run this one won't last much longer.

It's frustrating to see Wake struggling like this, but I'm not ready to give up yet. If Wake can work and keep it in single digits they'll continue to have a chance of making something happen.

Wake 49 UNC 61

Halftime - A somewhat frustrating finish to the half with Carolina going on an 8-0 run and jumping out to a 10 point lead and then hitting a 3 on what was clearly a travel to finish up nine at 41-40.

Wake isn't out of the game and didn't played a terrible half. What was frustrating was the way they let things slip away towards the end. Wake never let the lead get past about 5 and stay there until the last couple minutes of the half.

Jamie Skeen played a solid half and Chas played very well except for his foul trouble. No one else was particularly impressive, and everyone's freethrow struggles were quite annoying. Someone else will need to step up big in the 2nd half (I'm thinking primarily about one or more of the freshman) for Wake to jump back in this one.

It isn't time to write this one off, but Wake's got to find some sort of answer in the second half. For now they trail 41-50.

3:56 - Fouls and foul shots are definitely Wake's downfalls at the moment. Chas was doing pretty well with only 1 foul before picking up 2 quick dumb fouls. The lose ball rebounding foul was just a stupid decision by Chas. The 3rd foul may not have been a great call, but Chas is going to get called for those because of his reputation.

The other key stat is that Wake is only 1-5 from the FT line. Make those shots and this game is tied right now. Still, I love the resiliency of this team to respond to every run by Carolina with a run of their own, even if they haven't been able to grab a lead. Currently trailing 35-39.

7:49 - That stretch included a rough patch, but on the strength of Jamie Skeen Wake's climbed right back in and is only 2 points back of Carolina, 28-30. Also somewhat amazing is that Tyler Hansborough just got called for an offensive foul. Certainly there will be calls throughout the game that seem somewhat questionable, but for now I think the game is being called pretty fairly.

I love how there always seems to be someone who steps up for this team when it's really needed. I don't think anyone expected Jamie Skeen to step up the way he has so far, but at the same time Jeff Teague has been somewhat quite. The production always seems to come from somewhere.

Wake just needs to keep slugging it out. Sticking around in this game gives Wake a pretty good chance.

11:51 - The last 4 minutes were played a frenetic pace, but the scoring slowed down. I think it's good for Wake to be running, but for stretches there everything seemed out of control. Out of Control and running are not the same thing. Forced shots aren't good.

Teague's 3-pointer from at least 30 feet away was ridiculous. It was one of those shots where you're going to be really mad at the guy for shooting it, unless he makes it. Thankfully he did.

Wake also did a much better job avoiding fouls during that stretch, and Ish is headed to the line to shoot two with Wake trailing 21-18.

15:51 - I think Wake fans can take a deep breath now. It hasn't been a perfect start, but it's clear that Wake isn't going to roll over for Carolina in this one. I think the most obvious concern so far is the fouling. LD has 2 and a bunch of others have 1, so Wake will have to be careful with those.

Offense has been pretty solid. Chas has done well underneath and the Deacs have even hit a few big shots. They didn't show a replay, but in my opinion James didn't deserve the charge that was called on him.

About 4 minutes in UNC leads 14-12.

Tipoff - Looked like we were about to miss the start on TV with the NC State/Virginia game, but we've just made it in time for the tip and I'm plenty excited. This is another big one, so let's get it done.

First, I apologize for basically disappearing this weekend. Things got a bit busy and although I could have talked some baseball and basketball, it didn't quite work out that way.

For what it's worth (and if you didn't already know), in yesterday's baseball doubleheader Wake lost the first game to Pepperdine 3-2 and won the second game 13-9.

As far as tonight's basketball game, I'm pretty excited. Disappointed that I wasn't able to work it out to be there, but excited for the game. I think the line for the game is a bit high, with Carolina being favored by 15.5 points. The word is that Lawson won't play, so I believe Carolina is definitely still vulnerable.

I'll be back with more as we get closer to game time. Hopefully Wake fans have an enjoyable evening.

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Final - WAKE DEFEATS DUKE 86-73.

0:57 - Duke misses, Wake boards, Paulus fouls out, LD at the line shooting 2, makes 2, Wake leads 84-72. Students are pouring out into the aisles ready to storm the floor.

1:14 - Duke misses a three, Johnson rebounds and is fouled, Makes both freethrows, Wake leads 82-72.

1:31 - A 4th Duke players fouls out, this time Henderson. Johnson on the lines. Shoots 2, makes 1, Wake leads 80-72.

1:36 - Charge on Singler, his 5th, he fouls out as well. Wake ball.

1:44 - Lance Thomas fouls Teague and fouls out. Krzyzewski is working one of the refs, not sure what about. Teague shoots 2, makes 1, Wake leads 79-72.

1:46 - It only took Duke 8 seconds to grab a layup of their own, cutting the lead back to 6, 78-72. Duke calls timeout after the basket.

1:54 - After a Duke backcourt violation (and Teague almost throwing a punch) Skeen gets fouled and goes to the line. The refs are at the TV monitors checking on something, but we haven't been informed what it is. Nothing seems to have changd, so I guess nothing was wrong. Skeen makes 2-2 and Wake leads 78-70.

2:15 - Duke ball, 76-70 Wake leads.

3:12 - Teague going to the line for 2, Nelson just fouled out. Wake leads 73-66. Dino and Krzyzewski just had some sort of conversation with the ref. Can't tell what it was about but I might be able to find out after the game.

3:45 - Final media timeout, Skeen going to the line to shoot 2 after a big 3 pointer by Paulus to cut Wake's lead to 6. These freethrows will be big, Skeen really needs to be clutch and hit both. Another stop or 2 on defense would we wonderful as well. Currently, the Wake lead is 6, 72-66.

4:38 - seconds after checking in Chas fouls out. Duke on the line. Does Wake know how to finish a big game?

4:58 - WOW. Teague just made an incredibly athletic lead, and with the freethrow Wake leads by 10, 72-62.

5:41 - Wake cannot buy a bucket with the lead. Thankfully, Duke can't seem to make anything right now either. Momentum is on Wake's side, but even right around the basket they're struggling to finish. Both teams' shooting is atrocious this half; Wake's at 29% and Duke's at 32%.
Duke ball, Wake leads 67-62.

7:43 - Things have gotten ugly, but the momentum seems to be in Wake's favor right now. Duke can't make a shot and they've been called for 3 fouls in the last 30 seconds. If either Ish or James could make a freethrow Wake would be in excellent shape. As things are, Wake holds a 1 point lead, the ball, and the double bonus for the remainder of the half. If the Deacs score with the lead for once the game could really turn in Wake's favor. Right now, Wake leads 63-62.

10:07 - A 6-0 Wake run forces Duke to call a quick timeout. Very smart, considering how the crowd is getting back into this. Wake needs to keep scoring though, because they have shown little ability to prevent Duke from scoring in the long run. For now, Wake leads 61-60.

11:46 - Duke has also found themselves in some foul trouble, with Nelson having three and Lance Thomas getting his fourth. Nolan Smith has been big for Duke, just hitting a three to give them a three point lead. Wake isn't going away, but they also don't seem to be showing any signs of being able to get and maintain a lead. A boost of energy and a run is what they really need. Duke leads 58-55.

14:05 - Wake is looking flustered right now. They don't seem to know what they're doing on the offensive end and they've already committed 5 fouls defensively. Thankfully Duke is still struggling a bit from the line, and they now lead the Deacs 55-52.

15:01 - The crowd is very unhappy with the intentional foul call and is letting the refs know. I don't blame them at all. Chas shouldn't have done what he did considering he already had 3 fouls because he's probably out for the next 8+ minutes, but it still wasn't intentional. Duke has used that momentum to tie the game at 52. Wake needs to come up with some sort of offensive answer, but since LD's three there really hasn't been anything. I think it'll be Teague or maybe Clark of the bench who will step up and grab some more momentum.

Game tied at 52.

16:03 - That is the worst intentional foul call I've ever seen. Chas went up hard but he went up to block the ball. I don't know how the refs can make that call. Unbelievable. Duke misses one of the freethrows, Wake leads 52-48.

16:36 - Incredibly Alley-Oop from Ish to LD with the one-handed windmill. Really gets the crowd going. LD hits a three and looks to be the energy spark this half like Teague was in the 1st. Wake leads 52-44.

2nd Half - 19:16 - Wake starts the half with the ball but Johnson misses a shot. Duke misses and Johnson can't handle the great feed from Ish on the other end. Those are the turnovers Wake's got to cut out this half. No score yet in the half, Wake leads 47-42.

Halftime - Huge tip-in by Jamie Skeen at the buzzer. Duke got lazy on the glass and Skeen slid in for a beautiful tip. Wake takes a 5 point lead into the half here at the Joel against Duke, 47-42. It wasn't exactly perfect, but any time you have a lead over Duke at the half you really can't complain.

Wake has had production from everyone. Teague started out very very hot and has cooled off some, but his early production set the tone for the game and has made a huge impact on this game. Chas has a pretty good half and it could have been even better if he hadn't gotten himself in foul trouble on the double-technical early in the half. Gary Clark turned in another solid half of role-playing basketball with 4 points.

The defense has played well enough. Duke is going to score points, but the defense has kept them from getting too many easy ones.

My 2 big concerns are turnovers and DeMarcus Nelson. Wake has turned the ball over 10 times, which is just way too many against Duke. The Devils have helped Wake out by turning it over a bunch as well, but those need to be cut down in the 2nd half. DeMarcus Nelson is now 3-3 from beyond the arc and has been pretty open on every single one of them. The defense needs to make sure to get out on him and prevent the easy opportunities.

Wake leads 47-42 at halftime. Wake has shot 53% and Duke is at 55%. Wake is 67% from beyond the arc, Duke is 63%. 11 Wake turnovers to 13 for Duke. Key stat: Wake freethrows are 9-13, Duke's are 5-13. That's the entire lead right there.

0:23 - Teague only makes 1-2 at the line but a Johnson rebound and Wake timeout means Wake should have the last shot of the half and as much as a 6 point lead, but no worse than 3 if no shot is made. Good place to be, leading 45-42.

1:14 - Timeout Duke. Wake goes on a little run there, with Johnson making his freethrows and a nice move in the post. My biggest concern right now is the way DeMarcus Nelson is lighting Wake up for 3. He's either 3-3 or 4-4 from out there right now, which just isn't acceptable. Wake's not really getting a hand is face. Still, Deacs lead 44-40.

3:12 - Both Gary Clark and James Johnson have done some good things here and the defense has continued to be solid, even producing a 3-second violation on Duke. Wake takes a 35-34 lead into this media timeout with Johnson going to the line for what I believe will be a 1-1 after the timeout. The crowd is back into it and excited. The play hasn't been flawless, but it's been pretty solid all around and the defense has clearly been frustrating Duke, to the point of upsetting Jon Scheyer enough that the students were chanting "Scheyer's crying...clap clap clap."

Wake isn't going away and is playing as hard as I've seen all year. Great first half so far. Once again, Wake leads 35-34.

Stats: Wake shooting 52%, Duke at 52%, Both teams in double bonus and 10 turnovers for each. It is very very even right now.

5:46 - Chas just had to check out for blood, but it doesn't look bad. 26-27 Duke leads.

7:57 - Things have gotten noticeably sloppier for both teams with several turnovers and fouls each. The starting lineup for Wake checked back in and has been able to avoid fouls, but hasn't been able to score points. Duke has started hitting some of their shots and are capitalizing on some of Wake's mistakes. It was unlikely that Wake would lead this game from wire to wire, but it's still not fun to see Duke leading 27-24. If Wake avoids stupid mistakes and makes a couple more shots then they should be right back in good shape.

Wake shooting 53%, Duke at 55%. Even at 7 turnovers, 8 fouls for Wake to 5 for Duke.

11:44 - Teague called for traveling, turns the ball back over to Duke. Neither team is shooting freethrows well; I think whichever team ends up doing that better will have a big advantage tonight. Early foul trouble is also problematic (although something Wake's done a lot of recently) with Ish and Chas both having two. Still, Wake leads 20-14 and is playing good tough defense. It's been a fun 8 minutes.

Stats so far: Wake shooting 58%, Duke at 43%. 5 Wake turnovers and 6 fouls to 6 turnovers and 4 fouls for Duke.

12:35 - Dino just ripped into Skeen for not boxing out, and well deserved I might add. Duke cannot make freethrows at all, which is an advantage I love having. Wake leads 19-14.

13:26 - I don't think there can be much complaining about the start. Jeff Teague has been hot with 11 early points (including 3-3 from beyond the arc) and defensively Wake's done what needs to be done. The crowd is really into things and this is the loudest I can remember the Joel being. Duke doesn't seem flustered but they also aren't playing great. This is exactly the kind of start Wake needed to have. Chas and Zoubek just got double technical fouls. We can't have Chas in foul trouble, we need him tonight. Wake leads 18-12.

Tipoff - Duke wins tip...no surprise.

Dino's wearing a purple shirt/tie combo tonight. I Wish he would have gone with something a bit more Wake-ish for this one. Great atmosphere for the player intros, it's the loudest I've heard it all year.

The clock says we're about 7 minutes from tipoff, although I'm sure it will be a little longer than that. The Joel is looking pretty full tonight, and as expected the students have turned out in full force. There are still some holes to be filled in with the rest of the crowd, but it will definitely be full and loud tonight.

There is more blue in the stands than I would like to see, but I guess that's what happens when you're playing Duke. Duke just came out for their final warm-up and received a pretty good booing from the crowd. I'm sure they'll erupt here in a minute when Wake comes out.

Stick with Old Gold & Blog throughout the game for full thoughts from the Joel. Lets go get a win!

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Final - The Deacs allowed a little run, but thankfully didn't let things get out of hand. If they'd made some freethrows this game would never have been in question. The fact that Wake's going to win by double digits is kind of surprising, but it will look a lot better on the schedule. Hopefully this will build some momentum.

Wake wins, 80-64. I'll have a full game analysis up in the next hour.

2:05 - Pettinella just tried to get out of shooting freethrows, and I can see why. These are the ugliest things I've ever seen. Wow. We should have been fouling him all afternoon long. 72-64 Wake leads.

4:10- Ugliest & Longest half of basketball ever. At this point I'm ready for this just to be over with a win. Please? 67-62 Wake.

5:33 - Leave it to Ish to make something happen. The ref's are having an embarrassingly bad game. Great 2-handed slam by James Johnson off of Weaver' offensive rebound. Wake leads 65-58.

7:18 - It isn't getting much better. Thankfully Naz-T's dancing, and Nessler and Dykes seem to be enjoying it. 60-56 Wake.

8:55- Ugly Ugly Ugly. Letting UVA right back in with some ugly play all around. Lead is only 57-51, and thankfully Dino calls a timeout.

9:48 - Letting them hang around with some poorer shooting. A run to make this lead 15 or so would be nice. As it stands, Wake leads 56-47.

11:55 - Good spurt there to get back to an 11 point lead. This is where I'm hoping to see the team do what they haven't been able to do in several games, or really all season, and that's close.

Not going to 4 corners would be nice, too.

54-43 Wake.

12:35 - 6th team foul, this one Chas's third, will put UVA in the bonus the rest of the way. Not a good idea. Some good shooting has expanded the lead a little bit, but Wake shows no sign of running away with it.

Harvey Hale's contact just fell out...oops. 51-43 Deacs.

15:57 - And...after UVA is very dumb and tries to run the baseline on a spot inbounds play Gary Clark promptly turns the ball back over. Nice.

Come on, guys.

16:17 - Very sloppy play so far and I'm not a fan. Wake seems to be making some really dumb decisions on offense. Shooting selection has been poor and there have been some pretty lazy passes. Wake also just ran that terrible inbound play where they just throw it way up top without really doing anything of substance to try to get a good look right away. Quite annoying.

UVA's gotten right back into this and hopefully the intensity will pick up after this timeout. For everyone who was complaining about Dino not calling them last game you can't fault him this time. I like the timeout a lot.

Wake still leads 41-36.

2nd Half: 17:25 - Another slow start for Wake while UVA has scored a few quick ones. The guys seem to be lacking a little bit of the intensity they had in the first half, but I expect to come back with the lead narrowing. Wake leads 40-32.

Halftime Football Ceremony - The team was just honored for their great football season. First a highlight video was shown and now the team is being honored for all of their accomplishments. The crowd roared when the PA said they had swept tobacco road for the 2nd straight year. Nice ceremony and a great reception from the crowd.

Halftime - Solid half from Wake, who leads 36-27. It certainly wasn't perfect, and UVA is obviously pretty bad, but the overall performance isn't one to complain about. The defense looked much better than it has the last couple games, and other than a couple of exceptions the guys did a much better job boxing out. The shooting still left plenty to be desired, but generally speaking I don't think there's too much to complain about, particularly considering the score.

Johnson has played a considerably better game than the last couple and Clark continues to see significant PT. Harvey has shot alright, 1-3 from 3-point range, and the team is a halfway decent 5-12. Since Virginia is only shooting 30% Wake's in pretty good shape. As long as they keep up the effort in the second half then we should finish the day with a comfortable victory.

As long as the Deacs avoid another collapse in the final 10 minutes there won't be much to worry about.
0:48 - Little burst from UVA. Wake's defense appeared to slack a little and give up some offensive rebounds while Clark picked up his 2nd foul. The fact that he's been in there long enough to have 2 fouls is somewhat impressive. Wake leads 36-27.

2:44 - Gary Clark just made what was probably the most impressive drive to the basket by someone not named Ishmael or James. I had no idea he could take the ball to the hole like that, and he probably got fouled, too. Thanks to some better shooting, taking the ball to the hole, and playing very stingy D Wake leads 33-21.

4:23 - When Chas isn't in the game we don't seem to have much of anything inside. Heck, Weaver just hit a 3 and he's the one supposedly playing center. Clark missed an open look for three, but he looks more comfortable out there today than he did Wednesday. Wake leads 28-21.

6:33 - Singletary has made a couple of pretty impressive plays, most notably the layup he made a minute ago between what looked like three or four Wake players. UVA's hit a few shots and closed the gap, but Wake has continued to score. Chas has been doing a good job getting himself good shots in the post. Wake's lead is 6, 25-19.

10:40 - Another 4 points from Wake and UVA calls a timeout. James looks to be having a better game already, with 3 rebounds and 7 points at this point. Only 1 turnover so far is also a great number. Wake leads 18-9.

11:54 - Other than a nice 2-handed dunk by Weaver the last couple minutes haven't been too eventful. I'm surprised Virginia isn't putting more pressure on Wake's inbounding plays under the basket considering the recent problems, but they've been content to clog the middle and allow an easy bounce pass to a post man at the 3-point line on the baseline. Less turnovers is always a good thing, so I won't complain.

Wake leads 14-9.

13:46 - Lots and lots of fouls on the Deacs (5 to be exact), and I don't agree with all of them. Gary Clark has already checked in and has 2 points on a fast break layup, a missed 3-pointer, and a foul. Wake leads 12-9.

15:35 - Those shooting problems turned around in a hurry, with 3's by Hale and Johnson. Not a bad start, and so far Singletary has been well guarded. Wake just needs to watch out for the dumb fouls, having already committed 3. Wake leads 8-4.

17:13 - I think there may have been a renewed emphasis on defense this week. Looks like a little half-court trap to start things off and some good tight D, although two quick fouls hurt. The shooting looks poor already, though. Still 0-0.

Tipoff: Great crowd in the Joel today, I think it will be a fun game and great for the football recruits who are here this weekend. In fact, they're sitting almost directly behind me, so I'll try to keep an eye on how they're enjoying themselves.

Believe it or not, Wake won the tip.

About 10 minutes until tipoff. Today is a game that Wake absolutely needs to win. Virginia has been struggling and a loss today would probably put Wake into an irreparable tailspin. If Wake can go grab a double digit win it could be a huge boost heading on the road later this week. Time to get it done!

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Final - Wake loses, 83-89. Ugly last few minutes cost it

0:29 - Teague tried alley-oop Johnson under the basket and it was deflected for a turnover. Wake now has to foul and after the freethrows trails 88-83. Not good. Wake can't hit a shot and this one is just about over.

1:10 - 2 FTs for Teague, GT calls time out with Wake trailing 83-84.

1:21 - GT hits a three, foul on GT but they have one to give. Chas hits the ground after the play but nothing is called. Wake ball down 3, 84-81.

2:05 - By hitting the offensive glass the Deacs have come up with quite a few second chance points tonight, most importantly the 2 Weaver just got off of a Chas McFarland miss followed by a Harvey Hale miss to tie the game at 81. Most amazing right now is that Wake is shooting almost 60% this half and GT is shooting 57%. It has turned this into a very high scoring game.

4:29 - Big 3-pointer by Harvey, and the Deacs switch to what looks like a Triangle & Two defense, causing a turnover. Momentum looks to be shifting back, Wake leads 79-77

6:01 - Harvey Hale was just called for a charge, but it certainly didn't look like one to me. Media Timeout, Deacs still trail 74-75.

6:23 - Harvey Hale knows how to shoot when he plays Georgia Tech, that's for sure. The Deacs are trailing right now, but not by much. With Georgia Tech shooting almost 65% from the field in the 2nd half, they're making themselves difficult to keep up with, and Wake's foul trouble is not helping matters. GT's lead is only one, 75-74.

8:29 - Johnson just picked up another foul. Not good, and he's out.

9:42 - The ugliness only got worse, and except for a basket by Jamie Skeen Wake hasn't been able to come up with much of anything. The poor shooting has returned and the Deacs seem to be missing defensive assignments and giving up easy buckets. As a result, Wake trails 66-64.

11:25 - Impressive run by Georgia Tech to cut into the lead. Wake turned the ball over several times and GT was hitting their shots. It's been sloppy all night, but it has gotten a bit worse. Some of the dumb fouls and mental mistakes have returned. A 7-0 run has cut the lead all the way down to 62-61. Deacs take a timeout to regroup; something needs to change.

15:57 - Nice run for the Deacs, including 3-pointers from both Harvey Hale and Chas McFarland. Wake's doing a little bit better making smart plays and avoiding dumb fouls, although Weaver's charge wasn't great. Regardless, the Deacs have built a bit bigger lead, 55-44.

2nd Half: 18:00 - Quick 3rd foul on Jeff Teague could cause some problems, he'll be pretty worthless on defense for awhile. I wouldn't be opposed to putting Clark back in there for a few minutes to buy some time. Deacs lead 47-42.

Halftime - Other than a handful of very sloppy plays and some unnecessary fouls it was a pretty strong half for Wake. The scoring was very well distributed, with Teague being the only Deacon in double figures. Gary Clark has had about 8 minutes of playing time and has 8 points, which is nice to see. I"ll be interested to hear what Dino has to say about him after the game.

With a little more of the same it could turn out to be a great win for the Deacs.

1:27 - HUGE dunk by Teague on a fast break off a steal.

1:45 - Clark is now 2-2 from beyond the arc and made both of his freethrows, but he's clearly nervous because he's having trouble holding on to the ball and has 2 turnovers. Timeout, GT. Wake leads 41-32. Causey is absolutely fuming on the bench.

3:57- GT's closed the lead with some pretty good shooting, and in my opinion some help from the refs to get to the line. The crowd is getting pretty ugly towards the Jackets, primarily Causey after the intentional foul and then Aminu, thanks to his brother. Clark is seeing some significant minutes here tonight and is headed to the line after the timeout with the Deacs leading 34-30.

7:47 - Things have gotten ugly out here, and after that intentional foul/technical situation I think things will be getting pretty chippy. Wake needs to keep avoiding fouls and concentrate on smart offensive play. Wake holds onto a five point lead (and the ball) 23-18.

9:14 - Teague just did one of the dumbest things I've ever seen. GT's Matt Causey was called for an intentional foul on James Johnson and Teague got in his face and basically threatened him. There is an intentional foul on Causey, but Teague picked up a technical for his antics. Very Very dumb. Johnson will shoot the intentional foul (of which he misses both) and Tech now shoots a technical 2 shot foul, makes both, and gets the ball. Really dumb series there, mostly due to Teague. Wake leads 23-16.

11:24 - The Deacs are hot from beyond the arc! Both Harvey Hale and Jeff Teague have hit a couple of big ones. Gary Clark is also seeing floor time for the first time in awhile and hit a 3 of his own with his first shot. Hale got his second foul on a really stupid play defending an inbounds pass in the backcourt. Already Wake has 7 team fouls and Georgia Tech is in the bonus. Won't be very helpful the rest of the half. Things got a little sloppy in the last minute, with two straight turnovers. Still, Wake leads 20-12.

15:28 - Sloppiness all over the made for a very bad start. Lazy passes and other seemingly mental mistakes are not going to do us any good. A couple of quick fouls aren't going to help much either. Definitely looked like the refs missed a goaltending call which cost the Deacs a couple of points, too. Thankfully, things started falling and Wake has built a small early lead thanks in large part to a Jeff Teague 3-pointer. Wake leads 9-3.

Getting ready for tip-off, time to extend the home streak to 17! Check back throughout the game for updates, and if you're interested to hear what Grobe said about the recruiting class today, scroll down to the previous post.

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Grobe started early, so I missed his opening remarks, other than the fact that he knows that we'll be ranked "13th out of 12" in the ACC again this year, but he's okay with that.

Recruiting in Florida has evolved, 6 of 16 from Jacksonville. ACC Championship experience helped that, but Tom Elrod's experience in Florida helps a lot. Everyone knows him.

Grobe says we really only have room for the 16 we got, so the fact that it's a "small number" doesn't bother him. Could have taken one more, but that's about it. The people who take 30 don't actually get all of those - academically ineligible, etc. The Fact that we have lots of 5th year seniors have a lot to do with this.

Grobe obviously doesn't worry about the "numbers" from the "scouting experts." Wants to find football players who can win in the ACC but can also graduate from Wake Forest.

"I'm sure there's somebody on there" who won't redshirt next fall. Most likely one (or more) of the guys who are here now grey-shirting.

Dixon is here and good, Looney is here and "looks great."

In this class Grobe was looking primarily "just for balance." Made sure each coach got someone he wanted, the only problem late was making sure they got a DE. This is what Kevin Smith is for.

Hoping Dixon can help at TE pretty quickly, Parker could be really good too. Playing early has a lot to do with positions too.

Tries to avoid "stashing" guys at prep schools, really only done it once.

Coaching staff changes "might have" had an impact on recruiting, maybe not. Tries not to keep coaching changes "hush hush" like some schools do, thinks it's better to be up front with guys.

Does not send out more LOIs than he can accept - Wellman gets mad of we do these things.

Gaines was willing to wait a semester to enroll because he really wanted to play for Wake. He's here now and is doing well, both athletically and academically.

Chris Givens can't be talked about, Grobe saying only that he's "recruiting Chris Givens."

Kenny Okoro - great cover guy, like an Alphonso Smith, 4.0 high school student, also ran a 4.49 at camp last summer. Can also play WR and Special teams. Kind of tall, which they like for corners (like Brandon Ghee).

Joe Looney - Wonderful kid, great family, ended up with over 30 offers but he came to campus 3 times and the current players were great with him and he felt really comfortable here.

Lovell Jackson - can really run, in fact he really loves track. Good academics

Class is characterized by athleticism and speed, which Grobe loves.

Team has increased credibility in Florida thanks to Skinner and Alphonso, everyone there knows about them.

Lambert has not yet decided who exactly he wants to coach. He wants to stay with the guys he's got, but may not happen.

Grobe thinks we could possibly sign another one but we'll see. Still working a little bit. Nonetheless, still very happy with the class.

Stachitas - throws the ball great but also very very fast. Dual-Threat player.

Regarding disappointments - can't really talk specifically, but sometimes in these situations you second guess some things if you'd done things differently, but all-in-all expects things to work out and feels pretty good.

There are seven to nine guys who are ready to play physically, but not mentally so they probably won't be playing much right away.

Really like Terrence Davis, but most likely Kenny's roll will be filled by people like Devon Brown.

Most players bring up the fact that they will probably be redshirted at Wake, because other schools have told them Wake will do that, but Grobe tells them that they're not going to waste a year of eligibility for 5 snaps a game, but if they're good enough they will play.

The 06 Championship season actually probably helped with recruiting this season more than it did last year.

Coach doesn't feel like they have to sell players on being able to win football here anymore, the kids already know.

Lots of juniors will be on campus this coming weekend, of course he can't mention any by name.

Team is moving towards being more of a power football team, but we've actually gotten too big and need to get weight back down for some lineman. Rather work from being too big to a little smaller rather than from too small but can't get big enough.

And that's all there is. The video should be up on the school's site later, and I think I might be able to get my own audio up but I'll see about that.

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Final - on an unbelieveable tip, NC State wins 67-65. I'll have post game thoughts up after the press conference, and a cooling off period. What a tough loss.

0:05 - With a patented last second play, Ish Smith ties the game with 5 seconds left, but State has one last chance. Exciting stuff for sure, and I believe that makes at least 4 ACC games where Ish has made a late-game tying or winning shot. Mr. Clutch, indeed.

0:38 - Off an NC State miss Ish tried to create on his own and missed badly, Johnson called for the over the back trying to rebound. NC State misses the front end of the freethrows, but makes the second, lead 65-63.

1:11 - I didn't like that 3-ball from Johnson at all. He made a great play to get the steal afterwards, but Skeen couldn't lay it in and the Deacs still trail by one 63-64, Wolfpack ball.

2:17 - Chas has fouled out, with NC State leading 62-61 and now going to the line for two. Late game situations are continuing to prove too much for this young team.

3:28 - And here's the 4 corners. I hate it already...

3:53 - There's something incredibly annoying about small white guys who drain threes. Sometimes makes me wish we had one to put out there. As I thought would happen, the Wake lead has completely evaporated, NC State has gotten hot and started making some big threes, and all of a sudden we have a tie game. Wake has still scored some points, and this 3-point play by Johnson is going to be huge. More is needed, can't let up now. Deacs lead 60-58 with Johnson at the line for a freethrow.

7:44 - With Teague picking up his fourth foul, the Deacs are definitely going to have their work cut out for them to hold on to this lead. NC State just grabbed some momentum with a three and a potential 3-point play, and I'm honestly nervous about where this game will go from here. Thankfully Harvey Hale finally made a three when it counted the most, more of that will be needed. I think if the Deacs go into the four corners offense and try to stall, as they've done the last couple games, the lead will probably evaporate in a hurry. For now, the Deacs still lead 54-49.

11:55 - I feel like the refs are controlling this game a little too much with the foul calls on both ends. Harvey Hale took his first two shots of the afternoon, both of which were misses. He was clearly already frustrated, putting up another one after a whistle, which he made, and clearly being angry with himself for not making them when they count. He looks great from about 18 feet though. Deacs holding a slim edge, 42-39.

14:44 - A little 3-point run by NC State has tightened this game up considerably. Chas is playing great with 8 points and 6 boards, not to mention very very good defense on JJ Hickson. Foul trouble is definitely going to hurt the Deacs down the stretch. Johnson, Teague, and McFarland all have three, and I believe NC State may already be in the bonus. They're at least close. Need to be more careful. Deacs lead is only 39-35.

2nd Half - 17:32 - All these quick fouls are not going to be good for the Deacs in this second half. James has three, Ish has two, and McFarland has also gotten his third. Putting NC State on the line early in this half will not help at all. For what it's worth, I thoroughly enjoy all the coaches in their tennis shoes for Coaches versus Cancer. Nice touch. Deacs lead 35-27.

Halftime - Missed offensive opportunities are really hurting the Deacs, as are dumb fouls on Defense. Neither team has been able to hit many shots, but I feel like the Deacs are taking some less-than-smart shots. Nonetheless, the Deacs take a lead into halftime, which is a great position to be in on the road.

It may not have been the prettiest half of basketball ever played, but there's nothing wrong with the outcome and hopefully the solid play will continue in the second half for the Deacs first road win in the ACC.

Deacs lead, 41-24.

3:16 - NC State definitely just got themselves a huge momentum boost with that alley-oop and then the Technical foul on Teague and Gonzalez, looked like he was jawing with someone but might have pushed him or something too. Wake needs to get back under control or this lead will completely evaporate. Still up 27-23.

4:46 - Deacs have gone on a little run here with a couple of really strong possessions. Chas McFarland is doing an incredible job underneath with JJ Hickson, even managing to draw an off-the-ball offensive foul. Deacs still up 26-16.

7:30 - Jeff Teague is continuing his trend of putting the team on his back, but it looks like he may be trying a little bit too much. James finally hit a big one from beyond the arc. The game is staying close, but it's a pretty low scoring game right now. Unfortuantely I don't have anyone giving me stats up here, but I imagine both teams' shooting percentages are pretty bad. Staying ahead in the turnover battle will go a long way towards winning this one. Deacs up 18-14.

11:29 - A little bit sloppier here, with a couple of offensive turnovers and failed finishes at the basket. Thankfully the defense has remained strong and NC State hasn't been able to make anything happen either. Neither team can make anything go in the basket. Although the Deacs have made a couple of threes, they've started taking too many of them and it's led to some pretty bad possessions. Deacs still have a five point lead, 12-7.

15:44 - Pretty solid start for the Deacs, certainly one of the best road starts in the ACC. Of the Teague steal I've never seen three straight missed shots (including a dunk) but somehow the Deacs came up with 3 offensive rebounds and Ish hit a three. Chas is doing a great job underneath playing physical defense and the crowd here does not like it at all. So far the calls are going Wake's way and it's great start on the road. Deacs lead 10-5.

Tipoff - Pretty weak turnout overall right now. I think there will plenty of latecomers (from church and things like that) but for such a big game I'd expect more from the fans of a school like NC State. Let's hope for some luck from these Gold Uni's!

We're about 15 minutes from tip, and the Old Gold & Blog is enjoying its first road trip. I'm here at RBC center, excited to see the Deacs take on the Wolfpack in what is a pretty crucial game for the Deacs. The Deacs have been playing better on the road as of late and the time is now to finally break through. To change their luck, the Deacs are wearing Gold uniforms today instead of the usual road black. I have a feeling that if we win this one the Deacs will wear Gold for the rest of the season.

Before the game I was checking out the stadium and when I wandered into the student section I found cheer sheets (kind of like what Duke is so well known for). I think Wake fans would find some of these pretty funny, so I thought I'd share what they were telling the students:

-James Johnson is Wake Forest's leading scorer and we will boo him all game long.
-James Johnson uses Karate to train for basketball. After every missed free throw or shot by him yell, "HI-YA!!"
-Harvey Hale's nickname is H2. When he misses a shot yell, "H-2-Oooooo!!"
-When the Deacons are on offense, we need to be as loud as possible. Kick the boards, yell; make it hard to hear.
-Should we win, DO NOT rush the court. Fans rush the court in upsets. We should EXPECT to beat every team we play.

Pretty funny stuff, and another instance of a school trying a little too hard. I'm sure you can come up with a good "They aren't smart enough to come up with these without having a sheet" comment or a comment about how dumb these are, but I'm feeling too lazy to do it myself, so I'll leave it to you. Feel free to leave those jokes in the comments if you'd like.

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Final - No shot from Miami, WAKE WINS 70-68!!!!!!!

0:02.6 - ISH SMITH IS THE MOST CLUTCH PLAYER I'VE EVER SEEN IN A WAKE FOREST UNIFORM. WAKE LEADS 70-68, Miami ball with 2.6 seconds.

0:30 - Unbelievably poor performance down the stretch here, but somehow the Deacs have the ball and the last shot coming. This stalling thing we've been doing is one of the ugliest things I've seen our basketball team do in awhile, but a score here and I suppose all is forgiven. Game tied at 68, Wake ball.

2:30 - What looked like a steal by Teague turned into 2-points for Miami, who cuts the lead to two, 68-66. Missed freethrows are killing us right now. Coach is subbing James out for defense right now and back in for offense, can't quite tell why. He looked like he rolled an ankle earlier in the night so maybe his mobility is a bit off.

3:22 - Just like we did with a lead against Clemson, we've started stalling. I think this is an incredibly dumb tactic and I think it may well come back to bite us. Also, the refs don't seem to be calling this game very evenly at all, that would be an equally crappy way to lose. Chas is shooting 1-and-1 after this timeout, and we desperately need both of them. Wake leads 67-64.

6:16 - How 'bout Jeff Teague!!! Now has an incredible 25 on the game. We've got to do something to stop Miami's inside game, though. Leading 65-60.

7:34 - I've never seen Jeff Teague this hot, and it's a thing of beauty. James Johnson is doing some good things too, even though he's isn't putting up any kind of gaudy numbers. The unfortunate thing has been that whenever Wake does something pretty good Miami has answered with something just as good if not better. The Deacs need to go on a little run and play some better defense to get a little bit of room.

The Deacs' last posession was one of the ugliest things I've seen; they did nothing and then got a shot clock violation. Ugh. Wake leads 60-58.

12:48 - The officiating is starting to get particularly annoying. Although we've still had one more shot at the line than Miami has, we've been called for three more fouls, and we don't seem to be getting away with nearly the things Miami is. Chas got himself a technical, but I can't figure out what he did to get it. Apparently is was a double Technical with Miami. Looking at the replay it appeared to be an elbow Chas put in the guy's face after getting pushed. Fair enough.

Teague has provided a nice spark with a big dunk followed by a drawn foul, but Wake couldn't inbound the ball and had to call timeout leading 50-46.

2nd Half - 16:28 - Quite a burst to start the half, including back to back threes and a nice tip-in by James Johnson (who?) Miami scored some a bit as well, but the 8-point run made them call a timeout with Wake leading 46-40.

Halftime Soccer Tribute - Great tribute to the soccer team here at halftime. They showed all three goals several times, and the crowd gave a big ovation for all of them. There was also a great slideshow of pictures following the highlights, which were fun to see as well. It included celebration shots both from the field and also from the locker room.

At the conclusion of the video/slideshow the team was given a standing ovation by the crowd and the team was presented. The PA listed a bunch of their impressive statistics and award winners, and then the team presented Hatch and Wellman with the Championship trophy. The crowd was very congratulatory and appreciative. Definitely a nice ceremony.

Halftime - Not a bad half, but the Deacs are having a lot of trouble getting out on Miami's Jack McClinton, who is 4-5 from beyond the arc. Amazingly, the Deacs are shooting over 50% on their 3-pointers as well on 6-11 shooting. A surprisingly good stat at this point, particularly since we seem to have several guys who are pretty hot. Also good, the Deacs only have 3 turnovers so far.

The biggest concern I have right now is how quite James Johnson has been. He's 0-5 shooting and seems to be short-arming everything a bit. His only stats are 3 rebounds and a turnover. We're going to need him in the second half to win this one.

The only other thing I'd say is that the officiating has seemed pretty uneven so far, not sure why but we seem to be getting called for a bunch more touch-fouls than Miami. Hopefully that will even out in the second half.

Great drive by Ish Smith on the last play of the half to tie it up at 34 going into halftime.

3:37 - If Harvey's willing to only shoot a couple 3's per half than I'm more than happy to let him put them up and see what happens. One for two is fine in my book. Chas made a very strong move to the basket there, converting a 3-point play on the foul. Considering the injury he's played a very solid half so far.

Miami's doing Wake a big favor by missing some freethrows, and we've managed to grab a little bit of a lead, 26-24.

7:22 - Nice 8-point run from Jamie Skeen there, but Miami keeps burying threes whenever we get back with them. Finally someone is really hot from three, love to see that kept up. Good to get a little run and get back in the game. I think the rust I was talking about is starting to fall off, particularly on the offensive end. The defense could definitely still use some work, though.

All tied up, 20-20.

10:14 - It may be a mobility issue, I'm not sure, but Chas is getting caught out of position more than usual so far. He does have several rebounds, though, and can apparently hit a three. I've never seen Wake get blocked as many times they have in the first nine minutes of this game.

It really looked like goal tending when Jeff Teague got fouled, but it didn't get fouled. Making freethrows is always a good thing. I've also been impressed by David Weaver's effort on the boards so far. Cam Stanley, on the other hand, has had a rough couple of minutes. We may need him for the next couple weeks so I hope he can get it together a little bit.

Dino's yelling at the team "They're killing us inside!" on the bench, hopefully that gets stopped up somehow. Also, Wake is shooting 17% while Miami is shooting 46%, which makes a huge difference. Deacs trail 10-14.

15:45 - Looks like the Deacs need to knock off a little rust after not playing for a week. There are signs that we'll be fine, but Miami looks crisper than us at this point. Harvey made his first shot from a step inside the 3-point line, and it looks like Miami's running a little 2-3 zone which means we need him to make those tonight. I think I'll be happy if he just decides to shoot from there all night long and not step outside the line. A couple ticky-tack fouls but all in all we're alright at this point. Deacs trail 5-7.

James Johnson has apparently shaved off the much-maligned haircut from last week. Public pressure or personal preference? Maybe I can find out.

Tipoff: We won it! Only the second time all season!

Pre-Game: LD Williams was in the middle of the team circle for introductions pumping the team up in his vest and tie. Looking good, and nice to see him still leading the team. Chas is in the starting lineup. Good Sign.

Back in the Joel and happy to be here as always. About 10 minutes from tip, and I'm pretty excited about this game. Last I saw Wake is a 1.5 point favorite this one, and I anticipate a reasonably close game, although I think we can probably win it by about 10. Having Chas in the lineup is going to be huge, we'll see if he starts. I don't know a lot about Miami, but I think it's a good thing that they won on Saturday to end their losing streak. We'll see.

Go Deacs!

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Final - What a heartbreaking loss for the Deacs. For such a strong road performance to end like this is definitely hard to take, but I'm still proud of the overall performance. Certainly there were way too many mistakes, particularly in the clutch at the end of regulation and in overtime, but nonetheless this was a huge step in the right direction for this team on the road. That's not to see I'm not disappointed or that I don't wish it had been differently, believe me I really wanted to see it end differently, but after pouting tonight I won't let this loss get me down going forward. A game like this will do a lot of good things for this young team. Not much to hang our heads about here. Final: Wake loses 80-75.

2:57 - Ish Smith could not be coming up bigger right now, but turnovers are so very deadly. Oglesby just made a great shot, nothing to complain about there except that he made a good one. Deacs are playing well all over the floor except for the Cam Stanley turnover. Deacs lead 70-68.

End of Regulation - Very good defense on Clemson, but I don't know what happened on the offensive end there. Harvey looked like he got himself out of position. Going to overtime tied at 65. This is going to be a great finish, but we really need to come out on top. Losing this lead has been very hard to watch.

0:39 - I can't believe Ish made that three. Incredible! Game tied at 65.

0:55 - Chas looks seriously hurt, possibly the right knee where he wears a brace. That looks really bad, and its really unfortunate considering his performance tonight.

2:45 - It's amazing how fast a lead can vanish when you don't get rebounds and make stupid turnovers. If we lose, that will be exactly why (and maybe missed freethrows too). Wake down 62-63 with Clemson at the line.

3:58 - Kind of a scary stretch there, although Chas McFarland is blowing up. Johnson made several mental mistakes in that stretch and all in all it has cost the Deacs some of their lead, as they only lead 59-54. I think the guys are starting to panic with the closeness late in the game, they just need to get their heads right and they'll be okay.

7:23 - As I said earlier, Chas has been really really big tonight even though the stat line won't show it. Clemson isn't going to go away so the Deacs have to keep playing hard like this, but so far they've been up to the challenge. I still don't trust it though, I keep waiting for something to go terribly wrong. Everyone is hitting the boards hard and it's making a big difference. Slowly but steadily this lead is growing. It's almost hard to believe. Deacs lead 57-49.

11:31 - Wake has done a better job holding on to the ball the last few minutes and Ish keeps doing a great job penetrating. What I'd love to see right now is several good possessions in a row on both sides of the ball to get a little cushion. Keeping it close like this scares me on the road, but a four point lead is nothing to frown at right now. Deacs lead 49-45.

2nd Half - 15:41 - Turnovers are absolutely going to lose the Deacs this game if they keep making them. When the Deacs move the ball on the break they make things happen in a great way. This is obvious, but Johnson can't afford any more fouls, we need him on the floor. Chas may not have a great stat line tonight, but he's been working incredibly hard on the defensive end; he deserves credit for that. Game tied at 40.

Halftime - Huge three from LD to give the Deacs the lead at the half, 32-31!! Not exactly a bad half, but certainly not great either. 12 turnovers have definitely been the team's downfall to this point, particularly because the majority of them have come on what seem to be out of control plays. Ish and Teague (and Johnson to an extent, too) need to do a much better job keeping track of the ball in the second half. Of course the other stat that's killing us is the 3-11 shooting from beyond the arc. I'm glad we started making some, but too many are still being put up - 27% isn't going to cut it, even if it is better than we're used to.

Clemson hasn't played poorly but also hasn't been outstanding, we just haven't been able to capitalize on opportunities. At the end of the half it seemed like Wake was losing their composure a little bit. Hopefully coming out of halftime they'll tighten things up (kind of like they did vs. FSU on Sunday) and go on a little run, thankfully we're still in position to do that.

Harvey will probably shoot a bunch of threes again in the second half since he made that one there at the end. This will probably not be a good thing, although I think he's better doing it on the move coming of a screen than when he's already set. I'm definitely more comfortable with those, but I'd really rather him stick to the mid-range.

Also a pretty good half for Johnson, although not quite as amazing as Sunday. He usually seems to pick things up in the 2nd half; hopefully he does that tonight.

Considering our last couple of road performances, I'm very happy at this point. Getting a win tonight at Clemson would be absolutely huge. At this point it could definitely happen.

3:50 - When the Deacs move the ball good things happen, but there have been several turnovers when things to stagnant. Hopefully they'll realize that and keep the ball moving. Johnson probably shouldn't be bringing the ball up against this press. Also, like I (AND EVERY OTHER DEACON FAN) have been saying: STOP SHOOTING THREES!!! Deacs trail 24-27.

6:50 - Oglesby is a scary scary shooter. I don't like the looks of him getting hot at all. I think it's obvious at this point: We shouldn't shoot a single three tonight, we're dominating points in the paint but haven't but one three. Breaking the press hasn't been much of an issue and has created some good opportunities but without good shooting they can't do much with it. The pace of this game has gotten to be a bit too quick I think, this timeout comes at exactly the right time. Deacs trail 22-25.

11:48 - The team that shoots the highest freethrow percentage may end up winning this one, both teams are struggling right now and the game looks like it will be close. Harvey's look wasn't a bad one, but if he misses a couple more like that I'd like to see him quit shooting them anyway. He can definitely shoot from mid-range though. I think we may have a pretty exciting game on our hands, Deacs lead 13-12.

15:04 - The announcer seem to want to credit the turnovers to good defense, but I'd say that on both ends of the court the issue has been more that of offensive sloppiness than defensive prowess. Nonetheless, the Deacs are out to an early lead with a couple of good plays inside. LD did airball a three, so that needs to end right now. We just need to pound it inside and work on having success that way. Deacs lead 7-4, but Clemson is headed to the line.

About 20 minutes until game time, and I'm cautiously excited to see what this team will be able to do on the road. I think the short turnaround may be good for not giving the team much time to think about past road struggles, and I know Clemson may struggle some with our quickness. I'm not going to be so bold as to guarantee a win, but I think it's possibl