The Demon Deacons might be catching a second wind and it would be coming at a good time.
The last week of the regular season has arrived. After playing their first game in a week, the Demon Deacons showed considerable spunk in an 85-56 romp past Boston College on Feb. 25.
The break in the schedule added some jump in the legs.
"We were rejuvenated so to speak," said coach Jeff Bzdelik, who pointed out that the players responded well to a lightened on-court workload in practices.
The Demon Deacons will need everything lining up for the home finale Feb. 28 against Duke. But a victory has certainly perked up the spirits for a team that has experienced numerous disappointments this season.
"The week off definitely helped with resting our legs and our bodies and getting mentally and physically refreshed," forward Travis McKie said.
The improved outlook might not compensative for some talent discrepancies that the Demon Deacons must deal with. But they need to be rewarded from time to time with success and that seems to have happened at this point.
NOTES, QUOTES
--It wasn't only the 19 assists on 31 baskets that pleased the Demon Deacons in their game against Boston College. It was how the ball distribution aided the team concept. "We did a great job of taking high-quality shots and then we made them," coach Jeff Bzdelik said. The 19 assists marked the second-highest total of the season for the Demon Deacons. Those were the most assists for the team in an ACC game.
--Junior G C.J. Harris added another way to score when he dunked on a fast break against Boston College. Harris isn't considered a high-flying type of player, so his jam was particularly rewarding if not surprising. "People aren't used to me dunking," he said. "Nobody is used to seeing me dunk."
--Shooting woes have been only part of the problem for the Demon Deacons this season. When they made 21 of 56 (55.4 percent) of their shots from the field against Boston College, it created a feeling that eased tension. "We haven't been necessarily as confident as we should be shooting the ball," C Carson Desrosiers said. It marked only the fourth game this season that Wake Forest has shot better than 50 percent.
QUOTE TO NOTE
"You have to experience success to build confidence." -- coach Jeff Bzdelik, whose team sits at 13-15 with two regular-season games remaining after defeating Boston College 85-56 on Feb. 25 for the largest margin of victory in two seasons under Bzdelik.
THIS WEEK'S GAMES
--vs. Duke, Feb. 28
The Demon Deacons had their hands full in a high-scoring defeat in the first meeting with Duke, which might be a handful from the perimeter if Wake Forest goes with a zone defense that it has used recently. The Blue Devils are overpowering in the front court, too, as they create problems for C Ty Walker and F Travis McKie.
--at Georgia Tech, March 3
This is a rematch of a game the Demon Deacons won and they'll be playing in the same venue as the ACC Tournament, which starts the following week. It will be important that G C.J. Harris finds room to operate for the Demon Deacons after his streak of double-digit scoring games came to a close the last time these teams met.
FUTURES MARKET
Coach Jeff Bzdelik's verbal run-in with a fan at Miami early this month created an apology from Wake Forest to the fan. Yet it created an occasion for which Bzdelik was given a sort of vote of confidence from the athletics director. That might not be what a lot of Wake Forest fans were hoping for as the Demon Deacons creep toward the conclusion of a second consecutive miserable season. In 31 ACC games under Bzdelik, Wake Forest has won five times. Yet with a week remaining in the regular season, there's a chance the Demon Deacons could finish as high as tied for eighth in the 12-team league and that would qualify as considerable improvement despite the doldrums of the past two months.
PLAYER NOTES
--Sophomore F Travis McKie tallied 21 points against Boston College, putting him in double figures for the 24th time this season. He particularly liked being on the receiving end of an alley-oop. "It was nice to finally catch one," he said. "That's how we like to play. We want to get up and down."
--Junior G C.J. Harris had a break of sorts by playing only 31 minutes against Boston College. That was below the 35 minutes per game he has logged this season to lead the ACC in that category.
--Sophomore C Carson Desrosiers connected on three 3-point baskets in the home victory against Boston College. Those career-high three 3s led to Desrosiers matching his career high of 13 points.
