Wake Forest Highlights

UNCG Comes Up Short in Winston-Salem

UNCG 51 - Wake Forest 59

UNCG Athletics
Wake Forest Athletics

Halftime: UNCG 22 - Wake Forest 29

UNCG Stats
Leader Points: Cain (16)
Leader Rebounds: Cain (15)
Leader Assists: Parker (3)
Team FG: 19-60 (31.7%)
Team 3 Pt: 1-15 (6.7%)
Team FT: 12-21 (57.1%)
Rebounds: 40
Turnovers: 12

Wake Forest Stats
Leader Points: Cavanaugh, Thomas (Tied - 12)
Leader Rebounds: Thomas (13)
Leader Assists: Jones (2)
Team FG: 22-49 (44.9%)
Team 3 Pt: 2-14 (14.3%)
Team FT: 13-30 (43.3%)
Rebounds: 41
Turnovers: 14

Thoughts
That was an ugly, ugly game. There was a point during the second half where I wondered out loud whether UNCG would reach 40 points or if the two teams would combine to score 100 points total. However, the Spartans fought hard throughout the entire game and battled back after being down by double digits on several occasions. G just couldn't quite get all the way back and eventually ran out of gas and time.

The Demon Deacons definitely helped UNCG stay in the game by missing a ton of free throws, but the Spartans played very solid defense all day long. The team did a great job of covering up Travis McKie and Coron Williams. Other than Cavanaugh no other Deacon even made a 3 point basket.

All-in-all there was a lot to like about this game. Even though the shots weren't failing, the effort and focus was strong and consistent throughout. It was great to see the bench really get into the game and cheer on their teammates. It was also nice to see UNCG do a great job taking care of the ball. This is the second straight game with a low turnover number and it's obvious that UNCG plays better when they value the basketball. Kyle Cain was very good again today and is really on pace for an All-SoCon type season.

Now everyone gets to take some time off to celebrate the holidays. After that, it's another road trip within the ACC. We'll get to that one later in the week though. Until then, I hope everyone has a safe and merry Christmas. Go Spartans !!!

UNCG (6-6) @ Wake Forest (9-2)

When: Saturday, December 21 2:00 pm
Where: Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum (14,665)
TV: ESPN3

Wake Forest Athletics

Preseason preview

UNCG Stats
Last Game: James Madison (W 78-65) Recap
PPG: 75.3
RPG: 37.0
APG: 14.5
Leader Points: Kyle Cain (16.0)
Leader Reboudns: Kyle Cain (8.0)
Leader Assists: Tevon Saddler (3.6)
FG%: 47.3
3 Pt %: 39.3
FT: 68.0

Wake Forest Stats
Last Game: St. Bonaventure (W 77-62) Recap
PPG: 79.2
RPG 43.8
APG: 15.8
Leader Points: Codi Miller-McIntyre (18.1)
Leader Rebounds: Devin Tomas (9.5)
Leader Assists: Codi Miller-McIntyre (4.4)
FG %: 45.8
3 Pt %: 35.3
FT%: 64.7

Thoughts
Wake Forest has been the one of the ACC's little whipping boys for the past few seasons. The last two years, all UNCG have have pointed to Wake Forest as the one big named team on our schedule that we might could take down. Well, all of that has change this year. The Demon Deacons are much improved on both ends of the floor. They have more talent and are deeper than in years past. The one major hopeful spot for UNCG is this will be played on the Saturday before Christmas. There will be very few students there and probably few fans in general will be at the LJVM.

As for what to look for in this game, Wake Forest has several good shooters in their lineup. Codi Miller-McIntyre, Travis McKie and new addition Coron Williams all shoot the 3 well. It will keep teams for doubling down into the post to stop Devin Thomas. Thomas will be a problem for UNCG all day. I assume we will see every big man take a turn guarding him.

For UNCG to be successful, they will need to do the same things they did to win on Wednesday night. They must continue to take care of the ball, look to make the right extra pass and get quality shots every time down the floor. On nights when they've done those things this season, their offense has been very good. To beat an ACC opponent on their home floor, the Spartans need to keep their composure and focus for a full 40 minutes. And they need to make shots. Another 11-19 from 3 performance would go a long way to pulling the upset.

If Wake is already mentally on Christmas break and UNCG can carry over it's good play from Wednesday, then they have a very real chance to make things interesting. The Spartans will need to seize every opportunity though. I hope they can do just that. Go Spartans !!!

Opening Night Scores

SoCon Scores
Citadel 71 - VMI 82
Covenant 56 - Chattanooga 119
High Point 74 - UNCG 82
Davidson 77 - (4) Duke 111
Washington & Lee 64 - Elon 114
Wofford 52 - Georgia 72
App State 77 - NC State 98
Wittenberg 55 - Western Carolina 77
Martin Methodist 62 - Samford 79
Sewanee 49 - Furman 66
Columbia International 74 - Georgia Southern 110

OOC Opponent Scores
NC Wesleyan 51 - East Carolina 97
La Tech - St Mary's
Florida A&M 84 - Rutgers 92
James Madison 41 - Virginia 61
Oakland 61 - UNC-CH 84
Presbyterian 57 - Georgia Tech 88
Colgate 78 - Wake Forest 89

Exhibition Results

Exhibition results from future opponents.

SoCon Teams
Lenior-Rhyne 57 - Davidson 108 Recap
North Greenville 61 - Furman 85 Recap
Thomas University 49 - Georgia Southern 88 Recap
Lees-McRae 76 - UNCG 104 Recap
Lynchburg 57 - Elon 100 Recap
Miles College 52 - Samford 90 Recap

OOC Teams
Bridgewater 53 - High Point 96 Recap
Arkansas-Monticello 64 - La Tech 85 Recap
Southern Arkansas 49 - La Tech 100 Recap
UNC-Pembroke 63 - UNC-CH 82 Recap
Caldwell 60 - Rutgers 90 Recap
Philadelphia Univ. 69 - James Madison 73 OT Recap
Brevard 66 - Wake Forest 93 Recap
UNC-Pembroke 85 - NC State 96 Recap
Morehouse 62 - NC State 87 Recap

Preseason Preview: Wake Forest

Wake Forest University
VS UNCG December 21*
Mascot: Demon Deacons
Location: Winston-Salem, NC
Enrollment: 4,815
Conference: ACC
2012-2013 Record: 13-18 (6-12)
Postseason: N/A
Coach: Jeff Bzdelik (4th Season)

School Homepage
Athletics Homepage

Losses:
CJ Harris G - 32.8 mpg, 15.4 ppg, 2.3 rpg

Top Returners:
Devin Thomas C - 27.3 mpg, 9.1 ppg, 7.5 rpg
Codi Miller-McIntyre G - 28.9 mpg, 8.1 ppg, 2.6 apg
Travis McKie F - 32.2 mpg, 13.5 ppg, 7.0 rpg
Arnaud Adala Moto F - 16.3 mpg, 5.6 ppg, 3.9 rpg

Additions:
Coron Williams G - 6-1 175 lbs(Transfer Robert Morris)
Greg McClinton F - 6-7 185 lbs
Miles Overton G - 6-4 210 lbs

* - Game to be played at Lawrence Joel Veteran's Memorial Coliseum in Winston-Salem, NC.

UNCG-Wake Forest Highlights

First Half Run Keeps Spartans At Bay

UNCG 70 - Wake Forest 84

UNCG Athletics
WFU Athletics

Halftime: UNCG  29 - Wake Forest 38

UNCG Stats
Leader Points: Trevis Simpson (25)
Leader Rebounds: Kelvin McNeil (7)
Leader Assists: Simpson, Korey Van Dussen (tied - 4)
FG: 25-59 (42.4%)
3 Pt: 8-21 (38.1%)
FT: 12-15 (80.0%)
Rebounds: 30
Turnovers: 16

Wake Forest Stats
Leader Points: Travis McKie (19)
Leader Rebounds: Thomas, Adala Moto (tied - 6)
Leader Assists: Codi Miller-McIntyre (5)
FG: 27-15 (52.9%)
3 Pt: 7-16 (43.8%)
FT: 23-32 (71.9%)
Rebounds: 32)
Turnovers: 16

Thoughts
I made it clear in my pregame thoughts that this was an ACC team. Definitely at the top of that league, but they do have ACC talent level. They showed it on Saturday afternoon.

I thought UNCG did a very good job of getting the type of shots they were looking for adn did a pretty nice job of knocking those down. Again, they went a little too much 1-on-1 and spent a little too much time watching Simpson and Armstrong instead of moving without the ball. However, it's hard to fault the Spartans too much for what I saw on the offensive end of the floor.

The problem for UNCG was on the defensive end of the court. Wake did a very good job of just executing their system and working until they eventually got the look they were looking for on offense. I think you can criticize the Spartan's defense, but a lot of praise must be given to the Demon Deacons.

Hopefully, UNCG can learn and grow from this game. Go Spartans !!!

Wake Forest (5-5) @ UNCG (2-7)

When: Saturday, December 22 2:30 PM*
Where: Greensboro Coliseum (7,617/23,500)
TV: None/ ESPN3/ Spartan All-Access

*Game time is approximate. Game will follow UNCG-FSU women's game that begins at noon.

Wake Forest Athletics

UNCG Stats
Last Game: @ UNCW (L 73-87) Recap
PPG: 78.1
RPG: 40.2
APG: 13.6
Leader Points: Trevis Simpson (19.8)
Leader Rebounds: Kelvin McNeil (7.1)
Leader Assists: Drew Parker (3.8)
FG %: 42.3
3 Pt %: 33.5
FT %: 68.4

Wake Forest Stats
Last Game: Furman (W 79-55) Recap
PPG: 69.5
RPG: 31.8
APG: 11.8
Leader Points: CJ Harris (14.5)
Leader Rebounds: Travis McKie (8.3)
Leader Assists: Codi Miller-McIntyre (2.8)
FG %: 45.5
3 Pt %: 36.6
FT %: 68.5

Thoughts
Let's just start by point out something super obvious. Wake Forest in an ACC team. They may not be upper echelon ACC team, but they are an ACC team nonetheless. I know there are some Spartan fans out there that seem to think that this is a team UNCG should beat. However, I think those people are completely ridiculous.

The Demon Deacons have done a good job of winning games that they should on paper. They are a fairly good shooting team with 2 stud players in CJ Harris and Travis McKie. It will be imperative for David Williams to play a solid defensive game where he can somehow stay out of foul trouble. Also, Wake appears to be vulnerable on the boards. UNCG has done a good job of rebounding on both ends and will need to continue that on Saturday to have a chance.

UNCG will need to do a much better job on the offensive end of playing a little more under control and sharing the ball. The Spartans have spent too much time going 1-on-1 on this recent road trip. It would be nice to see good movement and energy on that end of the court.

It would be nice to see UNCG get a good home win to re-energize a fan base that is really starting to lose confidence in this team and this season. Beating an ACC team would do just that and probably then some.

Go Spartans !!!

WFU Blog Weighs In on Miller

One of my favorite non-SoCon blogs is the Wake Forest slanted Blogger So Dear. I did a fun Q&A with them a few years ago when the Demon Deacons made the short trip over to the Greensboro Coliseum to play UNCG. Since then I've kept up with their blog closely.

Over the past two years, Wake has fallen on some hard times. The decline started after the 2009-2010 season when they fired Dino Gaudio for hodge-podge of reasons. Since then the program there has turned into a massive rebuild project under the direction of Jeff Bzdelik.

Today, Martin Rickman of Blogger so Dear wrote an interesting blog post comparing what he's seen out of new UNCG coach Wes Miller to the Deacs and Jeff Bzdelik. It's fun to see our team through an outsider's eyes. Plus, I always like it when people in the area realize that there is college basketball being played in other places than Durham and Chapel Hill (*cough* N&R, W-S Journal *cough*).

Spartans Come Up Just Short

UNCG 67 - Wake Forest 69

News & Record
Winston-Salem Journal
UNCG Athletics
Wake Forest Athletics

Positives
ACC Foe - UNCG has played a lot of big named teams over the past several years. Last year Wake had a much better team and still barely escaped the Greensboro Coliseum with a win. This year, UNCG took them down to the final shot. Hopefully the guys can carry momentum over from this game.

Turnovers - I was fun to see UNCG turning dumb give aways into easy baskets. This has not been the case through most of the season.

Kyle Randall - That basket near the end of regulation was unbelievable. You can see the maturation of the sophomore guard happen right before your eyes. I think he has real potential to be SoCon POY material in the next 2 years.

Negatives
Kyle Randall - Just breath and make some free throw. Have some faith in yourself. We all believe that you can make them.

Rebounds - as Much as turnovers have hurt UNCG this year, rebounds normally haven't been a problem. Even playing bigger opponents, UNCG has done a good job of holding their own on the boards. That didn't happen in this game (23-38).

Wrap Up
It's a mixed bag for me personally. I was super angry right after the game because G let a great opportunity get away from them. But I guess the positives outweigh the negatives by a long ways. Now, let's not kid ourselves that Wake is a really bad team. UNCG is not nearly as bad as the record indicates, thanks in large part to a brutal schedule. SO, let's just hope the guys can grab hold of the positives and let the negatives go.

Go Spartans !!!

UNCG (0-8) @ Wake Forest (5-4)

When: Wednesday, December 15 7 pm
Where: Lawrence Joel Veterens Memorial Coliseum (14,655)
TV: ESPNU

Wake Forest Athletics
Wake Forum (Scout)
Wake Forum (Rivals)
Blogger So Dear

Spartan Notes:
- Last time out, UNCG travelled up to College Park and got destroyed by the University of Maryland, 99-56. Kyle Randall led UNCG with 18 points and 7 assists. The Spartans were crushed on the boards and managed to just shoot 32%.
- Maryland was the 3rd ACC team that UNCG has played this season. The Spartans will play 7 ACC school in total before the season concludes.
- The 0-8 start by UNCG is the worst in school history. Unfortunately, things don't appear to get any easier until after the new year. After playing in Winston, UNCG will play @ Clemson, and then Richmond and #1 Duke at home.
- Randall leads UNCG in scoring (12.3) and assists (3.6). Aloysius Henry leads UNCG in rebounding (5.9).
- For the year,UNCG is shooting 41.1% from the field, 34.6% from behind the arc and 67.5% from the free throw line.

Demon Deacon Notes:
- On Sunday, Wake Forest was buried beneath14 UNCW 3 pointers. The Deacs fell to the Seahawks 81-69 at a game played in the Greensboro Coliseum. Gary Clark led Wake with 20 points and 5 rebounds.
- It's been a rough start to the season for Jeff Bzdelik. Bzdelik came over from Colorado and took over for Dino Gaudio, who was let go at the end of last season. Wake has dropped games to VCU, Winthrop, Stetson and UNCW.
- The Demon Deacons were picked to finish last in the ACC by both the coaches and media.
- Travis McKie leads Wake Forest in scoring (13.3) and rebounds (7.6). Ari Stewart is averaging 13.2 points and 7.3 rebounds per game. C.J. Harris leads Wake in assists (4.7).
- For the year, Wake is shooting 46.2% from the field, 44.7% from behind the arc and 77.1% from the free throw line.

My Thoughts
What an amazing pillow fight we've got here. I bet there will be dozens of people in the LJVM to witness this contest.

If we use transitive properties here, UNCW beat Wake by 12 and lost to NC A&T by 5. UNCG lost to A&T by 12. So, UNCG should beat Wake by 5. Now that I have the whole game broken down, no one even needs to watch. Glad I could help.

Go Spartans !!!

UNCG's "Secret Scrimmages"

According to Jeff Goodman of Fox Sports, The Spartans will be holding "Secret Scrimmages" against UNC and Radford. Find his entire list is here ...

*I've listed other SoCon games and other teams of interest.

SECRET SCRIMMAGES

Fri., Oct. 29
Samford at Kennesaw State

Sat., Oct. 30
Clemson at Georgia
Virginia Tech vs. Georgetown
Wake Forest at College of Charleston
George Mason at Richmond
VCU at La Salle
High Point at East Carolina

Sun., Oct. 31
UNC at UNC Greensboro
UT Chattanooga at Ole Miss
Wofford vs. Belmont at Maryville College

Fri., Nov. 5
Radford at UNC Greensboro

Sat., Nov. 6
Charlotte at Virginia Tech
Liberty at Appalachian State

UNCG Basketball Gets New Radio Flagship

UNCG has signed an agreement with the Curtis Media Group to broadcast UNCG basketball games. Curtis Media, who owns stations throughout the triad (WSJS) and triangle (WZTK), recently formed the Triad Sports Network (1200 WSML-AM, 1230 WMFR-AM & 1320 WCOG-AM).

1320 WCOG-AM will serve as the new flagship station for UNCG basketball. FM Talk 101.1 WZTK will carry select UNCG games as it did last season. WZTK currently carries Wake Forest football, men's basketball and Carolina Panthers football. Plus, all of the coaches shows that go along with those sports. So, I would assume that Spartan games will be broadcast on FM Talk 101.1 when it doesn't interfere with those broadcasts.

This is wonderful news for UNCG as it is trying to expand it's brand and its reach throughout the triad and beyond. Don't forget that all UNCG games shown on Spartan All-Access this season are free. Plus, most road games can be found online at places like Channelsurfing.net.

There is no word whether select games will still be carried on UNCG's radio station (103.1 WUAG)

UNCG on TV Seven times

Spartan basketball will have 7 games shown on various television networks. This is the most ever for UNCG men's basketball. Below, I have listed the game and network ...

11/14 FSU @ UNCG FSN-South & FSN-Florida
11/21 Va Tech @ UNCG Comcast SportsNet & NESN
12/8 UNCG @ Maryland Comcast SportsNet
12/15 UNCG @ Wake Forest ESPNU
12/19 UNCG @ Clemson FSN-South
12/29 Duke @ UNCG ESPNU
2/19 UNCG @ Elon SportsSouth

New Schedule Released

UNCG has released it's 2010-2011 basketball schedule. There are 15 home games including restarting a rivalry with a crosstown rival. Times haven't been finalized and and I'm sure that TV can move dates if needed. Also, tomorrow is the last day to renew season tickets (which, sorry guys, the new baby is keeping me from doing this year). Single game tickets go on sale October 22 through Ticketmaster.

Nov. 12 @ VCU
Nov. 14 Florida State
Nov. 21 Va Tech
Nov. 27 @ ECU
Nov 29 NC A&T
Dec. 2 @ Wofford
Dec. 6 Furman
Dec. 8 @ Maryland
Dec. 15 @ Wake Forest
Dec. 18 @ Clemson
Dec. 22 Richmond
Dec. 29 Duke
Jan. 6 Samford
Jan. 8 Chattanooga
Jan. 10 Elon
Jan. 13 @ App State
Jan. 17 Davidson
Jan. 20 Ga Southern
Jan. 27 @ Chattanooga
Jan. 29 @ Samford
Feb. 2 App State
Feb. 5 @ Western Carolina
Feb. 7 Citadel
Feb. 12 @ College of Charleston
Feb. 15 Miami (FL)
Feb. 19 @ Elon
Feb. 21 Western Carolina
Feb. 24 @ Ga Southern
Feb. 26 @ Davidson
March 4-7 SoCon Tournament*

* Chattanooga, TN

Wake Blocks UNCG Upset Attempt

UNCG 60 - Wake Forest 75

News & Record
W-S Journal
UNCG Athletics
Wake Forest Athletics

Wake Forest ended the game on a 16-4 run to turn back the Spartan upset bid. Wake was lead by Al-farouq Aminu's 23 points and 17 rebounds. The Demon Deacons finished the game with 16 blocked shots.

Positives
- Turnovers --- UNCG has been hampered this season by turnovers. Against Wake Forest, the guards took much better care of the ball. Kyle Randall, Montel Smith and all of the other Spartans that primarily handled the ball did a fine job of navigating through Wake's tall players and trapping press.
- Big men battle --- I thought that the undersized UNCG big men did a very solid job battling (what seemed like) an endless stream of Wake big men. After Brian Cole's 3 pointer, it was fun to watch Deacs have to follow him out to the perimeter. Cole, Elhanan Bone and Ben Stywall did a tremendous job of fighting for position and tapping balls around that they couldn't coral until other Spartans could pull the ball in.
- Ben Stywall --- After a couple of "off" games for Ben, he stepped up big time to help with rebounding (UNCG 44-Wake 42) and second chance points (UNCG 23-Wake 9). Ben finished the game with 13 points and 14 rebounds.

Negatives
Block party --- Wake finished the game with 16 blocks. Some of that is a product of being the tallest team in college basketball. However, some of it was UNCG players penetrating too far and not having an idea of what they were going to do when they got to the basket. Hopefully, the guys had a chance to look at the film and come up with a better idea of what they want to do the next time they are in these situations.

All-in-all it was a fun atmosphere and the Spartans brought fire to the floor Monday night. Hopefully they can recreate this energy on Thursday night to give Spartan fans something more to celebrate.

Know You Enemy - Wake Edition

Even through all of the holiday madness, Wake Forest blogger Martin Rickman made time to answer a few of my questions about the Demon Deacons. Martin's site, Blogger So Dear, is a great site and I highly advise you all to check it out. You can find my answers here.

In the 2 games I've seen live, Al-farouq Aminu has been interesting to watch. He was impressive against NC Sate doing all the things you would expect a 6'-9" athlete to do, including a very impressive dunk. However, against William & Mary, he seemed content to just shoot (and miss) a lot of three point attempts. Give me your assessment of Aminu so far this season.

Aminu has not been himself so far. That said, it is hard to ignore or discount the fact that he is averaging a double-double and has the capability to dominate games in stretches (as we saw during the NC State game).

His problems have been two-fold. His decision-making has been a bit suspect--he'll take a shot he doesn't need to when he has the lane, he will not exploit the fact that he can back down just about anybody, etc... In addition, he has been way too generous with the ball. Rather than throwing an outlet pass and running the floor on the break, he'll try to take it coast to coast. He's been sloppy in general and has been turning it over a ton.

Our fans have a tendency to exaggerate our problems and Aminu is a good example. He may have a flashy dunk here and there, but most of his plays are garbage buckets and putbacks. That's just his game. When he cuts down on the turnovers and stays within himself, he just might be the best player in the ACC.

Monday's game will be the second Wake has played in the Greensboro Coliseum this year. The first, an 89-58 win over ECU, seemed to work out pretty well for the Deacs. Do you like the idea of giving up a couple of home "money" games in order for your team to get experience playing in the Coliseum?

I love it. As I'll explain more below, Dino has done a great job of taking on these road games. The Coliseum is close and gives us an opportunity to play road games in a friendly environment. Plus, it gets us prepared for the ACC Tournament, helping with site lines and familiarizing the team with the venue in general. And this might be a bit of a stretch, but it may bring a little more exposure to the school. Hey, Wake is always looking for ways to steal some fans from the schools down the road.

Coach Dino Gaudio has taken his share of criticism. What do you like and dislike about Gaudio as a coach

Maybe I'm just optimistic, maybe I'm a bit defensive, maybe it is because I covered a majority of the games last year, but I am really not as critical of Dino as a lot of other people. He has shown that he has a plan for the team and is putting in those measures little by little.

He has transformed the defense from one that was almost nonexistent to one that is one of the best in the nation at defending the three and packing the middle, leading to a ton of blocks. We also do a great job of rebounding (especially on the offensive glass).

Another positive has been his recruiting, although it is too early to accurately judge this. He looks to be bringing in a different type of player--and this year's class of CJ Harris and Ari Stewart are good examples. Next year's class is the money class, and if they flop, Dino goes, if they succeed, well, maybe that will take the heat off of him.

On the flip side, there are some things Dino definitely needs to work on. The half-court offense is atrocious. I mean, it's bad. The vaunted big men have not progressed and there is almost no production out of them. Free throw shooting is horrendous and we turn the ball over way too much. The team is sloppy as a whole. These are things that should be easy to fix and they haven't gotten any better at it.

Wake Forest lost a ton of firepower when James Johnson and Jeff Teague left for the NBA. How was Wake tried to offset the loss of these two great players?

When the season started, I really thought Farouq would be the one taking a ton of the scoring bulk. The biggest change has been the emergence of CJ Harris. He has shown a lot of Teague in him with his ability to shoot the basketball and drive the lane. Plus, Ari Stewart has done a good job of coming off the bench and scoring. Gary Clark has shown a lot of promise in stretches.

Overall, it just is a matter of balance. When Wake gets production out of 8-9 players, they are in good shape. We don't have the "playmakers" per se like James and Jeff, but Ish Smith has definitely become more of a focal point. This is his (and in a similar regard LD Williams's) team. When he goes, the Demon Deacons go.

Do you ever get tired of hearing that Zombie Nation song?

For our team, no. When other teams use it, yes. I'd be lying if I said I do get a little tired of our fight song at times, especially when we play it after something bad happens or we're getting smoked.

Having been born and raised in Winston-Salem, I've got to witness first hand the relationship between the city and school. It seems like over the last 6-7 years that Wake Forest and Winston-Salem have really started to embrace each other. Do you agree? What do you think brought about the change?

I think so. The biggest reason for this has been Ron Wellman. I don't know if we will really realize just how much he has impacted Wake Forest athletics until he leaves (and my money is that he'll end up as the next ACC commissioner). The guy has really tried to bring the city and the school together and this is something we definitely needed to have happen.

The Dash has a lot more people than most people think and it should love this school rather than outsourcing their fandom to places like Duke, UNC and State. Wellman (and President Hatch) need to keep this up and make Winston-Salem and Wake Forest a community. It will be interesting to see what other plans are in the works.

Prediction Time. How do you see the game going? Does Wake have any holiday hangover or do they destroy the Spartans? Give me a score.

Wake starts slow, but ultimately establishes their gameplan with defense and a lot of transition buckets. The hangover might last until midway through the half, but they will be able to control the tempo. They shoot about 52% and hold UNC-G to 38%. Wake wins by some range of about 18-25.

Wake Forest (8-2) @ UNCG (2-8)

When: Monday, December 28 7 pm
Where: Greensboro Coliseum (7,617/23,500)
TV: None

Wake Forest Athletics
WFU Forum
Blogger So Dear

Spartan Notes:
-Last time out, UNCG went ahead early but quickly fell behind a very good Richmond team. The Spartans lost 89-63. Brandon Evan scored 22 points.
- Evans has scored in double figures in 7 of the last 8 games.
- This is the first time Wake Forest has played at UNCG.
- This game marks the first of three straight ACC opponents for UNCG. The Spartans host NC State (Dec 31) and Maryland (Jan 3) before jumping into SoCon play next week.
-Evans leads UNCG in scoring (12.4). Ben Stywall leads the team in rebounding (8.7) and Kyle Randall leads in assists (2.4).
- For the season, UNCG is shooting 39.4% from the field, 31.5% from behind the arc and 69.3%from the free throw line.

Demon Deacon Notes:
- The Deacons have been off since a 67-59 win over NC State on December 20. Al-farouq Aminu lead Wake Forest with 18 points and 13 rebounds.
-Media members picked Wake Forest 6th in the preseason ACC basketball poll.
- The Demon Deacons have already defeated one Southern Conference team. Elon fell to Wake 90-50 on December 13 at LJVM Coliseum.
- Wake Forest has already played one game on the Spartans home floor. The Deacs defeated ECU, a common UNCG opponent, 89-58 at the Greensboro Coliseum.
- Aminu leads Wake Forest in scoring (16.1) and rebounding(10.7). Ish Smith leads the team in assists (5.3).
- For the year, Wake is shooting 46.9% from the field, 34.6% from behind the arc and 64.5% from the free throw line.

My Thoughts:
Without trying to be pessimistic, this is a very tough matchup for the Spartans. Wake has lots of size. It hurts even more that those players are super talented too. Wake shoots well, rebounds well and plays very tough defense.

However, the Deacons turn the ball over quite a bit and often get bogged down on the offensive end. As with all of the Spartans tough non-conference opponents, UNCG will have to play exceptionally well to have a chance. The Spartans will need to bring a lot of energy to the court, shoot well and limit mistakes.

Go Spartans !!!

G'boro to host NCAA's and Other Info

It's been a very slow month waiting for the season to get started. So I though I'd put together a post with a few interesting story links.

- The News & Record is reporting that the Greensboro Coliseum will again be a host to the first and second rounds of the 2012 NCAA Division I basketball tournament. The coliseum is hosting thing the women's ACC Tournament in 2010 through 2015, and the men's tournament in all of the same years except 2012 (Atlanta). Greensboro was a host site for last year's first and second rounds.

- UNCG will play host to both East Carolina and Wake Forest this season. However, it won't be the first time these teams play in the coliseum. Wake and ECU will meet in Greensboro on November the 15th. You can buy tickets here.

- Former UNCG AD Nelson Bobb will be enshrined into the Guilford County Sports Hall of Fame tonight. He served as AD at UNCG for the past 26 years.

- Don't forget that if you haven't bought your season tickets yet, you can do so here. Its still a really great deal since parking is included in the price. Single game tickets go on sale Monday, October 19 (10 am) and can be found here.