Nov. 29, 2004

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Game 6

#1 Wake Forest (5-0) at #5 Illinois (4-0)

Dec. 1, 2004 / 7 pm n Champaign, IL / Assembly Hall (16,500) / ACC-Big Ten Challenge / ESPN

Television: ESPN. Sean McDonough, Bill Raftery and Jay Bilas call the action. Scott Matthews produces.

Radio: Wake Forest/ISP Radio Network. Stan Cotten (play-byplay) and Mark Freidinger (color analysis) call the action. Chris Ferris is the producer/engineer.

Records: Wake Forest is 5-0 after beating 18th-ranked Arizona 63-60 in the finals of the Preseason NIT Friday night in New York. Illinois is 4-0 following a 89-72 win over 24th-ranked Gonzaga Saturday in Indianapolis.

Rankings: Wake Forest is ranked No. 1 in the Associated Press poll and No. 1 in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll. Illinois is 5th in the AP poll, 4th in the ESPN/USA Today poll.

Coaches: Wake Forest head coach Skip Prosser (U.S. Merchant Marine Academy `72) is 72-29 (.713) in his fourth season with the Demon Deacons, 237-107 (.689) in his 12th season overall. Illinois coach Bruce Weber (Wisconsin-Milwaukee `78) is 30-7 in two seasons in Champaign, 133-61 in seven seasons overall.

Series: Wake Forest leads 1-0.

Officials: Announced on game day.

Wake Forest-Illinois Game Takes College Basketball's Center Stage

Top-ranked Wake Forest and fifth-ranked Illinois, both coming off wins over nationally-ranked opponents, meet in a battle of top-five teams Wednesday night in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge in Champaign, IL (ESPN/7 pm).

The Demon Deacons have enjoyed great success in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge, joining Duke as the only teams to go 5-0 in the five-year history of the event.

Wake Forest, 5-0, is coming off a 63-60 win over 18th-ranked Arizona, Friday night in the championship game of the Preseason NIT at Madison Square Garden. Junior Justin Gray, who scored 42 points in wins over Providence and Arizona last week, was named tournament MVP.

Illinois, 4-0, whipped 24th-ranked Gonzaga Saturday in Indianapolis in the John Wooden Tradition. Luther Head and Deron Williams scored 20 points each in the win over the Bulldogs.

The Fighting Illini are beating opponents by an average of 24.8 points per game, they are shooting a sizzling 53.7 percent and have a nearly 2-to-1 assist-turnover ratio.

Wednesday's game will mark just the second meeting between Wake and Illinois. The Deacons beat the Illini, 75-73 in overtime, in the opening round of the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic in New York on Nov. 10, 1998.

Today's Tip-Off

-- Wake is a perfect 5-0 all-time in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge including a 100-67 win over Indiana last year.

-- The Deacons, never No. 1 until November 22, enters their second week at No. 1 in both polls.

-- Wednesday's game will mark the fourth in school history that Wake Forest has played in a game in which both teams were ranked in the top five.

-- The Deacons haven't lost a December game since Dec. 22, 2001 at St. John's.

Two Of Nation's Top Backcourts Meet

In the end, Wednesday night's Wake Forest-Illinois game could be decided by the frontcourt players, but it's both teams backcourts that will receive the hype.

The Wake Forest guards -- Justin Gray, Chris Paul and Taron Downey -- have led the Deacons to a 5-0 record while combining for an average of 36.8 points per game. Although WFU often plays all three guards simultaneously, Downey has not started this season.

The Illinois guards -- Luther Head, Deron Williams and Dee Brown -- have led the Illini to a 4-0 mark while combining to average 47.5 points per contest. All three Illini guards have started every game this season.

Deacons 5-0 In ACC-Big Ten Challenge

Wake Forest has never lost in five previous editions of the ACC-Big Ten Challenge. The Demon Deacons and Duke are both 5-0 in the history of the event.

The Deacons have posted significant victories in the Challenge. In the first Challenge in 1999, Wake Forest routed eventual Final Four participant Wisconsin, 67-48. In 2002, the Deacons beat 23rd-ranked Wisconsin on the road, 90-80. That win helped spark Wake to an ACC regular season championship -- its first outright regular season title in more than 40 years.

A look at Wake's past ACC-Big Ten Challenge games:

#18 Wake Forest 100, Indiana 67 -- Dec. 2, 2003/Winston-Salem, NC-- Eric Williams (25 points) and Chris Paul (20) combined for 45 points and Jamaal Levy grabbed 12 rebounds in a runaway win over the Hoosiers in Joel Coliseum.

Wake Forest 90, #23 Wisconsin 80 -- Dec. 4, 2002/Madison, WI -- Josh Howard erupted for 31 points to lead the Deacons to a big road win.

Wake Forest 85, Minnesota 79 -- Nov. 27, 2001/Winston-Salem, NC -- Broderick Hicks' three-pointer with 58 seconds left sealed Wake's win over the visiting Gophers.

Wake Forest 71, Michigan 60 -- Nov. 28, 2000/Ann Arbor, MI -- The Deacons overcame a three-point halftime deficit and Robert O'Kelley scored 19 points for Wake Forest.

Wake Forest 67, Wisconsin 48 -- Nov. 30, 1999/Winston-Salem, NC -- Wake led 32-14 at intermission and dominated the boards in beating eventual Final Four participant Wisconsin.

Wake Has Won 7 Straight vs. Big Ten Wake Forest is just 13-13 all-time aga inst teams from the Big Ten Conference, but the Demon Deacons have enjoyed remarkable recent success against that league.

WFU has won seven consecutive games against Big Ten teams and the Deacons have played a Big Ten club in each of the last six seasons.

The last time Wake Forest lost to a Big Ten team came in consecutive games on Dec. 28 and Dec. 30, 1989 to Purdue and Penn State in the Fiesta Bowl Classic in Tucson, AZ.

Wake In Battle Of Top-Five Teams

Wake Forest has been ranked in the top five nationally many times throughout the years. So, it is surprising that Wednesday's game will mark just the fourth in school history when both teams ranked in the top five.

The last time Wake Foret played in a game involving two top-five ranked teams came last season when No. 2 Duke beat visiting and No. 4-ranked Wake, 84-72, in Durham.

Deacons Face 2nd Straight Ranked Foe

Wake Forest, which played 18th-ranked Arizona last Friday, faces its second straight ranked opponent Wednesday in 5th-ranked Illinois.

Playing back-to-back games against ranked teams is hardly new. Last season, Wake played three straight ranked teams on two different occassions. More on playing ranked teams:

-- Last season Wake Forest won two road games against ranked teams -- at 18th-ranked and Final Four-bound Georgia Tech and at No. 4 North Carolina.

-- Wake's last game against a top-five team was an 84-80 loss to No. 5 St. Joseph's in the Sweet 16 round of the 2004 NCAA Tournament.

Wake Forest-Illinois Series History

n Wake Forest leads the all-time series, 1-0.

-- The Demon Deacons won the only previous meeting, 75-73 in overtime, in the opening round of the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic on Nov. 10, 1998. Robert O'Kelley scored 24 points to lead the Deacons and Cory Bradford scored 17 points to lead Illinois.

-- Wake Forest coach Skip Prosser has never coached against Illinois.

-- The Deacons are 13-13 all-time against teams from the Big Ten, including a streak of seven consecutive victories. Wake hasn't lost to a Big Ten team since Dec. 30, 1989 against Penn State.

-- Wake Forest will play its first game in the state of Illinois since a 74-43 win over Mississippi State at the United Center in Chicago as part of the Great Eight on Dec. 3, 1996.

Deacon-Illini Connections

-- Both Wake Forest and Illinois have their rosters loaded with in-state talent. Eight Demon Deacons are from North Carolina. Ten Illini are from Illinois.

-- While Illinois coach Bruce Weber has never been on the sidelines as a head coach against Wake Forest, he was a Purdue assistant coach for three games against the Deacons. The Boilermakers won two of those games.

-- Wake Forest assistant athletic director for compliance Samantha Huge previously worked at Illinois.

Deacons Guarding Better

Last season Wake Forest managed to win 21 games despite owning the worst defensive statistics in the ACC. The Demon Deacons ranked last in the ACC last year in field goal percentage defense (.449) and in scoring defense (76.1 ppg).

Stressing better play on defense has been a main goal for coach Skip Prosser's team. At Wake's first practice on Oct. 16, the Deacons went two hours without a single offensive drill. The message was sent.

And so far, the message has been received. Wake Forest is holding opponents to just 39.4 percent shooting. The Deacons held 18th-ranked Arizona to 31.6 percent and no Wake opponent this season has shot better than 45 percent against the Deacons.

Wake Forest has shot a higher field goal percentage than its opponent in every game this season.

The Deacs have also out-rebounded every opponent this season and own a solid +6.4 rebound margin.

Free Throw Shooting Needs To Improve

Wake Forest has struggled from the free throw line this season with a percentage of .656. The Demon Deacons have shot less than 70 percent from the line in all but one game this season. Over the last two games, the Deacons are just 28-of-48 from the charity stripe (.583). There is good reason to believe that Wake's current percentage will improve. Junior Justin Gray, a career 77 percent free throw shooter, is shooting just 52.4 percent (11-of-21). Jamaal Levy is shooting just 42.9 percent (6-of-14).

"E-Rex" Consistently Good So Far Junior center Eric Williams, who has battled inconsistency during his career, has arguably been Wake Forest's most consistent player thus far this season. More on "E-Rex": - Williams is the only Deacon to score in double figures in every game this season. - He has grabbed at least five rebounds in every game. - Williams is shooting a sizzling 67.5 percent from the field (27-of-40).

Gray Takes MVP, Stitches Home From NY Junior All-American candidate Justin Gray showed his toughness last week in New York. Early in last Wednesday's game against Providence, he took an elbow just below the eyebrow, opening up a gash. After receiving five stitches, he returned to the game to make 5-of-8 three-point field goal attempts and score 21 points. Gray also scored 21 points last Friday in the Preseason NIT championship game against 18th-ranked Arizona. He was named tournament MVP for his efforts.

Levy The Glue That Keeps WF Together Senior forward Jamaal Levy will not lead the team in scoring and he will not grab the majority of headlines. But the 6-9 Panama native is vital to Wake Forest's success. Levy is averaging a team-best 9.4 rebounds per game, including 3.5 offensive boards per contest. He leads the team in steals (13) and in blocked shots (8) and is widely regarded as one of the nation's best defenders. Two things that make Levy so good on defense are his long arms (Prosser describes him as "Inspector Gadget") and his versatility in guarding players of any size. Levy was named to the Preseason NIT All-Tournament team. Deacons Beat No. 18 Arizona, 63-60 Justin Gray scored 21 points for the second straight game and No. 1 Wake Forest beat No. 18 Arizona 63-60 Nov. 26 in the championship game of the Preseason NIT. The Demon Deacons ended an 11-game winning streak at Madison Square Garden for Arizona coach Lute Olson. The Hall of Famer's run started in 1973, when he was coaching at Long Beach State. Gray and Eric Williams were the only players who scored for the Demon Deacons during the first 10 minutes of the second half. When his teammates started to find their stroke, the Demon Deacons went on a 13-2 run to go up 59-51 with 5:28 left. Arizona (4-1) rallied to get within 61-60 with 1:26 left on a 3-pointer by Hassan Adams. Gray missed the front end of a 1-and-1 with 24 seconds left. Arizona had one timeout left but Olson didn't call it. Shakur dribbled the ball at the top of the key and started his move with 7 seconds left. His jumper from about 8 feet was short. Eric Williams made two free throws for Wake Forest with 1.2 seconds left and Arizona's chance to tie ended when Adams' turnaround 3-point attempt at the buzzer bounced off the rim. More From Last Friday's Win Vs. Arizona n WFU's two three-point field goals tied for the fewest by a Deacon team in the Skip Prosser era. n Wake Forest faced its largest deficit of the season (12 points) and trailed in the second half for the first time this year. n The Deacons scored less than 79 points for the first time this season. n Wake's first-half field goal percentage (.346) was its lowest in any half this season. n Junior Chris Ellis started the second half in place of senior Vytas Danelius.

Downey Gets First Career Double-Double Senior guard Taron Downey, called by Skip Prosser as the most unselfish player he has ever coached, played his best game of the season last Friday against 18th-ranked Arizona. Downey scored a season-high 11 points and grabbed a career-best 10 rebounds for his first career double-double. His previous career high for rebounds was six.

Deacons Facing Brutal Schedule Notes on the 2004-05 Demon Deacon schedule: n Eight Wake Forest opponents are ranked this week in the Associated Press top 25 -- (3) Georgia Tech, (5) Illinois, (9) Duke, (11) North Carolina, (13) Maryland, (15) Texas, (17) NC State and (18) Arizona. n Five other Deacon opponents are receiving votes for the AP poll -- Virginia, Providence, Cincinnati, New Mexico and George Washington. n Four of Wake Forest's final 12 regular season games come against two 2004 Final Four teams -- Duke and Georgia Tech.

Closing In On A Grand Five Wake Forest players have a shot at reaching 1,000 career points this season -- Justin Gray (901 career points), Taron Downey (821), Vytas Danelius (786), Eric Williams (722) and Jamaal Levy (669). With 41 1,000-point scorers in its history, Wake Forest ranks ninth among all Division I schools.

Deacons No. 1 For First Time Ever For the first time in the history of Wake Forest basketball, the Demon Deacons earned a No. 1 national ranking Nov. 22. Wake Forest is ranked No. 1 in both major polls -- Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today. A few notes on Wake Forest and the national polls: n Wake Forest has been ranked No. 2 in the Associated Press poll 11 times, but until Nov. 22, never No. 1. The Demon Deacons were ranked No. 2 10 weeks (non-consecutive) during the 1996-97 season and Wake was No. 2 in this year's AP preseason poll. n Only Maryland (23 weeks at No. 2) and Louisville (16 weeks at No. 2) had been ranked No. 2 more often than Wake Forest without ever obtaining the No. 1 spot. n Wake Forest is ranked in the AP top 25 for the 35th consecutive week and for the 226th week overall. n This marks the 30th different week that Wake Forest has been ranked in the AP top five.

-- Since the start of the 2001-02 season, Duke is the only other ACC team to earn a No. 1 ranking, which the Blue Devils have done often. North Carolina, in February of 2001, is the most recent other ACC team to be No. 1.

Deacs Play With 10 Scholarship Players

Sophomore Jeremy Ingram will transfer at the end of the semester and Cameron Stanley, Wake Forest's only freshman, will likely redshirt this season. That leaves the Deacons with 10 scholarship players and three walk-ons.

Deacons Tough At The Joel

Wake Forest has always enjoyed success within the friendly confines of Lawrence Joel Coliseum, winning at an 81.8 percent clip. In recent years, that percentage is even higher. In Skip Prosser's four seasons with the Deacons, Wake is 44-6 (.880), including a perfect 16-0 mark in 2002-03.

The Deacons have not lost a home non-conference game since Feb. 9, 2002 -- a 103-94 loss to sixth-ranked Cincinnati in Prosser's first seasons with the Deacons. Under Prosser, Wake is 25-1 at home against non-ACC competition.

Wake Forest has won 41 of its last 42 home games against non-conference opponents.

WFU's all-time record in Joel Coliseum is 189-42.

Chris Paul Preseason All-America

Wake Forest sophomore Chris Paul was the leading vote-getter for the Associated Press preseason All-American Team announced Nov. 9. Paul was joined on the first team by Kansas' Wayne Simien, NC State's Julius Hodge, Syracuse's Hakim Warrick and Mississippi State's Lawrence Roberts.

Chris Paul ACC Preseason Player Of Year

Wake Forest sophomore Chris Paul edged out NC State's Julius Hodge for pre-season ACC Player of the Year honors by a 38-to-35 count. North Carolina's Marvin Williams was the media's clear cut choice as the preseason ACC Rookie of the Year, receiving 60 of 87 ballots cast. Paul and Hodge joined North Carolina's Rashad McCants and Sean May and Duke's J.J. Redick on the preseason All-ACC team.

Deacons First In ACC Preseason Poll

Wake Forest was the top pick in the media's preseason poll conducted Oct. 31 at the 43rd annual Atlantic Coast Conference Operation Basketball. The Deacons received 65 of a possible 91 votes for 965 points. North Carolina was second with 13 first place votes and 866 points, followed by Georgia Tech with 836 points and Duke with 746.

Senior Class A Diverse Group

Wake Forest's three seniors hail from three different countries. Vytas Danelius (Lithuania), Jamaal Levy (Panama) and Taron Downey (Oxford, NC) form a diverse trio that probably doesn't receive the recognition it deserves.

All three were recruited by then-coach Dave Odom, and rerecruited by current head coach Skip Prosser. Danelius, Downey and Levy have combined to play in 293 games. Wake Forest has won 72 games during their careers. Only Danelius, a second team All-ACC selection in 2003, has earned all-league honors. That could change this year. After an injury-plagued junior season, Danelius appears ready for his best year yet. Levy is one of the top defensive players in college basketball and one of the ACC's leading returning rebounders. Downey ranks among Wake's all-time leaders in assists and three-point field goals.

Stanley May Redshirt In 2004-05

Cameron Stanley, the only freshman on the Demon Deacon roster, is recovering from a torn ACL suffered last December and may redshirt this season. Stanley has practiced with the team all season, but is still trying to get completely comfortable with the knee.

Three Sign National Letters Of Intent

Three talented high school seniors - two from North Carolina and one from New Mexico - signed letters of intent to play basketball at Wake Forest beginning next season, head coach Skip Prosser announced.

Harvey Hale (Albuquerque, NM/Rio Grande HS), Kevin Swinton (Greensboro, NC/Dudley HS) and David Weaver (Black Mountain, NC/Owen HS) will make up the Deacon freshman class. The three signees, all highly-rated nationally, will give Wake Forest help in at least three positions.

"We really think this is a solid class that will help us compete at the highest level," Prosser said. "Every school in the ACC has outstanding recruiting classes almost every season and again, this class will help us compete within the league. All three young men are potentially terrific basketball players, they are outstanding students, good people and come from quality high school programs."

Hale, 6-3 and 190 pounds, is considered the top prep prospect in New Mexico and is rated in the top 150 nationally by Rivals.com. He averaged 19.8 points, 7.1 rebounds and 6.8 assists per game as a junior. Hale, who also plays for the Arizona/New Mexico Pump n' Run AAU team, chose the Deacons over Arkansas, Arizona State, DePaul, SMU and Stanford. He is coached at Rio Grande High School by Ron Garcia.

"Harvey (Hale) is a combo guard who we feel will help fill the void created by the impending loss of Taron Downey," Prosser said. "Harvey is not the pure shooter that Taron is, but he is longer and is potentially an even better defender. He has a knack for scoring and he leads one of the best high school teams in New Mexico.

Swinton, 6-7 and 230 pounds, is one of the top forwards in the nation. He averaged 22.0 points and 11.3 rebounds per game as a junior at Dudley. Swinton is ranked as the 20th-best power forward nationally by Rivals and the 47th-best prospect overall by Hoopmasters. A member of the 2004 USA South Team at the Olympic sports festival, Swinton also plays for the North Carolina Gaters AAU team. Swinton plays for coach David Price at Dudley.

"Kevin is a product of one of the most prestigious high school programs in North Carolina," Prosser said. "He is strong, very athletic and he is a winner."

Weaver, 6-10 and 210 pounds, is ranked No. 27 among power forwards nationally by Rivals and in the top 85 overall by Hoopmasters. Hoop Scoop ranked Weaver as the fifth-best post player at the Nike camp. Weaver averaged 12.0 points and 11.0 rebounds per game. He also produced a lofty grade-point-average of 3.93. Weaver, who also runs track at Owen, is teammates with Swinton on the North Carolina Gaters AAU team. Weaver played for coach Roger Schnepp at Owen.

"David Weaver has great length and good ball skills for a young man of his size," Prosser said. "We feel that he has a bright, bright future at Wake Forest."

Ingram Will Transfer

Jeremy Ingram, a sophomore guard on the Wake Forest basketball team, will transfer to another school at the end of the fall semester, head coach Skip Prosser announced Nov. 2.

Ingram, a 6-3 Kinston (NC) native, played in eight games last season. He averaged 1.6 points and 0.8 rebounds per game.

"Jeremy Ingram is a very good basketball player and more importantly, an outstanding young man," Prosser said. "He will be an asset to whatever school he chooses and we wish him the very best."

New Floor, New Uniforms

Lawrence Joel Coliseum, the home of Demon Deacon basketball, has a new playing floor this season. The new floor replaces the original surface, which had been in place since the facility opened in 1989.

Also new this year are the Wake Forest uniforms. The Deacons will sport new Nike Elite uniforms with versions in white, gold and black.

The First And The Last

Wake Forest played the first game this season involving an ACC school -- Nov. 15 vs. George Washington -- and will play in the last game of the ACC regular season -- March 6 at 8 p.m. at NC State.

A New Era In The ACC

Miami and Virginia Tech join the Atlantic Coast Conference in 2004-05, giving the league 11 teams. The regular season ACC schedule will still consist of 16 games.

The Deacons are 2-0 alltime against Miami with the last meeting coming in 1990-91. Wake Forest is 24-20 all-time against Virginia Tech with the last meeting coming in 1998-99.

Bringing Home The Gold

Junior Justin Gray and sophomore Chris Paul were two of 12 college all-stars who led the United States to a gold medal this summer at the World U-20 Championship Qualifying Tournament in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

The two Deacons started every game and helped the USA to a perfect 5-0 record. If not for a case of extreme dehydration, which sent Wake's Eric Williams to the hospital during the trials, the USA team would have likely included three Demon Deacons.

Miscellaneous Notes

-- Wake Forest, after capturing the Preseason NIT title in November, is 7-1 all-time in that tournament.

n The Deacons are 28-1 in their last 29 games played in the month of November, including a streak of 10 straight wins. -- Wake Forest has won 11 straight season openers and the Deacons are 71-28 all-time in season openers.

-- The Deacons have won 16 consecutive home openers. The last time the Deacons lost their first home game of the season came on Nov. 28, 1988 -- the last season WFU played in old Memorial Coliseum. That loss came against Richmond, 74-61.