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Wake Forest
Road to the Final Four.............................................................................................
Grab your motion-sickness bags, this is a rough ride. The Deacons won their first 12 games to take aim at a possible No. 1 seed, then lost seven of their next 10 to take aim at a possible spot in the NIT. Did soft scheduling coming back to haunt Wake Forest coach Dave Odom? Not really. The Deacons' first 12 victims included then-No. 3 Kansas, which was overwhelmed 84-53, and then-No. 8 Virginia, a 96-73 loser. They also beat Georgia and Temple. North Carolina finally beat the Deacons in the final second Jan. 6, and the losses mounted. Never mind that every loss was to a solid opponent -- the "worst" loss probably came to Cincinnati. Just know the losses mounted at a staggering rate for the former No. 4 team in the country. Wake Forest pulled out of its tailspin in mid-February by beating Florida State and Georgia Tech for its first back-to-back wins since Dec. 29 and Jan. 2. Along the way, Odom shuffled his starting lineup, used some reserves 30 minutes one game and seven minutes the next, and generally acted like a coach with every intention of stopping a slump, but with no clue how to do it. Player to Watch As a high school player, sophomore small forward Josh Howard was ignored by every ACC team but Wake Forest. The Deacons' foresight has paid off this season, with Howard challenging for All-ACC honors and showing improved shooting range to go with his off-the-charts athletic ability. Along with putting up 14 points, five rebounds and three assists on a typical night, Howard also is the team's most versatile and dangerous defender. He was the star in a Feb. 14 victory against Georgia Tech that may have clinched the Deacons' NCAA bid, with 18 points, nine rebounds and three steals. With the Ball The Deacons have an unusual system at point guard, with Ervin Murray generally starting and Broderick Hicks generally relieving, and neither playing a thing like the other. Murray is the cautious, careful assist man. Hicks is the scorer. When Murray is safe with the ball and Hicks is putting it in the basket, the inside opens for power forward Darius Songaila, which creates breathing room on the wings for Howard, Craig Dawson and Robert O'Kelley. When they all click, you get blowouts of Kansas and Virginia. When the offense stumbles, usually it starts with the point guards. Defending the Ball Defense was the mainstay in the Deacons' 12-0 start as every foe was held below 40-percent shooting from the field. Wake Forest simply has all the right pieces to defend well: an athletic big man in Josh Shoemaker, two bangers down low in Songaila and reserve Rafael Vidaurreta, a long-armed perimeter stopper in Howard, and quickness everywhere else. The defense starts to crumble when some combination of Shoemaker, Vidaurreta, Howard and Songaila is in foul trouble. Count on one of them running into that per game. When it's two, and sometimes more, the Deacons struggle mightily at both ends. Seed Analysis Exceeding the Seed Playing to Expectation Falling Short BRACKETOLOGY SCORE: .947 (1.000 is playing exactly to a team's historical seeding) Bracketology Report 1985-2000: Wake is back in the tourney for the first time since 1997. The Demon Deacons made seven straight trips during the 1990s, culminating in the highly successful Tim Duncan era. Two of Duncan's teams lost in the regional finals, and twice Wake Forest had its Big Dance ended by Kentucky. Only once during Wake's seven-for-seven stretch did the Deacons lose in the first round.Roster
 NCAA Basketball Championship Week It's March, which means the madness has started and invitations are being reserved throughout Championship Week.  Send this story to a friend | Most sent stories |  |
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