Wake Forest has struggled from start-to-finish this season in amassing a 10-15 overall record and 3-10 in the ACC.
Wake Forest has its second game of the season against NC State (19-8 overall, 7-7 ACC) at 6 p.m. Sunday on ESPNU. Wake Forest has been able to defeat NCSU, Pittsburgh and Notre Dame, but has struggled on the road going 1-8. The lone win took place this past Tuesday, a 75-68 win at Notre Dame with junior point guard Brandon Childress going for 20 points, eight assists and seven rebounds.
Sophomores Chaundee Brown and Olivier Sarr, and freshmen Jaylen Hoard, Sharone Wright Jr. and Isaiah Mucius represent the Demon Deacons future. All but Mucius from that group started against the Fighting Irish..
Hoard had 16 points and 10 rebounds, redshirt junior guard Torry Johnson had 11 points off the bench and Childress added 10 points and nine rebounds in the Demon Deacons' 71-67 win over NC State on Jan. 15.
Here is a breakdown of Wake Forest:
Season Overview
Wake Forest struggles became apparent during its non-conference slate. The two glaring losses came against Houston Baptist (10-14 record) in overtime Nov. 23, and against Gardner-Webb (18-10) on Dec. 29. Mixed in were losses to Richmond and St. Joseph's, who are both 11-15 this season.
Rankings
In the newly established NET rankings done by the NCAA, through games of Feb. 22, Wake Forest is ranked No. 187 in the country. ESPN’s College Basketball Power Index (BPI) has the Demon Deacons at No. 169, and KenPom.com has WFU at No. 174.
The Demon Deacons are ranked No. 157 in the old RPI formula used by the NCAA — according to RealTimeRPI.com.
For comparison, NC State is 23rd in BPI, 32nd in NET, 36th in Kenpom.com and 92nd in RPI.
Shooting
Wake Forest is dead last in the ACC in both field-goal shooting percentage (40.0) and three-point field-goal percentage (30.4). As a result, the Demon Deacons are 14th in the league at 68.7 points per game.
Only three Wake Forest players are shooting above 29 percent on three-pointers this season. Childress leads the way at 38.0 percent, and then it drops Johnson at 32.3 percent and Brown at 31.7 percent.
Rebounding
The missed shots on offense have helped Wake Forest be third in the ACC with 12.9 offensive rebounds per game. The Demon Deacons are right behind NC State in fourth place in the league with 37.8 boards per game.
Hoard leads the way with 8.1 rebounds per game, and his fellow native of France is second at 5.5 rebounds per game. The 7-0, 235-pound Sarr has grabbed at least seven rebounds in games this season.
Defense
WFU is dead last in the ACC in allowing 75.2 points per game, allowing 46.6 percent shooting from the field and forcing just 11.1 turnovers per game. Opponents have made 34.4 percent on three-pointers, which is 14th in the league.
Sarr is averaging a block per game, but the Demon Deacons' are 14th in the ACC with 2.8 blocks a contest, and last in the league with 4.84 steals per game.
Depth
Buffalo graduate transfer Ikenna Smart, a 6-10, 245-pound center, and Northern Arizona shooting guard Torry Johnson lead the bench. Freshman Mucius and wing Michael Wynn are also in the mix, with the former a former Rivals.com four-star prospect. Mucius is averaging 6.5 points and 3.7 rebounds in 21.9 minutes per game.
Johnson averaged 11.5 points per game at Northern Arizona, but has fell to 5.7 at Wake Forest. He is shooting just 34.8 percent from the field and 32.3 percent on three-pointers, and has topped 10 points in three games.
Smart tied his season-high of six points (plus three boards) against NC State, and was starting for the Demon Deacons. He is averaging 2.3 points and 3.1 rebounds per game.
Star Watch
Hoard has a knack for creating anticipation for his all-around game. Before he arrived in the U.S., he had established himself playing in France. He ended up attending High Point (N.C.) Wesleyan and showed steady improvement in getting ranked No. 27 overall in the country by Rivals.com in the class of 2018.
Hoard ended his recruitment in relatively quick fashion, picking Wake Forest over NC State, Maryland, Arizona and Washington, among others.
Hoard is averaging 13.7 points and 3.1 rebounds per game, and shooting 46.6 percent from the field. He recently was benched for missing shoot-around before the 95-57 loss against North Carolina on Feb. 16, but had 17 points and six boards against the Tar Heels.
Hoard has scored in double figures in all but six games, and he had a season-high 23 points plus 15 rebounds in a 83-61 win over Cornell on Jan. 2. He also had 19 points, 17 rebounds, four assists and three blocks before fouling out in a 78-76 overtime win vs. Pittsburgh on Feb. 5.
Hoard was a key factor in the Demon Deacons' win over the Wolfpack. He had 16 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks against NC State.
Likely starters:
NC State
PG — 11 Markell Johnson (6-1, 175, Jr., 10.8 ppg, 2.1 rpg, 4.3 apg, 1.0 spg)
SG — 13 C.J. Bryce (6-5, 195, R-Jr., 12.3 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 1.8 apg, 1.3 spg)
G — 10 Braxton Beverly (6-0, 180, Soph., 10.4 ppg, 1.7 rpg, 2.8 apg)
F — 2 Torin Dorn (6-5, 210, 5th-Sr., 14.0 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 1.4 apg, 1.0 spg)
C — 33 Wyatt Walker (6-9, 240, R-Jr., 5.3 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 1.0 apg, 1.0 bpg)
Wake Forest
PG — 0 Brandon Childress (6-0, 190, Jr., 14.7 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 4.2 apg, 1.6 spg)
SG — 2 Sharone Wright Jr. (6-5, 180, Fr., 7.0 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 0.8 apg)
SF — 23 Chaundee Brown (6-5, 215, Soph., 11.1 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 1.3 apg)
PF — 10 Jaylen Hoard (6-8, 215, Fr., 13.7 ppg, 8.1 rpg, 1.5 apg)
C — 30 Olivier Sarr (7-0, 235, Soph., 6.2 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 0.5 apg, 1.0 bpg)
Stats To Watch
Outside shooting gets colder in ACC action: Wake Forest is shooting 30.4 percent on three-pointers, which is on pace for the lowest in school history. The number is lowered to 27.2 percent on three-pointers in ACC games. WFU has shot 25 percent or less on three-pointers in eight of 13 ACC games.
WFU lives at free-throw line: The Demon Deacons have 23.7 percent of their points coming from the free-throw line, which is ninth highest percentage nationally. The national average is 18.8 percent. Wake Forest is averaging 16.3 points per game at the line, and four of the five starters are shooting at least 70 percent this season.
Hoard's double-doubles: Hoard is with some good company with his six double-doubles this season for points and rebounds. He is tied with Travis McKie for fifth place in school history for a freshman. The four players ahead of him were all NBA first-round picks — Tim Duncan 13, Al-Farouq Aminu 10 and both Rodney Rogers and James Johnson with eight.
Game Within The Game: NCSU's Markell Johnson vs. WFU's Brandon Childress
Wake Forest tends to go as Brandon Childress goes, which has never been more evident in February.
The 6-0, 190-pounder, who is the son of former Wake Forest star and assistant coach Randolph Childress, had 20 points, eight assists and seven rebounds in the win over Notre Dame. That was the fifth time he scored at least 20 points this season. However, he also had zero points and six turnovers in the loss vs. North Carolina, and he went 0 of 11 from the field for zero points in the 64-37 loss at Clemson on Feb. 3.
The two goose eggs along with a eight-turnover game against Boston College on Jan. 26, where he had eight points and seven assists, are the only three games where he didn't crack double figures.
Childress had 10 points, nine rebounds and four assists in the win over NC State. The Wolfpack didn't have Markell Johnson in that contest due to injury. Braxton Beverly played point guard and went 3 of 11 from the field (3 of 10 on three-pointers) for nine points and three assists.
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