The Cardinals have made it through those less than exciting games of the non-conference schedule and will now head into their first season in the ACC. Standing with my son last summer during the ACC celebration I was filled with anticipation for the Cardinals move into the ACC conference. Most of that anticipation was looking forward to the quality football opponents and while we have had the fortune of playing in a quality basketball conference last years’ time in the AAC made me look forward to this season in the ACC. Now that day is here and the Cardinals will head to North Carolina to play the Wake Forest Demon Deacons. These programs have played three times in the past with the Cardinals leading the series 2-1. The last time these teams played was during the 1996 NCAA Tournament in the Midwest Regional Final. The Demon Deacons won that game 60-59 and the Cardinals were led in scoring by Samaki Walker. The Cardinals will head into their inaugural season in the ACC with a winning record. They are 207-61 all-time vs ACC teams.
COACH PITINO TALKS ABOUT HIS TEAM AND THE WAKE FOREST GAME
The Demon Deacons are 8-6 this season and have won their last three games. They are averaging 70.2 points, shooting 42% from the floor, 34% from the three, and 65% from the free throw line. Defensively they are allowing 66.4 points and their opponents are shooting 43.1 percent. Codi Miller-McIntyre leads the Demon Deacons averaging 13.1 points and 5.0 rebounds per game. Devin Thomas is averaging 10.7 points and 9.6 rebounds, Konstantinos Mitoglou is averaging 8.4 points and 5.1 rebounds, and Mitchell Wilbekin is averaging 8.0 points. Wake Forest is 6-3 at home this season and this is their first game this year against a ranked team. The Demon Deacons have struggled on the offensive end of the floor but they do get after it on the defensive end and are ranked within the top 50 in defensive efficiency.
Wake Forest 2014-15 OVERALL Rankings Offense | Defense
OFFENSE
-POINTS PER GAME
70.2
131st
OVERALL
-REBOUNDS PER GAME
40.8
23rd
OVERALL
-ASSISTS PER GAME
13.6
131st
OVERALL
-FIELD GOAL PCT
.420
252nd
OVERALL
DEFENSE
-POINTS ALLOWED
66.4
188th
OVERALL
-REBOUNDS PER GAME
27.5
30th
OVERALL
-BLOCKS PER GAME
4.2
105th
OVERALL
-STEALS PER GAME
7.9
66th
OVERALL
2014-15 Kenpom Rankings
Overall- #123
Defense Adjustment Efficiency
-93.5 ranks 49th
Offense Adjustment Efficiency
-97.5 ranks 234th
-Per Kenpoms game prediction he has Louisville winning the game 69-60 based on his indexes.
Our Cardinals are 12-1 heading into conference play and are ranked fifth in the nation with their lone loss coming to top ranked Kentucky. They are averaging 74.1 points, shooting 43.1% from the floor, 29% from the three and 65% from the free throw line. Defensively they are allowing 54.2 points and their opponents are shooting 35%. Terry Rozier leads the Cardinal’s averaging 17.1 points and 5.8 rebounds per game. Montrezl Harrell is averaging 16 points and 9.2 rebounds, Wayne Blackshear is averaging 13.3 points and 5.8 rebounds, and Chris Jones is averaging 11.4 points. This will be the second road trip of the season for the Cardinals.
This is a team struggling to find that closeness of some of the teams we’ve had over the last 4 years. Part of that is due to there being so many young guys and the lack of four-year guys. Team chemistry is very important especially during the March run. Hopefully they will find some of it during these upcoming ACC battles. And hopefully some of the guys struggling to grasp the team concept will also find their way. These things must happen for this group to achieve their full potential.
The Beak Prediction:
Louisville 75 Wake Forest 69