Wake Forest men’s basketball split their two-game series in the ESPN Events Invitational, losing to No. 13 Florida (8-0) before narrowly beating Big Ten opponent Minnesota (5-3). While the Demon Deacons continue finding ways to win with their increasingly defensive identity, the offense continues to falter through both sub-60-point performances.
One statistic to cite from the tournament is the struggling 11.4% combined three-point shooting percentage across the tournament’s two games. Shooting just 4-for-35 from beyond the arc, the Demon Deacons’ season three-point percentage continues to plummet, now falling to the bottom of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) after nearly leading the league last year.
“I think we’ll continue to try to help them create opportunities,” Forbes said when asked what it would take to improve his team’s long-range shooting. “We always look at shot quality, but I know we had a lot of open shots today.”
Wake Forest’s failures from three-point range weren’t the only thing that sent them behind in the second half of their game against No. 18 Florida. The Gators managed to grab 14 more rebounds than the Demon Deacons for several second-chance shots in transition that were crucial in pushing past Wake Forest.
But the Demon Deacons’ defense again became the difference-maker in picking up a win. Wake Forest held Florida to a season-low sub-40% field goal rate before coming up with critical stops to seal Saturday’s win over Minnesota.
“We did a really good job defensively down the stretch,” Forbes said after the win for a third-place finish at the tournament. “We had four stops in a row to end the game in I believe four out of the last five possessions.”
Wake Forest got a big boost in both boards and defense from forward Tre’Von Spillers in their second game – a 57-51 win over Minnesota on Saturday. Of Spillers’ consecutive double-doubles during the week, his 18-point, 16-rebound performance against Minnesota included pivotal defensive playmaking to help deliver a narrow victory for Wake Forest.
Wake Forest continues to improve from its 0-3 start against non-conference Power 5 opponents last year, although the team remains winless against ranked teams, now losing to both No. 18 Florida and No. 22 Xavier (5-0) in November. That’s earned the Demon Deacons a debut at the No. 115 spot in this season’s NCAA Men’s Basketball NET Rankings.
Now, the Demon Deacons will have just one more chance to prove themselves against a ranked opponent before conference play kicks off next week. They’ll travel to College Station to face No. 20 Texas A&M (4-1) in the ACC-SEC Challenge.
