Deacons Haul Six-Game Winning Streak To Virginia - WAKE FOREST OFFICIAL ATHLETIC SITE

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More From The 91-83 Win At Maryland

Junior Vytas Danelius scored a career-high 23 points, junior Jamaal Levy grabbed a career-high 15 rebounds and freshman Chris Paul dished out a career-best 10 assists as Wake Forest won at Maryland, 91-83, Saturday afternoon. More from that game:

- Wake sank a season-high 13 three-point field goals and shot 56.5 percent (13-of-23) from three-point range.

- The Deacons enjoyed their largest rebound margin of the season (44-27).

- Wake won in College Park and swept the regular season series with Maryland for the first time since 1998.

- Danelius made a career-high four three-point field goals -- twice as many as he has made in any game in his career.

- Levy's 15 rebounds were the most by a Deacon player since Josh Howard had 15 boards, also at Maryland, on Feb. 24, 2002.

- Paul's 10 assists tied a Wake Forest freshman record for single-game assists.

Not Much On Line Tuesday? Yeah, Right

Wake Forest won't win a second straight ACC regular season title and the Deacons are almost assured of an NCAA Tournament bid. So, Tuesday's game has little meaning, right? Hardly.

- A Deacon victory Tuesday would keep them in the race for second place in the final ACC standings and a No. 2 seed in the ACC Tournament.

- A Wake victory would give the Deacons a third consecutive 20-win season and its ninth 20-win season over the last 12 years.

- Wake Forest is looking for its fourth straight ACC road win for the first time since 1996-97.

- The Deacs are attempting to top the six-game winning streak Wake had to end last year's regular season.

- Tuesday's game also has great meaning for Virginia, which could finish as high as tied for fourth in the ACC standings, or as low as eighth.

- Tuesday night is Senior Night for the Cavaliers.

About The Six-Game Winning Streak

The most impressive thing about Wake Forest's six-game winning streak is the quality of opponents -- road wins at Maryland, No. 18 Georgia Tech and Clemson, and home victories over No. 3 Duke, No. 13 Cincinnati and Florida State.

The keys have been three-point shooting accuracy and rebounding. During the six-game winning streak Wake has shot a sizzling 47.1 percent from three-point range while making an average of 9.3 three-pointers per game. Wake has out-rebounded each of its last six opponents, including a +17 rebound margin at Maryland Feb. 28.

Below is a look at Wake's statistics over the last siv games compared to the first 19 games of the season:

Category Last 6 Games First 19 Games Record 6-0 13-6 Points Per Game 87.3 83.4 Rebound Margin +7.5 +2.0 Field Goal Percentage 49.7 46.8 3-Point FG Percentage 47.1 35.3 3-Point FGs/Game 9.3 6.8

Deacon-Cavalier Series History

- Wake Forest leads the all-time series, 61-56.

The Deacons won the first meeting of the season, 91-78, in Winston-Salem on Jan. 31.

- The two teams have split the regular season series in each of the past six seasons. Neither team has swept the season series since Wake did it in 1996-97.

- The Deacons have won 15 of the last 22 meetings.

- Virginia holds a 28-9 series lead in University Hall and the Cavaliers haven't lost at home to Wake Forest since 2000.

- The two teams have not met in the ACC Tournament since playing in back-to-back years in 1995 and 1996.

- The Wake-UVa series traces back to 1910-11 when Virginia won the first meeting, 22-12.

- Wake Forest is 2-0 this season against teams from the Commonwealth of Virginia with a win over Richmond, and a win over Virginia.

- Deacon coach Skip Prosser is 3-2 all-time against Virginia.

- Cavalier coach Pete Gillen is 5-6 all-time against the Deacons.

Wake Forest-Virginia Connections

- Wake Forest's coaching staff, especially Skip Prosser, has many ties with Virginia coach Pete Gillen. Prosser was Gillen's assistant coach at Xavier for eight seasons, from 1986 to 1993. After the 1993-94 season, Gillen left Xavier for Providence and Prosser replaced him as the head coach at Xavier.

- Wake assistant coach Dino Gaudio was also on Gillen's staff, from 1988-93. He returned to Xavier in 2000-01 to work as an assistant coach under Prosser.

- Deacon assistant coach Chris Mack played for Gillen at Xavier, in 1992 and 1993, serving as a team captain for the Musketeers.

- Virginia assistant coach Scott Shepherd previously worked at Hargrave Military Academy, where he worked with former Deacon All-American Josh Howard.

- Deacon junior Taron Downey attended prep school in Virginia at Fork Union Military Academy.

- Wake sophomore Trent Strickland also attended prep school in Virginia at Hargrave Military Academy.

- Wake Forest sophomores Justin Gray and Richard Joyce both played their finals seasons of high school basketball in Virginia at Oak Hill Academy.

- Prosser made his college head coaching debut in the commonwealth of Virginia when his Loyola (MD) team won at William & Mary on Nov. 29, 1993.

- Wake Forest's fifth head coach was J.L. White, a 1917 Virginia graduate.

After All These Years

After 195 combined seasons of basketball, Wake Forest and Virginia have almost identical records:

All-Time Won-Loss Records Virginia 1,298 wins 1,001 losses Wake Forest 1,302 wins 996 losses

The Last Meeting: Wake 91, Virginia 78

Sophomore Justin Gray was nearly flawless on Jan. 31, scoring 26 points to lead No. 19 Wake Forest to a 91-78 victory over Virginia.

Gray made his first four shots of the game, including three 3-pointers, to spark the Deacons to an early lead that Virginia never challenged. Gray finished 7-of-10 from the field, went 5-for-8 on 3-pointers and was 7-of-8 from the line. He also led Wake Forest with six rebounds and four assists.

Elton Brown led Virginia with 24 points. The Cavaliers missed all 12 of their 3-point attempts.

Taron Downey, Gray and Chris Paul combined to score Wake's first 27 points. The Deacons started a perfect 6-for-6 from the field and Gray and Downey started a perfect 6-for-6 from 3-point range. It sparked Wake to an early 37-10 lead that Virginia couldn't overcome.

One Of The Nation's Toughest Schedules

Wake Forest has faced one of the nation's most difficult schedules this season:

- The Wake schedule is ranked as the third-toughest by Sagarin and the seventh-most difficult by CollegeRPI.

- Seven Wake Forest opponents are in the AP top 20 -- (5) Duke, (10) Texas, (12) North Carolina, (14) NC State, (15) Cincinnati, (18) Georgia Tech and (19) Memphis.

- Ten Wake opponents have an RPI of 47 or better.

- Wake Forest has faced eight nationally-ranked opponents (going 4-4) so far this season. The Deacons played just six ranked teams all of last season.

- Wake has defeated four ranked teams for the first time since 1996-97.

- The Deacs have beaten two teams ranked in the top five -- No. 4 North Carolina and No. 3 Duke -- for the first time since 1994-95.

- Wake has two road wins this season against ranked teams -- at then-No. 4 North Carolina on Dec. 20 and at No. 18 Georgia Tech Feb. 22 -- for the first time since 1996-97.

- The Deacs beat three ranked teams -- No. 13 Cincinnati, No. 3 Duke and No. 18 Georgia Tech -- in consecutive games for the first time in school history.

Prosser: 65 Wins In Three Seasons At WFU

Wake Forest coach Skip Prosser has guided Wake Forest to 65 wins -- or an average of 21.7 victories per season -- in his three years with the Demon Deacons. His ACC coaching start is one of the best in league history:

- Prosser's winning percentage in ACC league games (.674/31-15) is the highest percentage ever by a coach in his first three seasons in the conference. Vic Bubas (.667) and Bill Guthridge (.667) are tied for second.

- His overall winning percentage at Wake Forest (.722/65-25) gives him the fifth-highest percentage in the 51-year history of the ACC. Only Dean Smith (.776), Mike Krzyzewski (.776), Bubas (.761) and Guthridge (.741) have/had higher percentages.

- Prosser's career winning percentage (.691/230-103) is the 15th-highest among all active Division I coaches.

- Wake Forest's 65 wins in three seasons ties for the fifth-most victories over a three-year period in school history.

- The Deacons have won 31 ACC regular season games in three years under Prosser. Only Duke (36 wins) and Maryland (31) join Wake Forest as the teams to win more than 30 conference games over the last three seasons combined.

- In Prosser's three years with the Deacons, Wake has scored 100-plus points six times. Before his arrival, the Deacons reached 100 points just five times in the previous 13 years.

- Prosser was the unanimous selection for ACC Coach of the Year in 2003.

Deacons Up To 11th In The Polls

Wake Forest moved up four spots in the Associated Press and ESPN/ USA Today polls this week to 11th. More on Wake in the polls:

- The Deacons, ranked as high as 4th this season, are at their highest position in the Associated Press poll since being ranked 10th on Jan. 19.

- Four other ACC teams are in the AP poll -- (5) Duke, (12) North Carolina, (14) NC State and (18) Georgia Tech.

- The Deacons have been ranked in the AP poll for 29 consecutive weeks dating back to last season. Duke is the only ACC team with a longer current streak.

- Wake has been ranked in the AP poll 43 times in 50 weeks under Skip Prosser.

- Wake is ranked 5th in the Sagarin Ratings, 7th at CollegeRPI.com, 12th at CBS Sportsline and 12th by Blue Ribbon Yearbook.

Magic Number: 82

Wake Forest is undefeated (14-0) when it scores at least 82 points -- or 2.4 points less than what the Deacons are averaging this season (84.4 ppg.). The Deacons are also undefeated (9-0) when they shoot 50 percent or better.

Hitting The Boards Like Last Year

One thing that has been consistent in Wake Forest's six-game winning streak is the Deacons' rebounding. Wake has out-rebounded each of its last six opponents.

The recent rebounding success has moved the Deacons up to first in the ACC in rebounding for ACC games only (+4.7). Last year the Deacons led the nation in rebounding (+9.4).

Good News And Bad News

The good news is that Wake Forest has shot the ball better recently and now leads the ACC in field goal percentage (ACC games only) at 46.9 percent (47.5 percent overall). The bad news is that Wake's ACC opponents are also shooting 46.9 percent, which ranks the Deacons last in the ACC in field goal percentage defense.

Deacons Reach, Chase Victory Milestones

Wake Forest earned all-time win No. 1,300 Feb. 22 at Georgia Tech. The Deacons' all-time record is currently 1,302-996.

Wake's win at Maryland Feb. 28 was its ninth ACC win of the season, securing a winning record in league play for the third straight year.

The win at Maryland also guaranteed that Wake Forest will finish at least tied for third in the final ACC standings for the third straight year and for the eighth time in the last 12 years.

Wake Forest now needs the following number of wins to reach other milestones:

One more victory would give Wake Forest its third straight 20-win season, its fourth 20-win season in five years and its 18th 20-win season all-time.

One more win would also give the Deacons double-digit ACC victories for the second straight year, for the sixth time in 12 years and for the 11th time in the 51-year history of the league.

Deacons 2-0 In Extra Minutes

Wake Forest improved to 2-0 this season in overtime games when it beat visiting Florida State, 90-87, Feb. 25. The Deacons beat North Carolina in triple-overtime back on Dec. 20, 119-114.

One of the oddities about the Florida State game is that it was Wake's first overtime game that didn't go to at least a second overtime since Jan. 31, 2001. It was also the first WFU-Florida State game that needed an extra period since Jan. 6, 1996.

Paul A Finalist For Wooden, Cousy Awards

Deacon freshman Chris Paul is a finalist for two of college basketball's most prestigious individual awards -- the John R. Wooden Award and the Bob Cousy Collegiate Point Guard Award.

He is one of 30 candidates for the Wooden Award and Wooden All-America Team, announced Jan. 26.

Paul is one of just two freshmen on the Wooden list, joining Minnesota's Kris Humphries. He is one of five ACC players on the list, joining Duke's Chris Duhon, Georgia Tech's B.J. Elder, NC State's Julius Hodge and UNC's Sean May.

Paul is one of 16 finalists for the Cousy Award and he is the only freshman on the list of candidates. North Carolina's Raymond Felton is the other ACC player on the list of candidates.

Lineup Has Interesting Results

Six games ago -- on Feb. 12 at Clemson -- coach Skip Prosser used his fifth different starting lineup of the season -- one that included freshman center Kyle Visser and junior forward Vytas Danelius. The lineup change has done several things for the Deacons:

- With Danelius in the starting lineup, junior Jamaal Levy can play the No. 3 position.

- It has given the Deacons one of the best benches in the ACC. Junior Taron Downey and sophomore Eric Williams have 104 combined career starts. Sophomores Trent Strickland and Chris Ellis also have starting experience.

- The new starting lineup has produced a 6-0 record.

Wake One Of Nation's Youngest Teams

- With no scholarship seniors on the roster, Wake Forest is one of college basketball's youngest teams. In fact, the Deacons are one of just six Division I schools with no scholarship seniors on the roster.

- Walk-on Alan Williams is the only senior on the Deacon roster.

- Wake Forest has just three juniors on the roster to go with five sophomores and four freshmen.

- Wake's top three scorers are all freshmen or sophomores. In fact, freshmen and sophomores have combined to produce 68.8 percent of the Deacons' point total (1,452 of 2,109 points).

- A freshman or sophomore leads Wake in scoring, three-pointers, three-point attempts, three-point percentage, free throws, free throw attempts, assists and steals.

Last Hurrah For Senior Walk-Ons

Wake Forest had "Senior Night" Feb. 25 to honor two Deacon players and two student-managers.

Walk-on Alan Williams is the only true senior and the only fourth-year player on the Deacon roster. Williams' career began as a walk-on under coach Dave Odom in the 2000-01 season. He has been a part of one of the best four-year runs in Wake Forest history as the Deacons have won 83 games in the last four seasons combined.

Scott Benken, who earned a spot on the roster with his remarkable work ethic, is in his second year with the Deacons. He will graduate in the spring and enroll in pharmacy school.

Also honored were managers Tom Norton and Adam Ampuja.

"The Mayor"

- One of just two freshmen -- joining Minnesota's Kris Humphries -- on the midseason list of 30 candidates for the John R. Wooden Award.

- The only freshman candidate for the Bob Cousy Collegiate Point Guard Award.

- Named ACC Rookie of the Week five times -- the most since Georgia Tech's Dion Glover won the award five times in 1997-98. Only Kenny Anderson (10 times), Sam Perkins (6), Bryant Stith (6) and Joe Smith (6) won ACC Rookie of the Week more than five times since the award originated in 1970-71. The only other Wake Forest player to win the honor five times was Rodney Rogers in 1990-91.

- Over the last six games -- all Wake Forest wins -- Paul has averaged 16.7 points, 6.7 assists, 4.0 rebounds and 2.3 steals per game while shooting 62.5 percent (10-of-16) from three-point range.

- Ranks third in the nation and first in the ACC in steals per game (2.96).

- Leads all ACC freshmen and ranks fourth in the ACC in assists per game (5.76).

- Ranks fifth in the ACC in assist-turnover ratio (2.20).

- His 74 steals are the third-most single-season steals in Wake Forest history. Only Muggsy Bogues, who had 89 steals in 1986 and 85 steals in 1985, ranks ahead of Paul.

- Paul's 74 steals shatter the Wake Forest freshman record of 53 held by Rodney Rogers.

- His six steals at SMU Dec. 15 tied a Wake Forest freshman single-game record held by Rogers.

- His 10 assists at Maryland Feb. 28 tied a Wake freshman single-game record.

- Attempting to be the first freshman to lead the ACC in steals since NC State's Chris Corchiani in 1988.

- Attempting to become the first Deacon player, regardless of class, to lead the ACC in steals since Bogues did it three straight years from 1985-87.

- He is four assists away from breaking the Wake Forest freshman record of 147 held by Derrick McQueen.

- His free throw percentage (.832) is the highest ever by a Deacon freshman, ranks second overall in the ACC and he goes to the line more than any Deacon.

- Has started every game and leads the team in minutes played (33.4 mpg.).

- The shortest player on the roster, Paul (6-0) has 10 blocked shots.

- Paul (13.6 points per game) ranks second among ACC freshmen in scoring.

"J-Gray"

On a very balanced team, sophomore guard Justin Gray has emerged as one of the top players in the ACC -- a prime candidate for first team All-ACC honors.

- Since Jan. 29, Gray has been arguably the ACC's hottest player, averaging 22.1 points, 3.6 rebounds, 3.7 three-point field goals and 2.7 assists per game.

- He was named ACC Player of the Week on Feb. 23.

- Gray seems to play his best in big games. Against nationally-ranked teams, Gray averages 18.9 points, 3.1 assists and 3.8 three-point field goals per game.

- He averages more points on the road (20.1) than overall (17.0).

- He ranks third in the ACC in scoring (17.0) and second in ACC games only (19.1).

- With 78 three-point field goals in 25 games this season, Gray ranks second in the ACC for three-pointers per game (3.12). In ACC games only, he is tied for first.

- Gray ranks in the ACC's top 12 in seven different statistical categories -- three-point field goals (2nd), free throw percentage (3rd), scoring (3rd), assist-turnover ratio (10th), assists (10th), field goal percentage (11th) and three-point field goal percentage (12th).

- He has turned his game up a notch by being more aggressive on offense. He has gone to the line more often over his nine eight games (56) than he did in his first 16 games (43).

- Gray has made at least one three-point field goal in 36 out of his last 37 games. - He has made 15 three-point field goals over the last three games.

- He is shooting 81.8 percent from the free throw line, which ranks third in the ACC.

- Even though he missed eight games last season because of a broken jaw, he has already amassed 717 career points.

- With 113 career three-point field goals, he already ranks 10th in Wake Forest history.

- His 78 three-pointers this season are the fifth-most single-season three-pointers in Wake history.

- Gray made a career-high eight three-point field goals Jan. 13 at Texas en route to 27 points. His eight three-pointers were the most in the ACC this season and tie for the 11th-most in ACC history.

- His 18 three-point attempts at Texas broke a Wake Forest single-game record and tie for the third-most in ACC history.

JamaalLEVY

Junior / F / 6-9 / Panama City, Panama

At 6-9 and just 180 pounds, Jamaal Levy is a good example of one of Skip Prosser's favorite sayings: "It's not how big you are, it's how big you play." Levy uses his thin frame and quickness to his advantage as one of the ACC's best rebounders:

- Levy ranks third in the ACC in rebounding (8.6 rpg.), and in ACC games only he is averaging 9.2 rebounds per game, which ranks third.

- In ACC games only, he is tied for the league lead in offensive rebounds per game.

- Levy is coming off a 14-point, 15-rebound performance Feb. 28 at Maryland. His 15 rebounds were the most by a Deacon player this season. - He has pulled down double-figure rebounds in eight games this season including each of the last three games.

- Levy's production is not limited to rebounding and defense. He scored a career-high 19 points against North Carolina Feb. 7 and he has scored in double figures 13 times this season.

- At 6-9, he has the ability to shoot from the perimeter. Levy has six three-point field goals this season and 20 for his three-year career.

- He had three double-doubles in February and has five overall this season.

- Levy is shooting a team-best 56.6 percent from the field, which would easily lead the ACC if he had enough field goals made to qualify.

- He leads the team and ranks 11th in the ACC in blocked shots.

- With 62 career blocked shots, he already ranks 12th in Wake Forest blocked shots history.

TaronDOWNEY

Junior / Guard / 6-2 / Oxford, NC

Junior guard Taron Downey, has proven to be productive as a starter (54 career starts) or as Wake's sixth man.

- Downey is playing his best basketball of the season. Over his last three games -- wins against Georgia Tech, Florida State and Maryland -- Downey has averaged 16.7 points and 3.0 assists per game while making 9-of-16 three-point field goal attempts.

- Downey has made a three-point field goal in 15 straight games.

- Downey's career free throw percentage (.839) is the fourth-highest in Wake Forest history. His free throw percentage this season (.841) would be one of the highest percentages in Wake history.

- His three-point percentage in ACC games (44.1) ranks third in the league.

- He has 120 career three-point field goals, which ranks as the seventh-most in Wake Forest history.

- With 268 career assists, Downey ranks 11th in Wake history.

- With 734 career points, he is on track to become the 42nd Deacon to score 1,000 career points.

- Downey leads the team with 90 career games played.

- He is one of three team captains.

EricWILLIAMS

Sophomore / C / 6-9 / Wake Forest, NC

Sophomore center Eric Williams weighs about the same as he did last year (275 pounds), but he has gotten stronger and lowered his body fat. The Wake Forest (NC) native has also re-shaped his game.

- Williams has improved his scoring average from 8.7 ppg. last season to 12.4 ppg. this season.

- He has scored in double figures in four of his last five games.

- Williams is shooting 52.7 percent from the floor and he shoots 69.5 percent from the free throw line.

- "Big E" has been instrumental in two of Wake Forest's biggest victories this season. He scored 16 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in the Feb. 18 win over No. 3 Duke. He hit what proved to be the game-winning shot in the third overtime of the Dec. 20 win at No. 4 North Carolina. He scored 24 points against the Tar Heels.

- Williams ranks among the ACC leaders in three statistical categories -- offensive rebounds (8th), rebounds (12th)vand scoring (18th).

- He was named ACC Player of the Week Dec. 22.

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