** Right after the 2015-2016 and the Panthers first round loss to Wisconsin, Paul Zeise assessed that the only difference between that season when we finished 9-9 in the ACC and the previous one, when we finished 8-10 and in the NIT, was our basically only our double OT win over Wake Forest. In 14-15, we lost a close one in Winston Salem that started a four game skid that sunk our NCAA bid.
** I can only hope this year’s game proves to be once again so pivotal in the right direction.
** Much has changed since those days however. In those two Wake Forest games combined, the Panthers shot a total of 31 threes. In this one game alone, we blew that number out of the water.
** It was pretty obvious it was the Panthers game plan to hunt shots on the perimeter. And why not? Shots from out there are worth more.
** Wake wasn’t ignoring the three on offense either. I’m not sure I ever recall seeing a college game with 64 attempts from deep.
** Still, scoring 81 points against your foe is usually enough for a win regardless of where they come from. And with the way the Deacons were defending, they seemed all too willing to let us shoot the triple.
** In fact, if you are a Wake Forest fan you were probably pulling your hair out wondering why their guys allowed Greg Elliott to continually receive passes in the corner and shoot a wide open three. Or maybe they wondered why Wake defenders were always switching under screens allowing Hinson to be continually open beyond the arc.
** Sure, there was the stretch when Wake’s 1-3-1 with Andrew Carr’s 6-10 length up top rendered us almost useless as Burton was out of the game. But when Jamarius returned, he provided the Panthers with a way attack their zone.
** In fact, had he not returned, I’m guessing we don’t pull this when out. But thankfully he did and he enabled the Panthers to get the ball inside the 1-3-1 sending Wake back to man. It’s also worth noting that Burton had four assists in the game’s last eight minutes or so.
** I’d be lying if I said it didn’t bother me that Hinson didn’t take a single shot inside the arc. I guess I should also say that I think a balanced offense is a better offense. Accordingly, it's likely safe to say we aren’t going to hit a team record number of triples every time out, so I hope our Panthers will look to work inside when the time is right.
** Still, let's congratulate our Panthers for outscoring a team that can really score. Wake has the #27 offense in the nation according to Pomeroy and it’s easy to see why. They can score it many ways and hit some really difficult shots.
** And we did find a way to keep Wake to just one field goal in the last five minutes. Our guys deserve credit for really scrambling to defend when it was needed most.
** The Panthers defense would have been aided in the second half had they been able to defend a little better without fouling, even if a few of the fouls were a bit iffy.
** And while I’m on the subject of fouls, when did it become the rule that we every call is a charge instead of a block? Several times today for both teams, we watched charge calls that should have been block calls. In fact, the only offensive foul call that seemed on the money today was Jamarius’ push off in the second half. It’s been this way all year for both the Panthers and our opponents. At least it’s been consistent.
** I confess that perhaps this win doesn’t seem quite as glorious as maybe it should because we lost an early 15 point lead and a 10 point halftime lead. It was also very stressful when it looked many times in the final minutes like we wouldn’t pull this out.
** But we did. And that's pretty darn good!
** So now our Panthers are 7-3 in the ACC and maybe what’s a little more glorious is that this is the first time Coach Capel has garnered seven ACC wins in his 5 seasons here. There’s no doubt that’s a pretty low bar to pass, but pass it he did!
** Going forward, we need Capel and his Panthers to snag seven more ACC wins. If they can get there, maybe we can indeed look at this night as the tipping point on our way to an NCAA tournament matchup.
** Send It In Jerome and Hail to Pitt!
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