Box Score for Virginia Tech/Wake Forest

First, the simple way to win a game is to come out ahead in more of the following categories than your opponent...

• Turnovers
• Def Reb %
• Off Reb %
• FG%
• Three Pointers Made

Keep in mind, that if you lose 4 out of the 5 categories, but make 10 more three pointers than your opponent, you still have a good chance of winning.  So, there is a cumulative effect amongst these areas.

Wake tends to take care of their opponents in the first 4 areas due to their size and athleticism, but Virginia Tech played them even on Wednesday night.  The Hokies were outrebounded by only 3, and even forced the Demon Deacons into 3 more turnovers.  Virginia Tech took care of the ball thanks in large part due to the tempo of the game.

The most important thing that the Hokies did, and it may sound obvious, is they made shots.  Perhaps more importantly, they made 2 point shots.  With their length Wake Forest has made teams take a higher percentage of three point shots to avoid the size in the paint.  While the Hokes took 21 three point shots (making 6 or 29%), they shot a remarkable 66% (19-29) on their 2 point shots and attacked the rim getting to the free throw line 39 times.  By making shots and getting to the free throw line it allowed Virginia Tech to control the tempo.

Seth Greenberg knew he had to counteract the length and athleticism of Wake Forest and did so with a packed in zone.  If there is one weakness Wake Forest has, it's perimeter shooting.  Outside of Jeff Teague and Harvey Hale, Wake has no real threat from beyond the arc.  Further, the zone helped the Hokies in defensive rebounding.  Wake Forest managed to grab 15 offensive rebounds, but the poor shooting numbers and large field goal attempt advantage suggests that those numbers were padded by the Wake big men playing volleyball with the rim.

Wake Forest now has a week off until they host Duke.  The Blue Devils will not do anything more than show zone for a possession, which will be beneficial to Wake Forest.  We'll have more on that one as the game approaches, but looking at the matchups against Duke I have a hard time seeing Wake with back-to-back losses.  That said, the Hokies may have just etched out a roadmap that teams will be using against the Demon Deacons all the way through March.

So to recap, here's what we came up with...

Roadmap to beating Wake Forest

• Attack the Rim and Finish
• Force Wake Forest to take the perimeter jumpshot
• Control Tempo
• Rebound

It may just be easier said than done.