The only drama in this game was a missed layup by Andre Washington as time was expiring that would have covered the line of 13.5. Outside of that, it was another road game and another road loss for the Deacs.
I don't believe it's hyperbole to say that this was the worst road game Wake Forest has played this season. In the previous games for the most part we played very poorly, but I rarely questioned our effort. Tonight was absolutely unacceptable in terms of effort. The saying hard work beats talent when talent doesn't work hard was the blue print for how we beat North Carolina State on January 22. Wake Forest clearly does not have the same level of talent as North Carolina State, who has 4 McDonald's Americans on their roster, but that doesn't mean we can't work just as hard, if not harder. There were countless times when North Carolina State beat us back down court for easy layups and dunks. I wasn't sure If I was watching an ACC game or the Sprite Slam Dunk Contest. There was even a time when Wake seemingly took a nap on the court as State inbounded it from half court directly to T.J. Warren underneath the basket for a dunk. That play summed up this game in a nutshell. I'll never criticize a team for physical mistakes or lack of athleticism, but all of the mental mistakes and laziness in getting back in transition is just unacceptable.
We'll see what happens on Sunday as the Deacs take on Virginia Tech in what will determine who gets 12th place in the conference. If we win, it is most likely that we will get 10th place. We should beat Virginia Tech, but if we show up with the kind of effort we demonstrated tonight then we won't. I hate to be so critical, but this lack of effort absolutely calls for it.
