01-15-2025, 12:44 AM
Stanford hits the road again (WFU on Weds. & UNC on Sat.) after a sweep at home. Even a split on this trip would be great. At the least, I would hope that the results are better than two double digit losses like at Clemson & Pitt. In current ACC power ratings on Syracuse, UNC, & UVa sites, Stanford is #8, 9, & 9, respectively - Wake is #5, 6, & 6 and UNC is #6, 5, & 4. Wake is favored by 7.5, O/U is 142.5, implied score of 75-67.5. The Demon Deacons have a record of 12-4 (4-1 ACC, 8-0 at home). Their best wins came against Michigan & NC State. Wake is the only team other than Cal & SMU that will play home-and-home with Stanford this season. They come to Maples in 3 weeks - Feb. 5.
Stanford is the only team in the ACC with 3 players among the top 20 scorers - #1 Raynaud (20.9 ppg), #17 Blakes (14.9), & #18 Sellers (14.2). Wake has #4 Hunter Sallis (18.6) & #20 Cameron Hildreth (13.6). Raynaud is also the leader in rebounds with 11.5 rpg. Wake has #3 Tre'Von Spillers (8.8) and #19 Efton Reid (5.9). Blakes is #6 in assists with 5.1 apg and Hildreth is #13 (3.4). Sallis, Hildreth, & Spillers are all among the top 14 in minutes played, all with more than 32 per game. The Demon Deacons are among the top 3 teams in the ACC in scoring defense, FG (& 3pt FG)% defense, blocks, & steals. Stanford has the edge in all team rebounding stats, and in 3-pointers (both total and %). Both teams have a +2.4 turnover margin, tied for 4th in the league.
Sallis, Hildreth, Spillers, & Reid are certain starters. Sallis (#23, 6'5/185 Sr G) played 2 years at Gonzaga. Last season he was 1st team all-ACC & ACC Newcomer of the Year. Hildreth (#6, 6'4/195 Sr G) is a rarity - in his 4th year at Wake, 3 as a starter In fact, I heard that he is one of only 5 players in the ACC finishing his career this year with the same team he started with (not sure if Raynaud & Cal & SMU players are included in this stat - but still incredible to me even if it's only for the other 15 teams). Reid (#4, 7'0/250 Sr F/C) was a starter at LSU as a freshman, played a year at Gonzaga, and is in his 2nd year as a starter at Wake. He was 9th in the ACC in rebounds and blocks last season. Spillers (#25, 6'7/215 Sr F) was a 1st team All-American junior college player 2 years ago. Last year he was 1st team all- Sun Belt Conf. at Appalachian State.
Only 3 others played in their last game at Miami. Ty-Laur Johnson (#8, 6'0/170 So G) was the 5th starter. He played at Louisville last season. The 2 subs were #7 Parker Friedrichsen (6'4/185 So G) & #2 Juke Harris (6'7/200 Fr G). They have 3 injured players. Davin Cosby Jr. (#1, 6'5/210 So G, transfer from Alabama) & Churchill Abass (#55, 6'10/250 So C/F, transfer from DePaul) both missed the last 2 games and I have no idea when either is expected to return. Omaha Biliew (#0, 6'8/225 So F) has been out for 2 months. He was a McDonalds All-American, ranked #11 in his recruiting class. He played at Iowa State during his freshman year. According to a WFU message board, he will not play Weds., but is expected to play in the next game.
So Wake Forest has a veteran "core 4" and 3-6 young guys. Hopefully, Stanford can control the boards and take care of the ball as they did vs. UVa. As always, hitting threes will be big - this should be a game where Stanford can take advantage of the 3-point line, but they need to defend it better than they did on Saturday. And it would be nice to get solid contributions from 8 (or more) guys like they did on Saturday.
Stanford has played Wake only once, and I know a lot of you remember it well - 1997 NCAA tourney round of 32. Starting line-up was Brevin Knight, Kris Weems, Arthur Lee, Peter Sauer, & Tim Young. Mark Madsen, Pete Van Elswyk, David Moseley, & Mark Seaton came off the bench. Stanford pulled off the 72-66 upset against the Tim Duncan-led Demon Deacons. Those were the days! An upset this time would not be as monumental, but would be a big deal for this team.
Stanford is the only team in the ACC with 3 players among the top 20 scorers - #1 Raynaud (20.9 ppg), #17 Blakes (14.9), & #18 Sellers (14.2). Wake has #4 Hunter Sallis (18.6) & #20 Cameron Hildreth (13.6). Raynaud is also the leader in rebounds with 11.5 rpg. Wake has #3 Tre'Von Spillers (8.8) and #19 Efton Reid (5.9). Blakes is #6 in assists with 5.1 apg and Hildreth is #13 (3.4). Sallis, Hildreth, & Spillers are all among the top 14 in minutes played, all with more than 32 per game. The Demon Deacons are among the top 3 teams in the ACC in scoring defense, FG (& 3pt FG)% defense, blocks, & steals. Stanford has the edge in all team rebounding stats, and in 3-pointers (both total and %). Both teams have a +2.4 turnover margin, tied for 4th in the league.
Sallis, Hildreth, Spillers, & Reid are certain starters. Sallis (#23, 6'5/185 Sr G) played 2 years at Gonzaga. Last season he was 1st team all-ACC & ACC Newcomer of the Year. Hildreth (#6, 6'4/195 Sr G) is a rarity - in his 4th year at Wake, 3 as a starter In fact, I heard that he is one of only 5 players in the ACC finishing his career this year with the same team he started with (not sure if Raynaud & Cal & SMU players are included in this stat - but still incredible to me even if it's only for the other 15 teams). Reid (#4, 7'0/250 Sr F/C) was a starter at LSU as a freshman, played a year at Gonzaga, and is in his 2nd year as a starter at Wake. He was 9th in the ACC in rebounds and blocks last season. Spillers (#25, 6'7/215 Sr F) was a 1st team All-American junior college player 2 years ago. Last year he was 1st team all- Sun Belt Conf. at Appalachian State.
Only 3 others played in their last game at Miami. Ty-Laur Johnson (#8, 6'0/170 So G) was the 5th starter. He played at Louisville last season. The 2 subs were #7 Parker Friedrichsen (6'4/185 So G) & #2 Juke Harris (6'7/200 Fr G). They have 3 injured players. Davin Cosby Jr. (#1, 6'5/210 So G, transfer from Alabama) & Churchill Abass (#55, 6'10/250 So C/F, transfer from DePaul) both missed the last 2 games and I have no idea when either is expected to return. Omaha Biliew (#0, 6'8/225 So F) has been out for 2 months. He was a McDonalds All-American, ranked #11 in his recruiting class. He played at Iowa State during his freshman year. According to a WFU message board, he will not play Weds., but is expected to play in the next game.
So Wake Forest has a veteran "core 4" and 3-6 young guys. Hopefully, Stanford can control the boards and take care of the ball as they did vs. UVa. As always, hitting threes will be big - this should be a game where Stanford can take advantage of the 3-point line, but they need to defend it better than they did on Saturday. And it would be nice to get solid contributions from 8 (or more) guys like they did on Saturday.
Stanford has played Wake only once, and I know a lot of you remember it well - 1997 NCAA tourney round of 32. Starting line-up was Brevin Knight, Kris Weems, Arthur Lee, Peter Sauer, & Tim Young. Mark Madsen, Pete Van Elswyk, David Moseley, & Mark Seaton came off the bench. Stanford pulled off the 72-66 upset against the Tim Duncan-led Demon Deacons. Those were the days! An upset this time would not be as monumental, but would be a big deal for this team.