Game Preview: Virginia Basketball vs. Wake Forest

The Cavaliers take aim at their tenth-straight victory over the Demon Deacons

Author:
Matt Newton
Publish date:
Jan 15, 2022 3:06 AM EST

The Virginia Cavaliers welcome the Wake Forest Demon Deacons to John Paul Jones Arena for a Saturday ACC clash. UVA is coming off of a hard-fought 54-52 victory over Virginia Tech, while the Demon Deacons fell to Duke 76-64 in Winston-Salem in their last game on Wednesday night.

Game Details

Who: Virginia Cavaliers (10-6, 4-2) vs. Wake Forest Demon Deacons (13-4, 3-3)

When: Saturday, January 15th at 4:30pm

Where: John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville, Virginia

How to watch: Regional Sports Networks

All-time series: Wake Forest leads 70-69

Last meeting: Virginia defeated Wake Forest 70-61 on January 6th, 2021 in Charlottesville.

By the Numbers

Virginia Cavaliers vs. Wake Forest Demon Deacons
Virginia	By the Numbers	Wake Forest
62.7	Points Per Game	79.1
58.4	Opponent PPG	69.1
45.4%	Field Goal %	47.7%
40.4%	Opponent FG %	41.2%
32.1%	Three-Point FG %	32.3%
34.7%	Opponent 3PT FG %	31.7%
-16	Rebounding Margin	+54
+19	Turnover Margin	0
83rd	NET Ranking	55th
90th	RPI	82nd

Opponent Breakdown: Wake Forest

Notable results: Oregon State (80-77 OT W), LSU (75-61 L), Northwestern (77-73 OT W), Virginia Tech (79-53 W), Louisville (73-69 L), Miami (92-84 L), Florida State (76-54 W), Syracuse (77-74 OT W), Duke (76-64 L)

Wake Forest began the season 11-1, including an impressive 80-61 win at Virginia Tech and its only loss was a 75-61 defeat at the hands of the now 12th-ranked LSU Tigers on November 27th. The Demon Deacons have had more of a mixed bag of results in ACC play, standing at 3-3 with losses to Louisville, Miami, and Duke and wins over Virginia Tech, Florida State, and Syracuse.

The Demon Deacons are led by Alondes Williams, who is currently the ACC's leading scorer at 20.7 points per game. The grad transfer from Oklahoma is shooting 54.8% from the field and also averages 6.7 rebounds per game. Joining Williams in double figures are junior forward Jake Laravia (14.8 ppg) and senior guard Daivien Williamson (12.5 ppg).

Like Virginia, Wake Forest is not very strong in the perimeter shooting department, as the Demon Deacons and Cavaliers rank 12th and 13th in the ACC in three-point shooting, respectively. Unlike UVA, however, Wake is still scoring the ball at a prolific rate inside the arc. The Deacs score 79.1 points per game, trailing only Duke (82.8 ppg) in the ACC in that category. In addition to Williams, Laravia, and Williamson, Wake Forest gets significant contributions from role players Isaiah Mucius, Khadim Sy, and Dallas Walton.

Watch: Tony Bennett previews UVA's game against Wake Forest

What to Watch For

Tempo

As usual, Virginia plays at the slowest tempo in all of college basketball, averaging just under 62 possessions per game (358th out of 358 D1 basketball teams). Meanwhile, Wake Forest is nearly a polar opposite, averaging 74.0 possessions per game, 49th-most in the NCAA and most in the ACC. Under Tony Bennett, the Cavaliers are usually quite successful in forcing their opponents to play at their slow tempo, so it will be interesting to see how the run-and-gun Demon Deacon offense responds to the slow pace. Something to note is that when Wake Forest played at Virginia Tech, who also plays at a very slow pace (344th in tempo), the Demon Deacons were still able to operate at a high level offensively, hanging 80 points on the ACC's No. 1 defense at Cassell Coliseum.

Containing Alondes Williams

Alondes Williams has been a force to be reckoned with for Wake Forest this season. The ACC's leading scorer has scored 30+ points three times and 25+ points five times this season, including in each of the last two games. Williams is very much the engine that makes the high-powered Wake Forest offense run, as he is also the team's leading assist man, averaging five helpers per game. Limiting Williams' production and preventing him from getting hot is the top priority for Virginia's defense on Saturday.

Virginia win streak

Wake Forest leads the all-time series between these two programs by just one game, 70-69. Virginia has drawn the deficit to just one by winning nine straight games against Wake and 10 of the last 11 meetings. The Cavaliers will look to pick up their tenth-consecutive victory over the Demon Deacons and tie the all-time series at 70 wins apiece.