Wake Forest basketball returned to the confines of Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum Saturday, looking to end a two-game losing streak. The home cooking worked in their favor as they defeated the Syracuse Orange, 99-70.
This is Wake’s fourth victory all-time in the series, while extending their home winning streak to 12 games. The home winning streak is their longest since 1999, when they won 11 straight.
Junior guard Hunter Sallis led the Deacs (14-7, 6-4 ACC) with 24 points, while junior guard Cameron Hildreth set a career-high with 12 rebounds. Those rebounds, along with 13 points, gave Hildreth his first double-double of the season. As a team, this was their best shooting performance (66% from the field) since Nov. 13, 2019 in a victory against UNC Asheville. Sophomore guard JJ Starling led the Orange (14-8, 5-6 ACC) with 15 points, shooting 5-of-8 in the second half.
Takeaway #1: There’s no place like home
One thing that the ACC boasts is some of the best home-court advantages in the country. The one going under the radar since the beginning of the 2021-22 season is at Wake Forest. The victory against Syracuse improved their record to 43-5 inside the LJVM, ranking second in the country in that time span.
In the last couple home games, Wake Forest basketball has been lighting it up from beyond the arc. In their last six home games, they have shot above 35% from three point range. Including the Syracuse game, the Deacs have shot 53.3% on 75 attempts.
Another aspect that has translated well in front of the home crowd was their attacking the boards, as seven of their top ten rebounding games have been in front of friendly crowds.
While the offensive rebounds weren’t as prevalent, the 12 boards by Hildreth and eight by junior forward/center Efton Reid III helped to facilitate 26 points on the incusing possession.
“We dominated the defensive glass,” said fourth-year head coach Steve Forbes. “[That] really helped us get out in transition and get easy baskets.”
Sharing the ball has also started to improve at home, with the Deacs recording double-digit assists numbers in their last four home games. Wake has recorded 36 in their last two home games, with 16 against Syracuse.
“We were really unselfish, had some good moments, offensively where we just shared and got wide open shots,” said Forbes.
Takeaway #2: An unacceptable performance
First-year head coach Adrian Autry didn’t mince words in his post-game press conference. When asked what had him so upset, his quick response of “the whole game” could be felt throughout the whole media room.
One piece of the team missing is junior center Naheem McLeod, who’s been out since the Duke game on Jan. 2. The loss drops the Orange to 4-4 without McLeod in the lineup.
The Philadelphia, PA native averaged just over 4 rebounds per game and shot 59.4% from the field on 32 attempts, but only recorded double-digit points once. His presence, however, was able to give his teammates opportunities to score. The Orange have failed to score over 80 points in their last nine games, yet allowing their opponents over 80 points five times.
Their three-point defense had been going strong, with holding their opponents to under 40% in six consecutive games. In their last two games, however, Syracuse allowed Boston College to shoot 50% and Wake Forest to their highest percentage of the season at 63.2%.
Another player that Wake Forest was able to shut down was (year position) Judah Mintz, who had his lowest scoring output in four games with 13 points.
The Wake Forest defensive effort led to Mintz making fewer than 10 field goal attempts in just the five games in the season. The Fort Washington, MD native was the third leading scorer in the ACC, but was outperformed by two Wake players in the top 10.
“We had a great team defensive effort on Judah Mintz, who’s a handful to defend,” said Forbes. “We changed the ball screen coverage for him and I thought it was pretty effective.”
Autry will need to get the team on the same page if they want to make their first NCAA Tournament since 2021.
Takeaway #3: Hunter Sallis continues to help lead Wake’s offense
When he left the court on Jan. 6 after shooting 33% in the overtime victory against Miami, there might have been a little doubt if he could bounce back from that performance.
Well, for people who don’t see themselves as fans of Wake Forest basketball, Hunter decided to prove everyone wrong as his 7-for-9 performance against Syracuse was his best shooting night of the season. Not only that, this was his 11th game shooting 50% or higher.
“We knew that we [would] have open ones today,” said Sallis when asked about his complete shooting night. He also spoke of the confidence of not only himself to make those shots, but the confidence in his teammates to make them as well.
Even senior forward Andrew Carr even talked about how hard they were to stop in transition. The numbers back up the statement as they outscored Syracuse on the fast break 22-17.
The West Chester, PA native scored 16 points, giving him six straight games with double-digit scoring. This has allowed him to rebound from a three game stretch where he scored 14 points combined.
Wake Forest will look to take this momentum to Atlanta to try and break a four game losing streak against Georgia Tech. Syracuse, on the other hand, will try to put a halt to their two game losing streak as they start a three game home-stand on Wednesday.
Next game for the Syracuse Orange: vs. Louisville (Feb. 7 – 7 p.m.)
Next game for the Wake Forest Demon Deacons: vs. Georgia Tech (Feb. 6 – 7 p.m.)