Wake Forest crunch time

SCOUTING REPORT

The Demon Deacons didn't exactly dominate on the way to their first outright regular-season ACC title in 41 years. Nine of their 14 victories over league opponents were by 10 points or fewer. What has earned them a No. 2 seed is consistency, team chemistry, tough play on the boards and, of course, Howard.

Howard, the likely ACC player of the year, gets the lion's share of the attention, but Wake's tenacious rebounding has been just as big a factor in its 24 victories. The Deacons easily led Division I in rebound margin, averaging 41.7 boards to opponents' 31.8. Wake Forest is coming off a lackluster ACC tournament, having lost 87-83 to N.C. State in the semifinals, a day after having a tough time shaking off Florida State in the quarterfinals. But that may not mean much heading into the NCAA Tournament: The Deacons have responded well to adversity through much of the season, and have yet to drop two games in a row. While Howard is the undisputed leader, Wake has proven it can win without him. Against Duke on Feb. 13, Howard fouled out with 4:54 remaining in regulation, but his teammates rallied to get him his first victory over the Blue Devils, 94-80 in double overtime.

CRUNCH TIME

When the game is on the line, who do you want ...

TAKING THE LAST SHOT: Vytas Danelius leads the team with a .533 percentage from the field, hitting 14 of 23 shots in consecutive wins over Florida State and Clemson. At 6 feet 8, Danelius is hard to block, and his increased proficiency from 3-point range (16-for-39 this season) makes him a dangerous option.

AT THE FREE THROW LINE: Josh Howard hit six straight free throws in the final 1.7 seconds as Wake staved off N.C. State 78-72 on March 8 to win the school's first outright ACC title since 1962. As a big man, Howard is going to be fouled, and he has responded by hitting 84 percent from the line, including an 11-for-12 effort against Georgia Tech and 10-for-12 against Florida State.

HANDLING THE BALL: Sophomore Taron Downey is the man who makes the offense run. The left-hander has 44 assists and just 16 turnovers in the past seven games for a team with a lot of big offensive targets. The team leader in minutes finished sixth in the ACC in assists.

GUARDING THE OPPONENTS BEST PLAYER: If the best player is a big man, he will draw a tough assignment in Howard, a 6-6 forward who is as comfortable inside as stepping out to defend the medium-range jumper. Typically guards lead in steals, but Howard has double the total of the next-best Deacon with 59, and 208 at the school.

Who do you not want ...

TAKING THE LAST SHOT: Granted Eric Williams, a 6-9 freshman center, likely will not be thrust into such a position, because if he is, the Deacons are in dire straits. He has has a .530 field goal percentage, but he only has taken 168 shots and as a freshman, does not have much experience in pressure situations.

AT THE FREE THROW LINE: Williams again. The freshman is hitting just 61 percent from the line, 55-for-90, and that's simply not acceptable for a big man.

HANDLING THE BALL: Danelius can run, can create shots and is dangerous on the perimeter because he is tall and tough to block, but he is not the ideal ball-handler. His 66 turnovers attests to the fact he needs to let Downey hold on until he's open.

GUARDING THE OPPONENTS BEST PLAYER: Howard denies it, but he might have worn down in the final minutes of the ACC semifinals against N.C. State, which Wake lost 87-83. For a player who means so much to the young Deacons, he needs to be fresh.

THE COACH

Skip Prosser knows how to give a pep talk and he's adaptable and inventive. He has been amazingly successful, coaching in 16 postseason tournaments in 18 years as an assistant and head coach at Loyola, Baltimore, Xavier and Wake Forest. He substitutes liberally with his team of role players and works the clock well late in games.

THE TEAM

Wake has had a lot of experience is close games this season, including an 81-72 win over Maryland and a 94-80 double-overtime victory over Duke. Then again, there was the 68-61 loss to Marquette and 87-83 loss to N.C. State in the ACC Tournament.

FUN FACT

TOURNAMENT HISTOR

In a moment of infamy, Wake Forest, the seventh seed, had the lowest-scoring half in the NCAA Tournament since the implementation of the shot clock in 1985-86, making just 3 of 25 shots in a 79-63 loss to No. 10 Butler in the Midwest Region in 2001. The Demon Deacon's 53 second-half points were not enough to overcome a Butler team that won its first NCAA tourney game since 1962. The loss was a shocking one for a Wake team that began the season 12-0

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