2021-22 Wake Forest Basketball Season - 25-9 (13-7), KP#33

[Brendan207]

Does anybody really think this team is going to advance in the NCAAT ? This doesn't seem like a Sweet Sixteen team unless they get really hot. We turn the ball over like crazy.

We almost beat Duke in Cameron. Winning two NCAA Tournament games doesn't really seem like a stretch. When I look at the list of #1 and #2 seeds it seems like a bigger stretch but our team has a lot of talent. If we play our best basketball and the other team doesn't I think we can beat almost anyone in the field. That being said we often do not play our best basketball, so I could easily see us crashing out in game 1. Or putting up a dud in game 2. I'm just thrilled that Forbes has us in this position so soon and the team has been so fun to watch for most of the season.

 

[06deacon]

Does anybody really think this team is going to advance in the NCAAT ? This doesn't seem like a Sweet Sixteen team unless they get really hot. We turn the ball over like crazy.

I mean, shitty ass mid majors make the sweet 16 every year with far more fatal flaws than this team. We can defend well and have multiple scoring options. Why not us?

 

[DunkaRooDeac]

I mean I think we have a chance - But agreed that it's definitely not likely. Guess it just depends on the placement but I truthfully don't see us getting past the second round (praying we get there).

Either way, I'm just grateful that we're even talking about how far we can get in the big dance. Let's hope they have a couple more surprises for us :dancindeac:

 

[Brendan207]

And also... GEORGIA TECH WON THE ACC TOURNAMENT LAST YEAR AND NOW THEY'RE THE 15 SEED???? First of all I don't even remember them winning the ACCT last year or being good. Crazy. Second of all what the hell happened between 2021 and 2022 that they fell so hard.

 

[PhDeac]

I mean, shitty ass mid majors make the sweet 16 every year with far more fatal flaws than this team. We can defend well and have multiple scoring options. Why not us?

Exactly. Our basketball program has been so impotent in the postseason that we treat regular basic accomplishments like the ACC Semis and the Sweet 16 as near-impossible tasks.

 

[PaddyWF]

If Williamson and Walton play like this, anything can happen. Last 5 games TOs are at a reasonable level.

8-seeds: 70/144 make second-round. 13/144 make the S16
9-seeds: 74/144 make second-round. 8/144 make the S16
10-seeds: 57/144 make the second-round. 23/144 make the S16.
11-seeds: 54/140 make the second-round. 24/140 make the S16.

Given how our team is, rather roll the dice on higher upside as a 10/11 seed vs. a more favorable first-round 8/9 match and a brutal second-round game. Can't imagine any 7, 8, 9 seed wants to play us.

 

[deacvision7]

Does anybody really think this team is going to advance in the NCAAT ? This doesn't seem like a Sweet Sixteen team unless they get really hot. We turn the ball over like crazy.

A team that plays hard D, can shoot it from outside, and has match-up nightmares all over the court?

I would be terrified of drawing a team like this Wake Forest if I was a high seed

 

[cheeseheads12]

And also... GEORGIA TECH WON THE ACC TOURNAMENT LAST YEAR AND NOW THEY'RE THE 15 SEED???? First of all I don't even remember them winning the ACCT last year or being good. Crazy. Second of all what the hell happened between 2021 and 2022 that they fell so hard.

It was a fluke run. I recall UVA having to forfeit the semis due to the rona and then in the championship game FSU played like it was their first time seeing a basketball and turned it over a gazillion times.

 

[saus21]

A team that plays hard D, can shoot it from outside, and has match-up nightmares all over the court?

I would be terrified of drawing a team like this Wake Forest if I was a high seed

Yep. If we can keep the other team off the offensive boards and limit turnovers we can go along way but the turnover thing is a concern. Our defense and offense is elite as far as what the stats tell us. Acc tourney will be very interesting

 

[Deac83]

Other than having a bad day, our biggest issue is playing a full 40 min. Do that and who knows.

 

[Biff Tannen]

We're probably going to play a 6 or 7 seed in the first round, maybe an 8.

If we win that game it will be our best win of the year, by far. I don't see us running off two or three of our best wins of the year in a row, at the end of the season.

 

[Biff Tannen]

I guess we'll learn about Forbes' tournament coaching ability as he learns too.

 

[Pilchard]

Forbes had an awful WF team ready for ND last year.

 

[Biff Tannen]

Did he win ? Because that's what matters.

Nobody's going to be congratulating Forbes years from now because he almost knocked off the #8 seed in the NCAAT on a Thursday afternoon.

 

[LilburnDeac]

We are getting ready to go on a 10 game win streak- both ACC Tourney and the NCAA. LaRavia will win the ACC Tourney MVP and Williams will win ACC POY and Final Four MVP. And the team will be forever known as ManMan and the Miracles as a giant FU to Danny Manning.

 

[thatguy2016]

mff

 

[Pilchard]

Did he win ? Because that's what matters.

Nobody's going to be congratulating Forbes years from now because he almost knocked off the #8 seed in the NCAAT on a Thursday afternoon.

You are clueless if you fail to appreciate how a coach prepares his team without regard to the talent disparity between the teams involved of the game, which typically decides wins and losses. John Wooden couldn't have made a run with last year's WF roster. Forbes had the team ready to play for the ACCT, and it took an ND buzzer beater for ND to win. Liked what I saw in last year's tourney prep. Feel like its a window on what future Forbes teams will look in a tournament setting. Any idiot can just rely on "wins" only to analyze team prep. It's a hollow analysis.

 

[Biff Tannen]

Lol, you’re just trying to make up for telling everyone Williams isn’t any good.

 

[Pilchard]

I simply motivated Alondes with the "Nothing Burger" moniker.... Appears to have worked.

 

[PhDeac]

I started looking to see if Pilchard said something negative about Walton comparable to the "nothing burger" statement. I have to give Pilch props for this post.

Walton is a much better shooter than he has showed so far. 3s were never a big part of his game, but last year, he went 9 for 19 from 3 (47%). So far, this year, Walton has taken 12 more threes than all of last season, and he has made 3 less than last year (6 for 31). SImilarly, last year, Walton was a 85% FT, and it was over 58 attempts. This year, he is 64%, Like Whitt, shooting issues have gotten into Walton's head. Walton has a solid stroke. His shooting percentages have to improve over the rest of the season.

Since this post, Walton is 15-19 (79%) from 3 and 18-24 (75%) from the line. Pilch nailed it.