Wake Forest defeats Indiana.

[TBSpyder]

Wow, this was unexpected. I confess, I was absolutely floored, when JMU won our opener, on our court. I didn't think JMU was a very good team. When we beat Wake, they appeared to be a weak opponent, but we did beat them on their court. Since then, we've seen some major upsets. There does appear to be more parity among the top 100 teams, than perhaps, ever. So, I'm at danger of becoming more ebullient. Could the Spiders beat anyone in the nation? I'd say yes, let's start with West Virginia.

 

[Ulla1]

Roll Spide! OSC

 

[97spiderfan]

Said in the other thread that I thought Wake is going to get better and have some big wins this year. I didn't expect it to be their next game at the number 13 team in the country.

 

[MolivaManiac]

Whoa!

 

[Spider Bob79]

I just posted the same. Let's Go UR!!!!

 

[wr70beh]

As Elvis named his band "T.C.B.", we need to TCB starting Thursday. Let 'em know you're there.

 

[Spiderbymarriage]

Very nice!

 

[Spideroldie]

The most important "take-away:" from the Wake win vs.Indiana, and the various other upsets so far, is that UR is fully capable of beating West Virginia, Florida and Northern Iowa. We just have to totally bring our "A-game," and especially remember to play very tough defense and to REBOUND. It would also help if we can CONTINUE to do what we have done well, play good offensively, and keep hitting our shots. If we continue to improve, especially on defense, very good things will happen!

 

[WebSpinner]

let's calm down, we did lose to umwcah afterall which means, even though we might be able to beat anyone, we can lose to anyone as well. not debbie downer or even her bro, dougie, just some thoughts of realism for some of you. just don't want to see some of you out on the ledge crying if things don't quite work out like you are imagining them.

 

[SpiderTrap]

I am not buying into Wake. Indiana is a good win - no doubt about that, but the Wake we beat at Wake looked terrible.

I still don't see them finishing above the bottom 4 of the ACC.

 

[TBSpyder]

Folks need to remember that Wake is minus two starters, who could reappear on the court at any time. Further, John Collins is a beast. He played just 13 minutes against Indiana, and was their leading rebounder, but racked up 4 personal fouls. If he learns to avoid the fouls, and gets 20 minutes a game, and CMM and Hudson are on the court, I think they will do better in the ACC, than expected.

 

[keefusb]

After watching that game, I was shocked that Indiana was ranked #13. They played terrible defense, they got killed on the boards, and just generally didn't look like a Big 10 team. Wake really didn't look a lot better, but they got a lot of second chance shots, and stayed close enough to the Hoosiers to be able to close it out at the end.

Don't get me wrong, I think beating IU makes our road win at Wake look a LOT better. Now if WF can beat a VERY talented Vandy team, then I think our win at WF will more than balance out our crap loss to the Barneys.

 

[Eight Legger]

It's great for us that Wake won, but at the same time, this was in that Maui tourney, which is played in a glorified HS gym like most of these holiday tourneys. So take it with a grain of salt. Good news is that it still counts!

 

[spiderman]

doesn't matter if they play on blacktop. if they beat IU, they're pretty good. or at least were that day. and UNI? any team that beats a #1 is ok in my book. that doesn't happen every day. they have to be a very good team.

 

[TBSpyder]

I don't see where the venue really matters. In the heat of the game, you don't hear the crowd, or notice the size of the arena. Only when play is halted, are you aware of the environment. A win is a win, regardless of the venue.

 

[Eight Legger]

Of course the venue matters. How many times do you think UNI beats UNC if they play 10 times at UNC instead of at UNI? How many times would Wake beat Indiana at Indiana? That's my only point.

It's much easier to beat these ranked teams in a very low-energy environment, which is what Maui and lots of other tourney sites offer. Not knocking Wake, just saying.

 

[fan2011]

Of course the venue matters. How many times do you think UNI beats UNC if they play 10 times at UNC instead of at UNI? How many times would Wake beat Indiana at Indiana? That's my only point.

It's much easier to beat these ranked teams in a very low-energy environment, which is what Maui and lots of other tourney sites offer. Not knocking Wake, just saying.

Agreed, home court advantage is huge which is why programs like Duke rarely leave their home courts outside of conference play. Duke has played 1 true OOC away game in the past 3 seasons, and won't play one this season either. Look at what has happened to top 5 teams like UNC and UVA when they went on the road this year. Home court advantage is huge, and makes our win over Wake even more impressive.

 

[mcspider]

Agreed, home court advantage is huge which is why programs like Duke rarely leave their home courts outside of conference play. Duke has played 1 true OOC away game in the past 3 seasons, and won't play one this season either. Look at what has happened to top 5 teams like UNC and UVA when they went on the road this year. Home court advantage is huge, and makes our win over Wake even more impressive.

From a competitor standpoint, if I were one of the big boy teams, I would want to have the attitude that I will take the game anywhere and beat you anyway. But I agree that playing at home more often than not is what they do. They play it safe and make more money that way. It's like running your basketball team like a business more than as a sports team. I know Temple is not one of the big boys, but as much as I wanted to beat his teams every time I always had total respect for the way Cheney scheduled when he coached there. And at least partly because of that he earned quite a bit of respect for his teams.

 

[spiderman]

he had to play "anyone, anywhere", he didn't choose to. big programs don't play at Temple. difference is he won. he was good, and he had some great teams.

 

[keefusb]

Vandy looks like they will have a great team this year, perhaps right behind Kentucky in the SEC. They destroyed WF last night.

 

[Ulla1]

Apparently Wake was without two of their starters. OSC

 

[keefusb]

Understood, but I think Vandy will make a deep run this season.

 

[urmite]

Apparently Wake was without two of their starters. OSC

In every game so far this season...

 

[spiderstudent17]

Wake beat UCLA. Pretty good performance by them, hopefully they continue playing like this to make our win against them mean something at the end of the season