Will Demon Deacons still make the Big Dance?

GREENSBORO, N.C. — When the NCAA tournament selection committee announces its field of 65 teams late Sunday afternoon, Wake Forest will likely be among those invited. But the Demon Deacons certainly aren’t making anything easy on themselves.

Fifth-seeded Wake rolled out a desultory effort against 12th-seeded Miami, dropping an ugly 83-62 defeat inside half-full Greensboro Coliseum.

Thanks to a No. 31 RPI and No. 28 strength of schedule entering Thursday, the Deacons are in solid position for an at-large bid. However, coach Dino Gaudio has serious reason for concern, considering Wake will enter the tournament losing five of its last six.

Only Sunday’s 70-65 win over Clemson prevented a six-game losing streak.

“I’m not what the guys in Indianapolis will be talking about. But all I look at is our body of work,” Gaudio said. “I’d hope our body of work would be significant enough. After the Clemson game we had a 31 RPI, our non-conference strength of schedule was incredibly high, having won at Gonzaga, vs. Xavier and Richmond, nine wins in the ACC. But it remains to be seen. We have to wait and see like everyone else.”

Miami shot 51.7 percent from the field, nailing eight of 17 3-pointers, made 83.3 percent of its free throws and outrebounded Wake 39-34 even without senior forward Dwayne Collins, who missed the game with a leg injury. Gaudio said the Hurricanes “beat us in every aspect of the game.”

“We had a look in our eye earlier in the year when we had our backs against the wall that we weren’t going to lose the game,” he said. “I was disappointed we couldn’t string stops together. A lot of times I would come to the bench and before I could even speak, kids on the bench would say, ‘Three straight stops!’ I didn’t hear that this afternoon.”

In Gaudio’s words, postseason games come down to “energy, toughness and togetherness.” Apparently he didn’t see those traits from star forward Al-Farouq Aminu, who played just seven minutes in the second half and scored 11 points. Aminu has struggled the past two weeks, scoring seven points against North Carolina and none at Florida State.

“I was playing the guys I thought gave us the best chance of winning,” Gaudio said. “I didn’t think he was playing well, didn’t think he was shooting well. I put the guys out there that give us the best opportunity to win. Therein lies why he sat.”

WIN ONE FOR SKIP

Growing up in Winston-Salem, Miami redshirt freshman forward Reggie Johnson wanted to play for Wake Forest, and in Skip Prosser’s eyes, the feeling was mutual. But after Prosser died suddenly of a heart attack three years ago, Johnson got lost in the ensuing recruiting shuffle and wound up at Miami.

That made Thursday truly special. Playing 30 minutes from home, Johnson scored a career-high 22 points in the Hurricanes’ rout of Wake.

With senior forward Dwayne Collins sidelined with a leg injury (he’ll miss today’s quarterfinal against Duke, too) he logged a career-high 28 minutes, hitting all eight shots and six free throws that he took.

“I believe that Skip was watching,” Johnson said. “He was going for the Deacons, but looking at me. It freaks me out, (the thought) that he used to be the coach at Wake Forest. I’m happy we got the win and it couldn’t have been better for me.”

CAVS SAY ‘BYE’ TO BC

When Virginia suspended star forward Sylven Landesberg for academic reasons this week, some media members termed the Cavaliers’ ACC tournament first-round matchup with Boston College a “bye.”

With good reason. The Cavaliers ended the regular season on a nine-game losing streak with Landesberg, who averaged 17.3 points and 4.9 rebounds per game. Add in senior guard Calvin Baker’s departure due to family illness, and there was little reason to think they’d even challenge the eighth-seeded Eagles.

Instead, they built an 11-point second-half lead and hung on for a 68-62 upset in the tournament opener. Virginia (15-15) will play top-seeded Duke in today’s first quarterfinal.

“We’ve had some struggles, we’ve had some setbacks, but leading up to this game, we’ve had three really spirited practices,” UVA coach Tony Bennett said. “They have come together and they’ve worked hard and there’s been a good attitude. You have to do that when your tank isn’t full. I was really proud of the way they handled it, and I’m happy for all these guys.”

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