Although he has been known to drink a beer only on rare occasions, Coach Dino Gaudio of Wake Forest might be accused of using statistics like a drunken man uses a lamp post.
According to the Scottish writer Andrew Lang, that would be for support rather than illumination.
But if it works, it works, which is why Gaudio and his staff have embraced a certain ratings system to gauge the improvements that the 11th-ranked Deacons have made on defense from last season.
The Pomeroy Ratings, designed by Ken Pomeroy, a basketball writer and mathematician, rank teams by various statistical categories. The one that Gaudio and his staff have seized upon to motivate and inspire the Deacons is raw defensive efficiency.
Going into today's game against Wright State, set for 4 p.m. at Joel Coliseum, the Deacons rank third in the nation in that category, behind only Louisville and Ohio State.
It's only one of several yardsticks that the Wake Forest coaches use to chart the Deacons' defensive performance -- field-goal-percentage defense and opponents' points per possession are among the others -- but Gaudio has made a point of mentioning it after several games this season.
He said that it has been a rallying point for the Deacons.
"I think they're starting to take pride in their defense," Gaudio said. "We post that up and talk about it."
Gaudio said he likes Pomeroy's system because it judges a team on points allowed per 100 possessions. More deliberate teams, such as Washington State or Air Force, are usually going to give up fewer points because their games consist of fewer possessions.
"I think it's a more accurate yardstick," Gaudio said. "I think when everybody is treated the same, and they go by 100 possessions per team, then it's more equal.
"Teams that don't have as many possessions in a game, or teams that hold the basketball, I think sometimes the numbers are skewed."
Another category is adjusted defensive efficiency, which takes into account the strength of a schedule by charting how a team would perform against an average opponent on a neutral floor. In that category, the Deacons rank 11th.
Gaudio's main selling point to his team is the improvement from past seasons. Last year, in Gaudio's first season as head coach, the Deacons ranked No. 66 in raw defensive efficiency and No. 77 in raw defensive efficiency.
In 2006-07, Skip Prosser's last as the Deacons' head coach, they ranked No. 241 and No. 88, respectively.
This year's Pomeroy Ratings also rank Wake Forest No. 63 in raw offensive efficiency and No. 74 in adjusted offensive efficiency. But Gaudio said that there's a reason for his selectivity.
"I think we can score the ball," Gaudio said. "If we can rebound and defend, those are big things for us."
The Deacons, coming off semester break, will play their first game since beating Bucknell 81-52 last Saturday. Wright State, after losing its first six games, has improved to 2-6 with back-to-back victories over Toledo (50-35) and Arkansas-Little Rock (62-55).
Brad Brownell, who had an impressive four-year run at UNC Wilmington (82-40 with two CAA championships) is in his third year as head coach of Wright State. The Raiders finished 23-10 in 2006-07 and 21-10 in 2007-08.
Vaughn Duggins, a 6-3 guard who made All-Horizon League last season, leads the Raiders with 11.8 points a game, but is shooting only 36 percent from the floor and 22 percent from 3-point range. Cory Cooperwood, a 6-7 junior transfer from Kinsett/Wallace State Community College, is averaging 10.9 points and a team-high 5.8 rebounds.
Gaudio said he expects a deliberate tempo.
"I don't care what their record says, they are a very well-coached team," Gaudio said. "Brownell does a great job with them. They run motion on offense. They take their time. They set multiple screens during a possession and they'll guard you in the half court. They're a very good defensive team.
"It'll be a challenge for us coming off exams."
■ Dan Collins can be reached at 727-7323 or at dcollins@wsjournal.com.
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