The arena will be hostile, but Wake Forest should at least be comfortable with the pace of tonight's game at East Carolina.
"Contrary to what we've been playing lately, they are going to push the ball up the floor," Coach Dino Gaudio said. "They like to play a little faster."
The 10th-ranked Deacons, who improved to 10-0 with Friday's 86-79 victory at Richmond, average 83.6 points a game. The Pirates, who slipped to 8-2 with an 87-76 loss at N.C. State on Dec. 17, average 81.9.
But there is a dramatic difference in modes of attack. Wake Forest averages 11.8 3-point attempts a game. East Carolina averages 25.2.
"They shoot just ton of threes," Gaudio said. "Forty-two percent of their shots are 3-point attempts. So defensively we've got to get back in transition and we have to do a good job guarding the 3-point line."
Sophomore Brock Young, a nephew of former Deacons' guard Danny Young, leads the nation with 8.3 assists a game. His main targets are Sam Hinnant, a 6-4 senior who averages 17.5 points a game, and James Legan, a 6-3 senior who averages 14.5.
L.D. Williams, the Deacons' best perimeter defender, will likely be assigned to Hinnant, who is shooting 41 percent from the floor and 33 percent from 3-point range.
"He just has really deep range," Gaudio said. "He flies off those screens and elevates and shoots threes.
"If they shoot a high percentage of threes, it's not good for us. That's how they can beat us."
The Deacons will have a week off before their next game at home against Radford.
"If we can somehow get this one and go into Christmas 11-0 and feeling good about ourselves, that would be a nice feather in the cap for these guys," Gaudio said.
Game day
Wake Forest at East Carolina
• Site, time: Minges Coliseum, Greenville, 7 p.m.
• TV/radio: MASN and WITN-TV, WBRF 98.1, WPCM 920.
• Of note: The Deacons didn't pick the best of times to make their first trip to East Carolina. Mack McCarthy, in his second season as East Carolina's head coach, has assembled one of the most impressive teams in school history. The Pirates are 8-2, with their only losses coming at home against George Mason and at N.C. State. Wake Forest is also off to a strong start in Dino Gaudio's second season as head coach. The Deacons are second in the nation with 44.2 rebounds a game and lead the ACC with a rebounding margin of plus 11.3. They're shooting 52 percent from the floor and 69 percent from the line. Wake Forest has won all five previous games against East Carolina.
Marquette at N.C. State
• Site, time: RBC Center, Raleigh, 7 p.m.
• TV/radio: ESPNU Ch. 143, WIFM 100.9, WSJS 600
• Of note: After an early season diet of teams such as UNC Greensboro, Winston-Salem State and Lipscomb, the Wolfpack will play a Marquette team that is ranked No. 24 in the nation and has a 9-2 record. This will be State's last game before the Christmas break. Marquette's team knickname is the politically correct Golden Eagles after years of being known as the Warriors. Marquette's two losses have come on neutral courts against Dayton and Tennessee. This is the first true road game of the season for the Golden Eagles. Marquette is led by two big, physical senior guards, Wesley Mathews (20.4 ppg) and Jerel McNeal (17.4 ppg.). State is led by two 6-9 inside players, Ben McCauley (15.3 ppg.) and Brandon Costner (13.0 ppg.).
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