UM is 1-11 on road at Wake Forest, faces another tough game Saturday vs Demon Deacons
Plane rides home from Winston Salem, North Carolina, have not been much fun for the Hurricanes over the years.
Miami is 1-11 on the road against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons, with the lone victory by a single point, 74-73, on Feb. 9, 2011.
The Canes will try to end the long road losing streak on Saturday (3 p.m., Bally Sports Sun), but it will not be easy.
The Demon Deacons are 20-5 (10-4 ACC) and are tied with Duke and Notre Dame for the most wins in the conference. They are 9-2 in their past 11 games after losing 92-84 to Miami on New Year’s Day. They are ranked No. 25 in the coaches’ poll and rank No. 28 on KenPom, which rates its offense and defense both in the top 50 nationally.
“Right now, I think they may the best team in the ACC,” UM coach Jim Larranaga said. “They have Alondes Williams, who is leading the league in scoring and in assists. If he finishes the season that way, he’ll be the only player in conference history to do that. They’ve got one great player quarterbacking their team.”
The combination of Williams and a big front court makes Wake Forest one of the top teams in the country, Larranaga said.
“They’ve got tremendous size with Dallas Walton, Jake LaRavia, Isaiah Mucius and Khadim Sy,” he said. “They are very big and skillful up front. They’ve got a very well-balanced team. Not only could they win the ACC, but they have a shot at winning the national championship, I think.”
UM guard Isaiah Wong expects one of the toughest games of the season on Saturday.
“They’re a good team, they have one of the top players in the ACC, they’re on a winning streak so we’ve got a tough game going over there because they play best at home,” Wong said. “We’ve got to stick to what we do. It’s going to be a good game.”
The 92 points the Hurricanes scored against the Demon Deacons earlier this season is the highest point total of the season for Miami, which shot a season-best 61.5 percent (32-of-52) in that game.
But Larranaga expects a tougher test against Wake Forest this time around.
“I thought they were really good when we played them the first time and they’re even better this time,” he said. “And they’re better because they’ve had more games under their belt to figure out what they want to do and Alondes Williams has grown into his role as the premiere leader in the conference. They’re a tough out for anybody.”
Miami is 13-13 all-time against Wake Forest, including 8-5 under Larrañaga.
The Hurricanes (17-7, 8-4 ACC) are coming off a seven-point home win over Georgia Tech on Wednesday.
Sixth-year senior forward Sam Waardenburg played one of his best games with 19 points, eight rebounds and a career-high-tying five assists in a season-best 38 minutes. Anthony Walker got his first start on his 21st birthday in place of injured Jordan Miller. He had 12 points and a season-high-tying eight rebounds, finishing 6-of-10 from the floor.
“Anthony has been improving every year and this year he’s been playing very well, getting rebounds, shooting the ball with confidence and taking people in the post and I love seeing it,” said guard Isaiah Wong.
The game Saturday is important as ACC teams jockey for position heading into the final few weeks of the season. Wake Forest is in third place in the standings and Miami is tied with North Carolina in fourth place.
This story was originally published February 11, 2022 at 8:45 AM.