Many of the good things that happened for Wake Forest across the past couple of months seemed to end in the second half of the team’s most recent game.
It’s time to check on the reaction from the Demon Deacons.
“We’ll see how we respond,” coach Steve Forbes said. “Now, how are we going to handle getting our tails whipped?”
Next up for Wake Forest (17-5, 7-4 Atlantic Coast Conference) is Wednesday night’s home game against Pitt in Winston-Salem, N.C.
Saturday’s visit to Syracuse resulted in a 94-72 loss for Wake. The Orange outscored the Demon Deacons 55-30 in the second half.
“Brush it off,” Wake guard Daivien Williamson said.
Pitt (8-13, 3-7) failed to follow up on its win against Syracuse on Jan. 25, falling 69-56 to Boston College on Sunday. The game was pushed back one day because of a snowstorm that battered much of the Northeast.
“We’ve got to come back and play a team that just beat this (Syracuse) team,” Forbes said.
The Demon Deacons saw their four-game winning streak snapped. That had marked their best stretch in ACC play in a dozen years.
“It’s not the end of the world. They’re great kids,” Forbes said. “We’re 17-5. I’m not going off the deep end, but there are things that can be fixed, and I like fixing things. I sniff it, and we’ll fix it, and they’ll do it. They’re smart. They’re embarrassed. … You’ve got to be able to handle success. We’ve been having a lot of that lately.”
Pitt coach Jeff Capel said he’s unsure if he’ll be with the Panthers for the game after missing the trip to Boston College because of COVID-19 protocol. Associate head coach Milan Brown filled in.
There have been rough patches for the Panthers this season. That’s something they might be able to fall back on this week.
“We’ve continued to stay together,” Capel said. “Hopefully, that’s a good sign as we move forward.”
It was a disjointed weekend. The Panthers traveled to New England on the day of the Boston College game. It ended up being one of just three games in which Pittsburgh has been outrebounded this season.
This game at Wake Forest will begin a stretch of four games in eight days for the Panthers.
“We just have to adjust. We have to play,” Capel said. “We have to be together. We have to fight.”
–Field Level Media
