Wake Forest aiming for more progress vs. Rutgers

Field Level Media|published: Tue 5th December, 15:39 2023

Nov 16, 2023; Charleston, South Carolina, USA; Wake Forest Demon Deacons guard Hunter Sallis (23) brings the ball up court in the first half against the Utah Utes at TD Arena. credits: David Yeazell-USA TODAY Sports

Wake Forest is still establishing its team identity, but coach Steve Forbes is happy with the progress as the Demon Deacons prepare to host Rutgers on Wednesday night in Winston-Salem, N.C.

Wake Forest (4-3) won its second straight game on Nov. 29 when it defeated visiting Florida 82-71. It was the Demon Deacons' first win against a Power 6 foe following close losses to Georgia, Utah and LSU in November.

Despite trailing by nine with 15:03 to go, Wake pulled ahead thanks to a 50-point second half. The Demon Deacons forced 15 Florida turnovers and turned them into 22 points.

"I want people to think that we play hard, smart, together and that we share the ball, and that we're really gritty, grimy and tough on defense, and we rebound with two hands and we execute," Forbes said. "... And I thought that was an identity win tonight. I thought we did all those things, all five of them."

Four players account for most of Wake's scoring. Hunter Sallis, who had a team-high 24 against Florida, leads with 19.1 points per game. Cameron Hildreth (17.9), Kevin Miller (16.4) and Andrew Carr (16.0) round out the quartet; no one else is averaging more than 3.3 points.

Wake will face a Rutgers team (5-2) smarting from a 76-58 setback in its Big Ten opener against then-No. 24 Illinois on Saturday in New Jersey.

No Scarlet Knight scored in double figures, with Aundre Hyatt and Austin Williams each posting nine points. Worst of all, Illinois bullied Rutgers on the boards, finishing with a 55-27 advantage.

"We didn't get our own offensive rebounds and we missed a lot and they manhandled us on the glass," Rutgers coach Steve Pikiell said. "You know I'm not happy with that. I know these guys. I think this team is good (and) we gotta figure that out obviously."

Hyatt leads Rutgers with 11.6 points per game but has shot just 5-for-22 in his past two outings. Clifford Omoruyi adds 11.0 points and 9.1 rebounds per contest, but he was held to 3-of-10 shooting for seven points against Illinois. Omoruyi blocked a career-high eight shots in the contest.

This is a return game after Wake Forest visited Rutgers last December. Rutgers won that one 81-57, with Omoruyi going for 14 points and nine boards.

—Field Level Media

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