Illinois Basketball: Previewing Illini games No. 6-10
By Eric Bruce
On November 28 the Illini head to Winston-Salem, North Carolina to take on the Wake Forest Demon Deacons as part of the Big Ten/ACC challenge. Undoubtedly, this will be the Illini’s first real challenge of the year for a couple of reasons. First, it is a road game against a power five conference team. Second, Wake Forest is a well-coached and talented team.
However, the good news for the Illini is that Wake Forest is struggling. They are 1-4 as I write this. The Demon Deacons lost their first game to a good Georgia Southern team. Two head scratching loses followed against Liberty and Drake. After beating one of the worst teams out there – Quinnipiac – Wake Forest then fell to an excellent Houston team. Overall, the Demon Deacons are certainly having a tough time.
Last year, Wake Forest went 19-14 overall and 9-9 in conference play. Coach Danny Manning is in his fourth year. Last year was a huge leap forward as he went to the NCAA tournament where the Deacons lost in the first round to Bruce Weber’s Kansas State team, 95-88.
Of course, Illini fans were incredibly happy to deal a blow to Manning’s rebuilding when five-star point guard and Illinois native, Ayo Dosunmu, chose the Illini over the Deacons last month. Illinois hopes to deal them another blow by taking them down in their house. But that won’t be so easy.
Wake Forest boasts a strong backcourt featuring a pair of junior guards. Keyshawn Woods averaged 12.5 points per game last year and is averaging over 16 PPG so far this year. Bryant Crawford averaged 16.2 PPG last year and sits at almost 17 PPG this year. They are joined by freshman Chaundee Brown who is averaging over 10 PPG.
The frontcourt is another story. The Deacs have some height up front but very little production. However, 7-foot-1 junior center, Doral Moore, is a load. He is averaging 9 points and 8 rebounds per game. Those are big numbers from the big man in the middle. Look for the Illini to try to get him in foul trouble early.
This will be a tough game that will largely feature a battle of guard play. Neither team shoots lights out from behind the arc, though most teams are better than Illinois right now, including Wake Forest. Keys to the game for me will be getting Moore time on the pine and someone for the Illini finding his stroke from beyond the arc. I’ll take Illinois in a squeaker.