Wake Forest , celebrating
its 100th season of basketball, opens the regular season Nov.
10-11 with a pair of home games in the 16-team Coaches vs.
Cancer Classic. The potential 30-game regular season schedule
also includes non-conference home games against
Wisconsin, DePaul, Princeton and Charlotte.
The Demon Deacons will play at least 25 televised games
including
contests on ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, Fox Sports Net, Fox Sports
South, CBS, ABC and Raycom-Jefferson Pilot.
“I am very excited about the schedule,” Wake Forest head coach
Skip
Prosser said today, “with a very good home non-conference
schedule, the renewal of several local series, and of course the
demanding ACC
schedule, I think the schedule is something our fans will be
excited
about as well.
“If we navigate the schedule successfully, it will enable us to
remain
one of the elite teams in the nation.”
Wake Forest, Florida, Texas Tech and Syracuse will each host
four-team
regionals in the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic, with the winner of
each
regional advancing to Madison Square Garden in New York Nov.
17-18 for the semifinals and finals. The Wake Forest regional
includes Mississippi Valley State – Wake’s season-opening
opponent – UC-Irvine and George Mason. The Deacons have never
previously played any of the three teams in their regional.
The 2005-06 schedule has a strong in-state flavor as the Deacons
renew rivalries with several North Carolina opponents. Wake
Forest hosts UNC Asheville (Nov. 21) for the first time since
1983, Appalachian State (Nov. 25) for the first time since 1996,
East Carolina (Jan. 3) for the
first time since 1986 and Charlotte (Feb. 11) for the first time
since
1987. The Deacons will also play a road game against Elon (Dec.
3) in
the Greensboro Coliseum – Wake’s first regular season game in
Greensboro since Dec. 3, 1994 (vs. Florida).
Including ACC foes Duke, North Carolina and NC State, Wake
Forest will play 11 games against in-state teams.
Wake Forest closes out November against perennial Big Ten
Conference power Wisconsin (Nov. 29) in the ACC/Big Ten
Challenge. The Deacons, 5-1 all-time in the Challenge, will play
the Badgers in that event for the third time.
Wake will face a string of tough non-conference foes in
mid-December,
including a home game against DePaul on Dec. 13. This will mark
the
first meeting between the Deacons and Blue Demons since Wake
Forest upset DePaul in the Sweet 16 round of the 1984 NCAA
Tournament, concluding the coaching career of the legendary Ray
Meyer.
Contrasting styles of play will clash Dec. 17 when Princeton
comes to
Lawrence Joel Coliseum. Wake Forest, which ranked third
nationally in
scoring last season, will play the slower-paced Tigers for the
first
time since the 1998 season. On Dec. 22, Wake Forest will travel
to
Richmond for its 44^th all-time meeting with the Spiders.
Following Christmas break, Wake Forest resumes play with home
games against Charleston Southern (Dec. 30) and East Carolina
(Jan. 3).
“Many of the non-conference teams that we play at home may be
favored to win their respective conference,” Prosser said.
“Wisconsin (Big Ten),
DePaul (Big East), Charlotte (Atlantic 10) and Princeton (Ivy)
are all
outstanding teams. We play Elon in the Greensboro Coliseum,
which should be good for fans of both schools.”
Wake Forest kicks off its 53rd season of ACC play Jan. 8 with a
nationally-televised (Fox Sports Net) game against Duke at Joel
Coliseum. This will mark just the third time that the Deacons
have
started ACC play against the Blue Devils.
The 2005-06 season also marks the first year of a 12-team ACC as
Boston College joins the ranks. Wake Forest will play the Eagles
twice in February.
The 16-game conference schedule includes just one game against
rival
North Carolina, Florida State, Maryland, Miami, Virginia and
Virginia
Tech. This will be the second straight year the Deacons have
played just
one game against UNC, Maryland and Virginia Tech. Wake will meet
Virginia just once after playing the Cavaliers at least twice
every
season since 1954.
“The ACC will be as strong as always,” Prosser said. “Duke may
be ranked No. 1 nationally in the preseason. Our fans will also
have the
opportunity to see Boston College when they come to Joel
Coliseum.”
Wake Forest will close regular season play, as usual, against NC
State
on March 4. That game, played in Joel Coliseum, will be
televised by CBS.
Wake Forest and Winston-Salem State will play an exhibition game
(Nov. 3) for the second straight year. Two days later (Nov. 5),
the Deacons host Mars Hill in an exhibition.
“We are happy to again open with Winston-Salem State,” Prosser
said.
“This is becoming a tradition that we would like to continue.”
*2005-06 Wake Forest Basketball Schedule*
Nov. 3 Thursday WINSTON-SALEM STATE (Ex.) Winston-Salem 7:00 ---
Nov. 5 Saturday MARS HILL (Ex.) Winston-Salem 2:00 ---
Nov. 10 Thursday CANCER CLASSIC --- vs. Mississippi Valley State
Nov. 11 Friday CANCER CLASSIC --- vs. Cal-Irvine or George
Mason
Nov. 17 Thursday COACHES vs. CANCER CLASSIC New York, NY ESPN2
Nov. 18 Friday COACHES vs. CANCER CLASSIC New York, NY 0 ESPN2
Nov. 21 Monday UNC ASHEVILLE Winston-Salem 7:00 FSNS
Nov. 25 Friday APPALACHIAN STATE Winston-Salem 7:00 ---
Nov. 29 Tuesday WISCONSIN (ACC/Big Ten Challenge) Winston-Salem
7:00 ESPN
Dec. 3 Saturday at Elon (Greensboro Coliseum) Greensboro, NC
2:00 ---
Dec. 13 Tuesday DePAUL Winston-Salem 9:00 ESPN
Dec. 17 Saturday PRINCETON Winston-Salem 4:00 ESPN2
Dec. 22 Thursday at Richmond Richmond, VA 7:00 FSNS
Dec. 30 Friday CHARLESTON SOUTHERN Winston-Salem 7:00 ---
Jan. 3 Tuesday EAST CAROLINA Winston-Salem 9:00 FSNS/FS-FL
Jan. 8 Sunday *DUKE Winston-Salem 8:00 FSN
Jan. 11 Wednesday *at Clemson Clemson, SC 7:00 ESPNU
Jan. 15 Sunday *at Maryland College Park, MD 7:30 FSN
Jan. 18 Wednesday *GEORGIA TECH Winston-Salem 9:00 RJ
Jan. 21 Saturday *at NC State Raleigh, NC 4:00 RJ
Jan. 24 Tuesday *FLORIDA STATE Winston-Salem 7:00 RSN
Jan. 28 Saturday *VIRGINIA TECH Winston-Salem 3:00 RJ
Jan. 31 Tuesday *at Miami Coral Gables, FL 9:00 RSN
Feb. 4 Saturday *at Virginia Charlottesville, VA 1:30 RJ
Feb. 8 Wednesday *BOSTON COLLEGE Winston-Salem 7:00 ESPN
Feb. 11 Saturday CHARLOTTE Winston-Salem 3:30 ABC
Feb. 15 Wednesday *at Duke Durham, NC 9:00 RJ
Feb. 19 Sunday *NORTH CAROLINA Winston-Salem 1:30 ABC
Feb. 22 Wednesday *CLEMSON Winston-Salem 7:00 ---
Feb. 25 Saturday *at Georgia Tech Atlanta, GA 1:00 ABC
Feb. 28 Tuesday *at Boston College Chestnut Hill, MA 7:00 RSN
March 4 Saturday *NC STATE Winston-Salem 4:00 CBS
March 9-12 ACC Tournament Greensboro, NC
