Virginia Cavaliers 83 at Wake Forest Demon Deacons 75 (NCAA Basketball, ACC) - February 26, 2025

New Hampshire is one of the states that I had yet to fly to, but flights from NYC are either too expensive or require a layover far away. Then I saw that Avelo was flying to Manchester from Raleigh-Durham, while flights down to RDU were cheap on Frontier. I looked for games on consecutive nights and found the best option was this Wednesday and Thursday, with Wake Forest home on hump day and New Hampshire the following evening. I flew down Wednesday morning, rented a car, and drove 90 minutes west to Winston-Salem, home of Wake Forest.

The Demon Deacons play out of the Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum (often referred to as LJVM Coliseum), and this place is truly a memorial. First, it is named for Lawrence Joel, a native of Winston-Salem who was the first medic to earn the Medal of Honor during the Vietnam War. Joel died of diabetes in 1984 and local politicians decided to name the new arena after him. It opened in 1989 and now has markers for area soldiers who perished in various wars over the years. It is a rather somber way to start one's visit.

Tickets started at $35 at the box office but the cheapest on the secondary market was $5. I don't mind paying a small premium for a hard ticket, but not $30. In the end, I found a stub, so it all worked out, but I have to wonder about the discrepancy between the primary and secondary markets. Wake has not made the tournament since 2017 (I complained about it at the time) and seems to severely overestimate demand. Parking is also an insane $27, altogether that's a hefty cost for a mediocre product. I stayed at a hotel across the street so I just walked over, some other fans went to Putters Patio and Grill for dinner and left their car there. You might even be able to use the hotel parking lot as nobody seems to be checking.

The Demon Deacons name is now over 100 years old, as it was first used back in 1922, when the editor of the school newspaper created the alliterative moniker to describe a major victory over Trinity (now Duke). These days, the mascot in a top hat and tails on the sidelines is at every game, and he even rides a motorcycle. There is no shortage of opportunity to use this unique appellation, and calling the area Deactown is just one of them.

The venue itself is quite large, with a capacity of 14,665 for hoops. The upper deck is almost on top of the floor as the suites are essentially part of the lower bowl rather than a separate floor as you see in many new arenas. The seating bowl is in an oval shape, but the sideline seats are still very close; those on the baseline are a bit farther away.

The lower deck seats are padded and have the team colours of black and gold, but those in the upper deck are green plastic for some reason. The first row has a bit of legroom, enough for them to put signs discouraging patrons from walking there. There are also glass panels in front of some sections in the upper deck which can be slightly annoying if you are in the third or fourth row. Thankfully attendance was around 50% of capacity tonight, so you can move around. Be aware however that when UNC or Duke shows up, the game will probably sell out.

There is a single spacious concourse that has plenty of concession stands (beer is available but at inflated prices) but more importantly, posters and jerseys of past stars. For a team that hasn't had a lot of success, the Deacons have had a surprising number of players go on to NBA stardom. Tim Duncan is the most obvious of these, but Chris Paul, a Winston-Salem native, also spent two years here.

My all-time NBA hero is Muggsy Bogues as he is even more vertically challenged than I am, and he played here between 1983-87 before being drafted 12th overall by Washington. He spent ten seasons in Charlotte and that jersey is on display. Others who starred here include Jeff Teague, Josh Howard, and Rodney Rogers.

Retired numbers can be found for both men and women hanging above the sidelines...

...while commemorative banners are above one baseline. Wake made the Final Four in 1962 and won the 2000 NIT, their only major accomplishments. The Deacs are overshadowed by the three ACC schools in The Triangle (Duke, NC State, and North Carolina) and it will always be difficult to beat them all in a single season.

The student section is known as Screamin' Demons but they were not out in full force for this one. There is a cheer team and dance squad as usual, and they are very active. In fact, I found the overall entertainment here to be very well done, starting with the team opening their warmups with a little passing routine similar to something the Harlem Globetrotters would do. It's all well-choreographed from start to finish, which makes the team's general mediocrity even more disappointing.

The scoreboard is interesting in that the smaller side that faces the baseline is quite a bit smaller than you would expect. Meanwhile, stat boards are in the four corners (they say Deactown in the photos).

Out-of-town scores are also shown on the ribbon boards between the two levels, something that is no longer really necessary as we all have phones, but it is still appreciated.

One nice touch is adding flags for those players who come from other countries; the men have representation from Nigeria, England and Denmark while the women have a Norwegian on the roster.

Overall, I was really impressed with the style and presentation at LJVM Coliseum, but the prices are simply too high for the product. I know the ACC is a power conference but if you want more fans, you have to make it more affordable. And maybe win a few more games.

The Game

The Virginia Cavaliers came in at 6-10 in the ACC, while Wake was 11-5 and the last team in the tournament according to bracketologist Joe Lunardi. Favoured by 6.5 points, this was a must-win game for the Deacons this late in the season. The game started at 9 p.m., which made it a challenge for me to stay awake with my jet lag from the UK trip still hanging around.

Wake Forest ranks 347th in the country in three-point percentage at 28.75% and they didn't attempt a shot from downtown until over 8 minutes had passed when Cameron Hildreth (the Englishman) drained one to give them an 18-16 lead. Isaac McKneely responded with a three for Virginia and that started a 15-4 run for the Cavs. The Demon Deacons fought back within 5 but McKneely and Dai Dai Ames potted threes in the final minute to make it 44-33 at the half for Virginia.

The second half saw the lead reach 14 but Wake Forest did not let the Cavs run away with it. Midway through, they embarked on an 10-1 run to get within a pair at 66-64 and the fans were out of their seats in anticipation of a tying basket. Sadly, it was not to happen as Wake's Hunter Sallis fouled Jacob Cofie, who made both freebies and after Tre'von Spillers missed a jumper, McKneely hit a three to extend the lead to 7 with just six minutes left. The Deacons could not overcome that deficit, missing five treys down the stretch (they finished 0/8 in the half and 2/14 overall) as Virginia won 83-75. The Cavs went 10-22 from downtown, so it is pretty obvious that long range shooting was the difference. McKneely led all scorers with 27 while Sallis had 25 for the Deacons. With the loss, Wake should no longer be considered for March Madness, unless they win the ACC tournament. Which is not bloody likely.

 

The scoreboard stopped displaying the score as soon as the game ended, something that always drives me nuts since I can't take a picture to prove I stayed until the end. But I did, unlike many fans, who headed out to beat the traffic.

Notes

When I saw Wake Forest football, they put up 70 points at Army and I wondered if the basketball team could top it, which kept me calculating their points per minute through the game. It was a fun exercise and it looked like they might not do it until that little run that made it a close game, albeit briefly.

Best,

Sean