Prosser expecting a low-scoring game when Deacons take on Owls tonight
When a team walks into the Liacouras Center to play Temple - regardless of the season, regardless of the circumstances - there's no need for anyone to ask if they're there for business or pleasure.
"It's going to be a nail-biter," said Coach Skip Prosser of Wake Forest. "It's going to be a trip to the dentist.
"It's going to be a tough game."
In college basketball, perhaps more than any other sport, where a team plays can, at times, present as big a challenge as who a team plays.
So despite Temple's record of 3-4, Prosser said he expects nothing but another knock-down-drag-out battle when his sixth-ranked Deacons play the Owls tonight at 7 o'clock.
"Your team has to understand it's not going to be a high-scoring game," Prosser said. "If you have any concerns about your scoring average or what have you, you might as well dismiss those things for (tonight)."
To compare tonight's challenge with the game at Illinois two weeks ago would be overstating the case. But the Deacons, in their only previous game on an opponent's home floor, did not show the kind of toughness Prosser wanted to see in their 91-73 drubbing by the Illini.
Prosser will be looking closely tonight for signs of a team that can withstand the rigors of playing at Virginia, at Cincinnati, at Georgia Tech, at Duke and at N.C. State.
"We didn't handle that all that well at Illinois," Prosser said. "I'm not revealing any secret there. So that will be another opportunity to prove that we're growing as a team."
These are hardly vintage times for Coach John Chaney at one of the historically prominent basketball programs. After playing in the NCAA Tournament 12 straight years, the Owls have been relegated the last three to the NIT.
But what Temple lacks in other attributes, it makes up in size. The Owls are huge, very possibly the biggest team Wake Forest will play this season.
Junior center Keith Butler is 7-1, 250-pounds. Sophomore forward Wayne Marshall is 6-11, 285. Junior forward Antywane Robinson - a product of Charlotte who played at Oak Hill Academy - is 6-8 210.
And the backcourt, relatively speaking, is every bit as towering. Junior Mardy Collins, the point guard, is 6-6, 205. Freshman Mark Tyndale, the wing guard, is 6-5, 210.
For depth, Chaney has sophomore Dustin Salisbery, a 6-5, 205-pound sophomore and Dion Dacons, a 6-6, 210-pound sophomore from Statesville who also played at Oak Hill Academy.
Collins leads the team with 14.7 points a game, Tyndale is averaging 13.3, Salisbery 11 and Robinson 9.7. Butler leads the Owls with 6.5 rebounds a game.
Temple has beaten Auburn (80-78), lost at Georgetown (75-57), lost at South Carolina (60-46), lost to Arizona State (65-62), beaten Villanova (53-52), beaten Penn (52-51) and lost to Alabama (75-71).
"You have to grow up and play like men against Temple," Prosser said. "In terms of size, they're really an aberrant team.
"Their big guys are bigger than our big guys. Their wings are bigger than our wings. And their guards are much bigger than our guards. So all across the board, for the first time, we'll be facing just a severe size disadvantage at every position.
"And it will be curious to see how we play against that."
The Deacons, coming off exam break, haven't played since they beat Richmond 90-73 on Dec. 4. Prosser has had time to evaluate his team's play during its first seven games, as well as extra practice time to prepare the Deacons for the rigors ahead.
Wake Forest will play Elon at home on Dec. 15, Texas at home on Dec. 18, and travel to New Mexico for a game on Dec. 22.
"We've played a challenging schedule," Prosser said. "I think the good thing about that is we've had weaknesses exposed: physical and mental things we need to get better at. And that's what we're trying to do every day in practice. It's imperative that we stay mentally tough enough to keep getting better, to keep challenging ourselves....
"Our defense is better than it was last year at this point in time, but it's still not where we need it to be. Our rebounding is better than it was this time last year, but it's still not where we need it to be. Offensively we're still not taking care of the ball (well) enough. Those are all things that we have to get better at."
When a team walks into the Liacouras Center to play Temple - regardless of the season, regardless of the circumstances - there's no need for anyone to ask if they're there for business or pleasure.
"It's going to be a nail-biter," said Coach Skip Prosser of Wake Forest. "It's going to be a trip to the dentist.
"It's going to be a tough game."
In college basketball, perhaps more than any other sport, where a team plays can, at times, present as big a challenge as who a team plays.
So despite Temple's record of 3-4, Prosser said he expects nothing but another knock-down-drag-out battle when his sixth-ranked Deacons play the Owls tonight at 7 o'clock.
"Your team has to understand it's not going to be a high-scoring game," Prosser said. "If you have any concerns about your scoring average or what have you, you might as well dismiss those things for (tonight)."
To compare tonight's challenge with the game at Illinois two weeks ago would be overstating the case. But the Deacons, in their only previous game on an opponent's home floor, did not show the kind of toughness Prosser wanted to see in their 91-73 drubbing by the Illini.
Prosser will be looking closely tonight for signs of a team that can withstand the rigors of playing at Virginia, at Cincinnati, at Georgia Tech, at Duke and at N.C. State.
"We didn't handle that all that well at Illinois," Prosser said. "I'm not revealing any secret there. So that will be another opportunity to prove that we're growing as a team."
These are hardly vintage times for Coach John Chaney at one of the historically prominent basketball programs. After playing in the NCAA Tournament 12 straight years, the Owls have been relegated the last three to the NIT.
But what Temple lacks in other attributes, it makes up in size. The Owls are huge, very possibly the biggest team Wake Forest will play this season.
Junior center Keith Butler is 7-1, 250-pounds. Sophomore forward Wayne Marshall is 6-11, 285. Junior forward Antywane Robinson - a product of Charlotte who played at Oak Hill Academy - is 6-8 210.
And the backcourt, relatively speaking, is every bit as towering. Junior Mardy Collins, the point guard, is 6-6, 205. Freshman Mark Tyndale, the wing guard, is 6-5, 210.
For depth, Chaney has sophomore Dustin Salisbery, a 6-5, 205-pound sophomore and Dion Dacons, a 6-6, 210-pound sophomore from Statesville who also played at Oak Hill Academy.
Collins leads the team with 14.7 points a game, Tyndale is averaging 13.3, Salisbery 11 and Robinson 9.7. Butler leads the Owls with 6.5 rebounds a game.
Temple has beaten Auburn (80-78), lost at Georgetown (75-57), lost at South Carolina (60-46), lost to Arizona State (65-62), beaten Villanova (53-52), beaten Penn (52-51) and lost to Alabama (75-71).
"You have to grow up and play like men against Temple," Prosser said. "In terms of size, they're really an aberrant team.
"Their big guys are bigger than our big guys. Their wings are bigger than our wings. And their guards are much bigger than our guards. So all across the board, for the first time, we'll be facing just a severe size disadvantage at every position.
"And it will be curious to see how we play against that."
The Deacons, coming off exam break, haven't played since they beat Richmond 90-73 on Dec. 4. Prosser has had time to evaluate his team's play during its first seven games, as well as extra practice time to prepare the Deacons for the rigors ahead.
Wake Forest will play Elon at home on Dec. 15, Texas at home on Dec. 18, and travel to New Mexico for a game on Dec. 22.
"We've played a challenging schedule," Prosser said. "I think the good thing about that is we've had weaknesses exposed: physical and mental things we need to get better at. And that's what we're trying to do every day in practice. It's imperative that we stay mentally tough enough to keep getting better, to keep challenging ourselves....
"Our defense is better than it was last year at this point in time, but it's still not where we need it to be. Our rebounding is better than it was this time last year, but it's still not where we need it to be. Offensively we're still not taking care of the ball (well) enough. Those are all things that we have to get better at."
