news-record.com

CLEMSON, S.C. -- The last two undefeated teams in the ACC met at the rim Saturday, and only one was standing at the end.

Wake Forest, ranked second in the nation, knocked down 10th-ranked Clemson on its own floor to win the biggest game of the season so far and continued a run into history.

Now 16-0 for the first time ever, Wake returned home to defend its own ground against what will now be the entire nation.

Clemson took measure of the Deacons, slamming into Wake's interior defense and forcing the Deacs to play with an intensity few teams have. Chas McFarland, Wake's center, went into the stands where he was attacked by students, and he was thrown onto press row where he was not attacked by the press.

Wake took measure of the Tigers, too, slamming shots from all angles and forcing Clemson to play a game it was incapable of playing. Trevor Booker, Clemson's center, went airborne in the second half, and found himself upside-down upon re-entry. Wake Forest led early, endured a Clemson run, then sprinted away for a 78-68 win.

"That was a terrific win," Deacons coach Dino Gaudio said. "They made us play a little more chaotic than we wanted to play."

As it turned out, Wake can play that way, too. Clemson can't, at least not for 40 minutes. With bodies flying through the air and shots being blocked into the seats and Gaudio screaming at referees while players fought for the same space on almost every inch of the floor, Wake played through the chaos. With students being kicked out of Littlejohn Coliseum and the Deacons' radio crew yelling at Clemson fans, it was as wild a scene as you'll see in a college basketball game in early January.

Jeff Teague said it was the most physical game he's ever played.

"They were undefeated, and we were undefeated," said Teague, who led Wake with 24 points. "We knew it was going to be a battle. It was an ACC game, and everybody wanted to stay undefeated. I haven't been pushed around like that. I was getting knocked on the floor on almost every possession."

He was smiling afterward, as were freshman Al-Farouq Aminu and James Johnson, the Wake forwards who played key roles in the Deacons' full-contact perimeter defense. Al-Farouq threw down two thunderous dunks at big moments and finished with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Johnson guarded Clemson shooter K.C. Rivers and contested every shot he took. Johnson scored 19 and said afterward Wake can take on anyone now.

"We've got the guys to do it," he said. "We've got the matchups and guys who want to play defense. We've got tall guys for rebounding and scoring down low, and we've got aggressiveness with Jeff Teague."

Gaudio said Teague was a calming influence in a wild game, driving to the rim almost every time he touched it and getting to the line when he missed.

"I told the guys at halftime when we were ahead, 'Fellows, we gotta have layups or dunks. If we don't have layups and dunks, pull it out and run the offense'."

Teague ran the offense almost all day, forcing a pace Clemson had no choice but to commit to, and fouling out the player having to guard him. Of all the matchups Wake benefited from, Teague against Demontez Stitt was one Clemson will probably never win. In fact, Clemson's best runs were with Teague on the bench or with Teague not running the offense.

"He's lion-hearted," Gaudio said. "Coach Prosser always said he'd rather face an army of lions led by a lamb than an army of lambs led by a lion. All those other guys on our team aren't lambs, but we've got a lion leading us."

Teague flourished in a game that saw 30 turnovers, 20 blocked shots, 17 steals and the ejection of a student. He orchestrated almost every Wake possession, trying to keep his teammates calm through the chaos then convincing them to embrace the chaos. In the end, Wake flourished in the bedlam. In the end, Clemson simply couldn't score.

"It was the loudest game I've ever been a part of," McFarland said. "My ears are ringing. We were mature enough to get our composure and get the stops and score when we needed to down the stretch."

He said the game was won at the rim, where the collisions were harder than they'd been all season, where the baskets were tougher to come by than they'd been all season, where two undefeated teams slammed into each other again and again in the biggest game to this point of the season.

Only one ACC game between unbeaten teams had ever been played later in the year, the 1986 game between top-ranked North Carolina and third-ranked Duke in the first game ever played in the Smith Center. Carolina won that game 23 years ago today.

Wake returned home the only unbeaten team in the nation after top-ranked Pitt lost Saturday night. The 16-0 Deacs figure to be first in the nation this week.

Contact Ed Hardin at 373-7069 or ed.hardin@news-record.com