Wake Forest’s sliding NCAA hopes on the line vs. Virginia

Wake Forest had avoided the pitfalls of what might be considered “bad losses” for most of the season.After absorbing a couple of them recently, the Demon Deacons can ill afford another when Virginia visits for an Atlantic Coast Conference game Wednesday night in Winston-Salem, N.C.Wake Forest (19-8, 11-5 ACC) clings to a share of fourth place despite losses in two of its last three games. Virginia (13-14, 6-10), which has dropped its last two games, still has work to do to secure a spot in the 15-team field for the ACC tournament.The Deacons’ puzzling 85-73 defeat Saturday at North Carolina State put a dent in their NCAA Tournament resume.”I didn’t think we came in with a sense of urgency,” Wake Forest coach Steve Forbes said.At least Wake Forest had guard Cameron Hildreth back after a one-game absence with a foot injury. The team’s No. 2 scorer posted a team-high 16 points against NC State.A plus at times for Wake Forest has been the impact from Omaha Biliew, who was sidelined for much of the season with injuries. Though he played limited minutes versus NC State, he could be a factor down the stretch of the season.”He has got great energy and has done a really good job of staying in tune with what we’ve been doing, even when he has not been playing,” Forbes said.

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