It’s My Ball And You Can’t Have It

One thing you can say for sure about a turnover is that you’d rather not have one. In fact the way the act is described – you commit a turnover – indicates it’s something of a crime.

There are all sorts of turnovers, and at both ends of the court. Wherever and whenever they take place, they are rarely welcome. Usually they occur under duress; players at the ACC level are generally too well trained to simply fling the ball out of bounds, repeatedly execute illegal screens, or otherwise lose possession for their team.

Most coaches stress limiting the number of turnovers their squad commits, just as they understand a faster tempo generally leads to more mistakes.

So it’s a matter of some note that Wake Forest has twice this year lost an exceedingly small number of turnovers – four -- against a powerful opponent while the teams combined for 181 and 193 points, respectively. That’s quite impressive, particularly when considering the Demon Deacons rely heavily on underclassmen in the backcourt.

Against Villanova in a tournament at Charleston, SC, Wake lost four turnovers in a 100-81 decision on Nov. 18. Three months later the Deacs again lost four in a high-scoring contest at Duke.

Only three times all season did an ACC club commit fewer turnovers in a game, and only once, when Louisville hosted Virginia Tech last weekend, did the careful ballhandling occur during ACC action.

Eight ACC teams incurred five or fewer turnovers in a game this season, led by Wake, Louisville, Virginia and North Carolina with two instances each.