Nolan Richardson's Arkansas teams in the mid-90s had a certain style of play. Forty Minutes of Hell, it was called, and it basically consisted of harassing the opponent from tip to buzzer, on both offense and defense. The Razorbacks would press, they'd get after you in their half-court defense, they'd take it right at you on offense.
They annoyed and pestered you into submission. And near the end of the game, if the outcome wasn't already decided, your team wouldn't have anything left in the tank and would wilt.
Saturday afternoon, Wake Forest offered an interesting take on Forty Minutes of Hell -- something like Ten Minutes of the Most Fiery Pits of Hell followed by Thirty Minutes of Garbage Time (which is a hell of another sort).
Wake Forest's Chris Paul opened the gates innocently enough with a layup a minute into the game. Then Taron Downey hit a three, then another three, this time by Justin Gray.
The Cavs raced to keep pace. Gary Forbes banked in a jumper, and Jason Clark scored a bucket of his own, 8-4.
But Paul took it to the other end and drove in for a layup. Then Gray hit a three, and Downer knocked down another one, too. Gray then hit his third three, and in just over five minutes of play, Wake had taken a 19-4 lead.
By the first TV timeout, the Cavs were gasping for air. The Wake players were playing to the crowd, and the fans were eating it up.
By the 10-minute mark, the game had been decided. Virginia had just as many team fouls as points: 10. Wake's lead was pressing towards 30 points, and for all intents and purposes, the game was over.
For all that Wake did right on offense in the first ten minutes, it was just as strong on defense in that time. Skip Prosser's bunch dogged the Cavs with a full-court, man-to-man press that never allowed Virginia to get into any offensive rhythm.
Paul was especially tough in picking up Todd Billet. Virginia couldn't start the offense with Paul in Billet's hip pocket, forcing Billet to give up the ball. With the ball out of its point guard's hands, Virginia ran a confused offensive set, resulting in ill-advised shots, offensive fouls and turnovers.
After Virginia's third offensive foul in as many minutes, Pete Gillen ran to half-court protesting the call and was promptly whistled for a technical.
Who could blame him? The fiery pits of hell can drive a man insane.
After the game, Gillen compared it to a boxing match, his fighter on the mat ten seconds into the first round.
"We came back, we kept swinging, but it's tough to come back from that big of a hole," Gillen said.
The final 30 minutes had much more the feel of an exhibition than of a conference rivalry. After scoring 35 points in the first 10 minutes, Wake needed another 20 to get their next 35. Virginia tried nearly every possible combination of five, and Wake seemed to slip in and out of consciousness.
With its insurmountable lead down to 14 late in the second half, Wake answered with seven points in one possession. Now back up by 21 points, Wake yawned and sleep walked its way to the easiest 13 point win in school history.
It seems that Ten Minutes of Hell was all Wake needed to vanquish the Cavs.
Read More
Regrets and regenesis — reflecting on field hockey’s 2024 season
By Eleanor Buchanan | 15 hours agoCoach Ole Keusgen's debut season was marked with both memorable highlights and frustrating shortcomings.
Volleyball falters against Boston College with NCAA Tournament spot at stake
By Lauren Halak | 3 days agoThe Cavaliers now await the announcement of the NCAA Tournament bracket Sunday.
Virginia obliterated 37-17 in Commonwealth Clash
By Peter Kriebel | 3 days agoThe Cavaliers lose to Virginia Tech once again, and have not conquered their hated rival since 2019.
