# 1990–91 Wake Forest Demon Deacons men's basketball team

The 1990–91 Wake Forest Demon Deacons men's basketball team represented Wake Forest University as a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference during the 1990–91 NCAA men's basketball season. The team was led by 2nd year head coach Dave Odom, and played their home games at LJVM Coliseum in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
Wake Forest finished in a tie for third in the ACC regular season standings with an 8–6 conference record. The team lost to Virginia in the quarterfinal round of the ACC tournament. Despite the early exit from the conference tournament, the Demon Deacons received the No. 5 seed in the Southeast region of the NCAA tournament – the school's first appearance in seven years. The team defeated No. 12 seed Louisiana Tech before losing to No. 4 seed Alabama in the round of 32. This season formed the foundation of a school-record seven straight NCAA tournament appearances between 1991 and 1997.
Electrifying freshman Rodney Rogers was named ACC Rookie of the Year and head coach Dave Odom was named ACC Coach of Year for the first time.

## Previous season

Wake Forest finished in last place in the ACC regular season standings and were eliminated in the quarterfinals of the ACC tournament. In Coach Dave Odom's first season, the Demon Deacons had a record of 12–16 (3–11 ACC).

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site city, state |
| Non-conference regular Season ||||||
| Nov 23, 1990* | | Howard | W 108–74 | 1–0 | Lawrence Joel Coliseum Winston-Salem, North Carolina |
| Nov 24, 1990* | | Fairleigh Dickinson | W 67–55 | 2–0 | Lawrence Joel Coliseum Winston-Salem, North Carolina |
| Nov 27, 1990* | | at No. 6 Alabama | L 95–96 | 2–1 | Coleman Coliseum Tuscaloosa, Alabama |
| Dec 1, 1990* | | at Tulane | W 81–79 | 3–1 | Devlin Fieldhouse New Orleans, Louisiana |
| Dec 6, 1990* | | vs. Villanova | L 82–91 | 3–2 | |
| Dec 8, 1990* | | at Davidson | W 72–56 | 4–2 | Johnston Gym Davidson, North Carolina |
| Dec 22, 1990* | | Richmond | W 82–56 | 5–2 | Lawrence Joel Coliseum Winston-Salem, North Carolina |
| ACC Regular Season ||||||
| Jan 2, 1991 | | Maryland | W 74–62 | 6–2 (1–0) | Lawrence Joel Coliseum Winston-Salem, North Carolina |
| Jan 6, 1991 | | at Georgia Tech | L 91–101 | 6–3 (1–1) | Alexander Memorial Coliseum Atlanta, Georgia |
| Jan 9, 1991* | | Colorado | L 72–89 | 6–4 | Lawrence Joel Coliseum Winston-Salem, North Carolina |
| Jan 12, 1991 | | at Clemson | W 93–88 $^{OT}$ | 7–4 (2–1) | Littlejohn Coliseum Clemson, South Carolina |
| Jan 14, 1991 9:00 pm | | at No. 14 Duke | L 67–89 | 7–5 (2–2) | Cameron Indoor Stadium Durham, North Carolina |
| Jan 19, 1991 | | NC State | W 97–76 | 8–5 (3–2) | Lawrence Joel Coliseum Winston-Salem, North Carolina |
| Jan 23, 1991 | | No. 7 North Carolina | L 81–91 | 8–6 (3–3) | Lawrence Joel Coliseum Winston-Salem, North Carolina |
| Jan 28, 1991* | | Miami (FL) | W 72–66 | 9–6 | Lawrence Joel Coliseum Winston-Salem, North Carolina |
| Jan 31, 1991* | | Winthrop | W 71–48 | 10–6 | Lawrence Joel Coliseum Winston-Salem, North Carolina |
| Feb 2, 1991 | | at No. 15 Virginia | L 80–83 | 10–7 (3–4) | University Hall Charlottesville, Virginia |
| Feb 6, 1991* 7:30 pm | | Bucknell | W 83–67 | 12–7 | Lawrence Joel Coliseum Winston-Salem, North Carolina |
| Feb 9, 1991 | | Georgia Tech | W 86–74 | 13–7 | Lawrence Joel Coliseum Winston-Salem, North Carolina |
| Feb 10, 1991 | | No. 11 Virginia | W 74–66 | 14–7 | Lawrence Joel Coliseum Winston-Salem, North Carolina |
| Feb 13, 1991 | | at No. 8 North Carolina | L 81–91 | 14–8 | Dean Smith Center Chapel Hill, North Carolina |
| Feb 16, 1991 4:00 pm | | No. 5 Duke | W 86–77 | 15–8 | Lawrence Joel Coliseum Winston-Salem, North Carolina |
| Feb 23, 1991 | | at Maryland | L 78–86 | 15–9 | Cole Fieldhouse College Park, Maryland |
| Feb 24, 1991 | | Clemson | W 81–55 | 16–9 | Lawrence Joel Coliseum Winston-Salem, North Carolina |
| Mar 2, 1991 | | at NC State | W 89–84 | 18–9 (10–6) | Reynolds Coliseum Raleigh, North Carolina |
| ACC Tournament ||||||
| Mar 8, 1991* | | vs. Virginia Quarterfinal | L 66–70 | 18–10 | Charlotte Coliseum Charlotte, North Carolina |
| NCAA Tournament ||||||
| Mar 15, 1991* | (5 SE) | vs. (12 SE) Louisiana Tech First Round | W 71–65 | 19–10 | The Omni Atlanta, Georgia |
| Mar 17, 1991* | (5 SE) | vs. (4 SE) No. 19 Alabama Second Round | L 88–96 | 19–11 | The Omni Atlanta, Georgia |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. SE=Southeast. All times are in Eastern Time. ||||||

## Awards and honors

* Rodney Rogers – ACC Rookie of the Year
* Dave Odom – ACC Coach of the Year