Wake Forest Loses at Home to Virginia Tech, Undefeated No More

"Chippy" is a term that's thrown out a lot these days. It refers to a sporting contest that gets a little heated without getting violent. Wake Forest, the nation's top-ranked team, and Virginia Tech, a classic "look past" opponent for the Deacs, took that adjective to an entirely different level on Wednesday night in a fantastic ACC battle.

Virginia Tech led by 10 at the break, and as much as 13 throughout the second half, and while there were pendulum-like momentum swings throughout the final 20 minutes, the mistakes made by the Demon Deacons down the stretch resulted in a 78-71 loss to the Hokies. The biggest issue surrounding those mistakes, and something that will be addressed frequently over the next few days, is probably Jeff Teague, who failed to take charge late.

Additionally, Wake settled for jumpers late in the game, despite the Hokies clanking free throw after free throw (19-of-29) in the last three minutes of the game. That -- the Deacs' willingness to fire off 18-footers instead of driving to the hoop -- may have stemmed from Teague hitting an absolute monster of a 3-pointer with 1:45 left in the game, slicing the lead to five.

And then really weird things started happening. Teague -- easily the best player on Wake -- started (allegedly) avoiding the ball. OK, "avoiding" might be too much; Len Elmore called him out for "sulking", and discussed how he dogged his teammates in high school, but it looked like he gave the rock up with 30 seconds to go looking for the extra pass.

I'm not entirely sure why Teague would have bothered shutting it down. Granted, his teammates didn't entirely play like they wanted to win, but they also didn't give an entirely empty effort. L.D. Williams and James Johnson both scored 15, and you can hardly blame Al-Farouq Aminu -- he did get his face broken open by a random elbow early in the first quarter.

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Rutgers' Gregory Echenique (00) tries to block a shot by Louisville's Samardo Samuels (24) during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2009, in Piscataway, N.J. Samuels scored 15 points in Louisville's 78-59 win. (AP Photo/Mel Evans)

Xavier head coach Sean Miller talks to his team on the bench during the second half of an NCAA basketball game against St. Bonaventure at the Reilly Center in Olean, N.Y. on Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2009. Xavier won 84-64. (AP Photo/Don Heupel)

Michigan State's Draymond Green, right, Northwestern's Michael Thompson, left, and Kyle Rowley, center, and Michigan State's Goran Suton, top, fight for a rebound during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2009, in East Lansing, Mich. Northwestern defeated Michigan State 70-63. (AP Photo/Al Goldis)

Virginia Tech head coach Seth Greenberg coaches his team from the sidelines during their NCAA basketball game against Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina January 21, 2009. REUTERS/Ellen Ozier (UNITED STATES)

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Xavier forward Kenny Frease, left, makes a layup in front of St. Bonaventure forward Andrew Nicholson during the first half of an NCAA basketball game at the Reilly Center in Olean, N.Y. on Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2009. Xavier won 84-64. (AP Photo/Don Heupel)

Wake Forest University head coach Dino Gaudio watches his team from the sidelines during their NCAA basketball game against Virginia Tech in Winston-Salem, North Carolina January 21, 2009. REUTERS/Ellen Ozier (UNITED STATES)

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Wake Forest players, from left, Chas McFarland, Tony Woods, Gary Clark, and James Johnson, watch the final minutes of their 78-71 loss to Virginia Tech in an NCAA college men's basketball game in Winston-Salem, N.C., Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2009. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton)

Wake Forest University's Al-Farouq Aminu (L) and Jeff Teague battle Virginia Tech's Hank Thorns for a loose ball during the second half of the teams' NCAA basketball game in Winston-Salem, North Carolina January 21, 2009. REUTERS/Ellen Ozier (UNITED STATES)

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WINSTON-SALEM, NC - JANUARY 21: The Virginia Tech Hokies celebrate after defeating the Wake Forest Demon Deacons 78-71 during their game at Lawrence Joel Coliseum on January 21, 2009 in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)

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Kentucky's Jodie Meeks , top, shoots over Auburn's Quantez Robertson, left, as Robertson's teammate Rasheem Barrett looks on during the first half of an NCAA college men's basketball game in Lexington, Ky., Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2009. (AP Photo/Ed Reinke)

The truth is that Wake's probably better off losing this one. And no, that's not just me consoling myself because Wake lost and I picked them to win the title. When you don't lose for a while and get too cocky, you're bound to get popped in the mouth by someone like Duke next week. Instead, Wake should be hungry now.

That's not to take anything away from Seth Greenberg and Virginia Tech, though. Malcolm Delaney balled it up with 17 points, while Jared Allen and A.D. Vassallo tossed in 16 each as well. The Hokies, as you'll hear over the next 24 hours, "punched Wake in the mouth." And it's true; they did. But a championship caliber team doesn't fold when their opponent is shooting from the charity stripe like a Shaquille O'Neal-Ben Wallace love -child late in the game.

Kudos to the Hokies, indeed, but there are a whole lot of questions that are suddenly going to be asked about the Deacs. And rightfully so.