Two weeks ago, Wake Forest appeared in good shape to avoid playing on the first day of the ACC Tournament and a solid lock to get an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament, if needed.

Not any more. Thanks to a three-game losing streak in the conference, the Deacons (8-6) are in real danger of not finishing in the top four and getting a first-day league tournament bye. They are not far from becoming an NCAA bubble team if the losing continues.

If they continue the way they have played the past two games, they don’t deserve to be part of March Madness.

The losing started when the Deacs blew a double-digit lead at Virginia Tech. That wasn’t a real cause of concern for coach Dino Gaudio. Their play since is.

The Deacons were wretched in losing to N.C. State on Feb. 20, shooting poorly and turning the ball over as they brought back memories of last year’s embarrassing NCAA first-round loss to Cleveland State. Wake still couldn’t shoot straight as it fell to North Carolina on Saturday, bringing back memories of the horrid shooting in last year’s loss to Maryland in the ACC Tournament.

Earlier, streaky shooting wasn’t a big issue when Wake went most of the last 10 minutes of two games without a field goal as they finished off two conference victories with free-throw shooting. Now, Wake gives signs of another late-season collapse. The Deacons’ shooting against the Wolfpack and Tar Heels combined was an awful 45-of-140 (32.1 percent).

State found a way erase the strongest part of Wake’s offense – guard Ish Smith driving into the lane and either shooting or dishing. UNC clogged the lane as well. The Heels not only kept Smith from going to the hoop, but also kept the ball from going to Al-Farouq Aminu, limiting him to seven shots.

Another place where Wake is leaking oil: guard C.J. Harris has hit the freshman wall. Harris was regularly scoring in double figures when the Deacons were hot. State and Carolina held him scoreless.

Gaudio said Wake is lacking confidence and needs to regain its outside shooting to open up the inside game as the last week of the ACC regular season begins. Senior forward L.D. Williams said the Deacons have lost their mojo.

Might be time for Gaudio to find a witch doctor. With their RPI rating down to 28 and needing to stay in the top 30 to be in good position to get an NCAA bid, the Deacons may just be sitting at home in three weeks if they don’t get back on track.

– GREER SMITH

ENTERPRISE SPORTS WRITER