Last Saturday afternoon, the Wake Forest men’s basketball team boarded a plane to Washington, D.C., expecting to return the following evening. Instead, it returned four days later.

The Demon Deacons, along with millions of others, were stranded in cities along the Atlantic coast after a storm dumped more than two feet of snow in some locales.

The storm postponed 16 Division I games Monday.

Wake Forest traveled to Washington for a scheduled game against Atlantic Coast Conference-rival Maryland on Sunday evening. That afternoon, with more than a foot of snow already covering the College Park campus, the game was postponed.

‘(Wake Forest) was in a really tough situation,’ Maryland coach Gary Williams said. ‘It was tough for us, but at least we were at home.’

All three of the Washington area airports closed, leaving the Demon Deacons stranded in a suburban Washington Marriott hotel. As the snow continued to fall, Wake Forest head coach Skip Prosser knew his team was in for a long weekend. He had the team watch game film and prepare for Maryland, because he was unsure when or if the game would be rescheduled.

‘I told the team things could be worse,’ Prosser said. ‘They were staying in a beautiful hotel. It’s not like they were stuck on a hillside in the Himalayas.’

Monday at noon, Williams and Prosser learned their teams would be playing that evening at 5 on the snowed-in Maryland campus. Prosser said he would have preferred to postpone the game, but no dates were available the rest of the season. He said after learning it would be safe, he saw no problem in playing the game Monday.

Even with a state of emergency declared in several surrounding counties, 14,222 fans showed up at the Comcast Center with only a few hours notice to see the Terps beat Wake Forest, 90-67.

‘Perhaps a veteran-laden team would have handled it a bit better than we did,’ Prosser said, ‘but I’m not sure (the weather) had a whole lot to do with last night’s game.”

After the loss, Wake Forest hopped on a bus to Baltimore-Washington International Airport to try to board a plane back to North Carolina. After sitting in the closed airport for more than two hours, the Demon Deacons headed back to their hotel for a third night.

‘No one ever wants to be in Wake’s situation,’ Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said. ‘Hopefully everybody is going to be able to travel well from now on and get back to the normal routine of ACC basketball.’

On Tuesday morning, the Demon Deacons traveled back to the airport but experienced more delays, including more than four hours on the tarmac of Washington’s Dulles Airport. Wake Forest finally returned to North Carolina at 4 p.m. Tuesday.

‘It’s been a long trip,’ Prosser said from the airport Tuesday, ‘but it’s time to go home.’

NO. 15 SYRACUSE (-1.5) AT MICHIGAN STATE

SUNDAY, 2 P.M., CBS

All four of Syracuse’s losses have come on the road this season, and this trip may be the Orangemen’s toughest.

Michigan State lost to Illinois by 30 on Tuesday and has struggled through the second half of the season. But the Spartans remain strong at home, where they are 11-1.

PICK: MICHIGAN STATE 74, SYRACUSE 68

NO. 6 KANSAS (+3.5) AT NO. 5 OKLAHOMA

SUNDAY, 4 P.M., CBS

The game of the weekend features two veteran, well-balanced teams vying for the top seed in next month’s Big 12 tournament.

Guard Hollis Price leads the Sooners as they attempt to unseat Kirk Hinrich and the Jayhawks from the conference throne.

Look for a focused Kansas team to pull the upset in Norman, Okla.

PICK: KANSAS 73, OKLAHOMA 71

CONNECTICUT (+5.5) AT NO. 12 NOTRE DAME

MONDAY, 7 P.M., ESPN

UConn may be the nation’s most unpredictable team. Last week, the Huskies soundly defeated Syracuse but followed it with a loss to Villanova.

To secure an at-large bid in the NCAA Tournament, Connecticut must make a statement against Notre Dame, which needs the victory to stay close to Syracuse in the Big East West Division.

Chris Thomas and Notre Dame’s disciplined offense will be enough to fend off a strong effort from the desperate Huskies.

PICK: NOTRE DAME 81, CONNECTICUT 70

NO. 14 XAVIER (-2.5) AT NO. 25 DAYTON

SATURDAY, 2 P.M., NO TV

Even with an 18-4 record, Dayton needs a win against a top-15 opponent to leave no doubt in the minds of the NCAA selection committee.

Xavier relies on Wooden Award finalist David West, who hopes to lead his team to the tournament while impressing NBA scouts.

Look for the Flyers to defend their home court and rise in the rankings.

PICK: DAYTON 66, XAVIER 64

NO. 1 ARIZONA (-6.5) AT ARIZONA STATE

SATURDAY, 9 P.M., NO TV

For the second time this season, Arizona sits at the top of both major polls. But it’s only a few votes ahead of fast-charging Kentucky. Arizona travels north to Tempe, Ariz., to face in-state rival ASU, which is led by freshman forward Ike Diogu.

This game looks like a trap for Arizona. Look for the unheralded Diogu to lead the Sun Devils to the upset.

PICK: ARIZONA STATE 83, ARIZONA 78

Published on February 19, 2003 at 12:00 pm