ESPN Men's Basketball

CLEMSON, S.C. -- Six days ago, Wake Forest beat then-No. 3 North Carolina, which, contrary to popular belief, hasn't yet won this season's national championship.

Three days later, the Demon Deacons played at Boston College in a game many believed they wouldn't win because they'd still be celebrating their 92-89 victory over the Tar Heels.

Wake Forest blasted the Eagles 83-63 in a game that was never close.

Even after those two performances, not many believed the No. 3 Demon Deacons would beat No. 9 Clemson on Saturday at Littlejohn Coliseum, where the unbeaten Tigers had won 16 consecutive games.

Playing its third game in three states in six days, most people believed Wake Forest surely wouldn't have the legs to break Clemson's tenacious full-court press for 40 minutes in a hostile environment.

Instead, Wake Forest built a 14-point lead in the second half and withstood Clemson's furious rally in the final minutes to win 78-68 in front a sellout crowd of 10,000.

"I think we proved we deserved our ranking," Wake Forest forward Al-Farouq Aminu said. "I don't think we're finished. I think people are starting to notice we're a pretty good team."

The Demon Deacons proved more than that over the past week.

They proved they're probably the best college basketball team in the country.

And after Louisville beat No. 1 Pittsburgh, handing the Panthers their first loss of the season -- and leaving Wake Forest as the nation's only unbeaten team -- the Demon Deacons will most likely soon have a No. 1 ranking to prove it.

"They're good," Clemson coach Oliver Purnell said. "They're underrated defensively. Everybody talks about their offense and that's fine, but they don't give you anything easy. Right now, I'd say between them and Duke, they're the best team in the ACC."

Wake Forest will have to wait 11 more days to gauge itself against No. 2 Duke, the ACC's other traditional measuring stick. The Demon Deacons play the Blue Devils at Lawrence Joel Coliseum in Winston-Salem, N.C., on Jan. 28.

Against Clemson, Wake Forest collected its 16th straight win to open the season -- breaking a school record that dated back to the 1926-27 season -- because of its three biggest strengths: depth, length and versatility.

And the Demon Deacons also proved they can play pretty stout defense, something they didn't do very well in past seasons.

The Demon Deacons held Clemson to only 33.8 percent shooting (26-for-77), including 5-for-23 on 3-pointers. Clemson didn't make a shot from the floor for the final 5:35 of the first half.

"We have very long defenders," Aminu said. "L.D. Williams is a lock-down defender and plays the other team's top scorer. James Johnson has been focusing on defense and is locking people down now. Everybody is so long on our team."

Even after Clemson cut Wake Forest's 14-point lead to 61-60 with 4:54 to play, the Demon Deacons didn't panic. After Aminu's dunk over Clemson point guard Demontez Stitt put Wake Forest ahead 63-60, the Demon Deacons came up with stops on each of Clemson's next four possessions. quickly extending their lead to 69-60.

"Clemson has a great press -- one of the best I've ever gone against," Johnson said. "They have great shooters. We knew they were going to come back. But we knew our defense would hold up. We're a better team and we act like a better team. We kept our poise when we had to."

Because the Demon Deacons are so athletic and long -- point guard Jeff Teague is the only starter shorter than 6-foot-4 -- they make it tough for opponents to score from anywhere. Wake Forest blocked 11 of Clemson's shots, including at least three from the perimeter.

"I think we're so long we can block shots and intimidate a little bit because of that," Wake Forest coach Dino Gaudio said. "We've been blocking shots all year."

The Demon Deacons also are very deep. Four of their five starters scored 10 points or more, led by Teague's game-high 24 points on 5-for-12 shooting.

The sophomore guard from Indianapolis is so quick and aggressive, he often gives defenders only two options: let him score or foul him. He made 13 of 18 foul shots against Clemson. Only North Carolina forward Tyler Hansbrough came into this weekend having attempted more foul shots among ACC players.

"I think it's just having a scorer's mentality," Teague said of his ability to get to the free throw line. "You really try to get to the rim and keep people on their heels. They're going to let you score or foul you. You've got to keep pressure on them."

Teague isn't the only Demon Deacon who can score. Johnson had 19 points on 7-for-10 shooting. He also grabbed eight rebounds with three blocks and three steals. Williams added 11 points and played his customary stifling defense.

Aminu, one of the country's top freshmen, scored 12 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. The rookie forward from Norcross, Ga., also had two head-turning dunks in the second half.

"He can attack the basket and he's long," Gaudio said. "He can rebound. We had a mismatch with him and were able to isolate him a little bit."

For two hours on Saturday, Gaudio watched his team grow up.

"I thought that we showed a lot of heart today," Gaudio said. "Our team showed resiliency. We knew coming in they were going to make some runs. I told the guys, 'We're just going to play through it and absolutely just not panic.' We're still young, but they're growing up and maturing. We're still growing."

The past week showed the Demon Deacons are growing into a national championship contender.

Mark Schlabach covers college football and men's college basketball for ESPN.com. You can contact him at schlabachma@yahoo.com.