ESPN Men's Basketball

CLEMSON, S.C. -- ESPN.com's Mark Schlabach provides instant analysis from No. 3 Wake Forest's 78-68 win at No. 9 Clemson at Littlejohn Coliseum on Saturday.

GAME ANALYSIS: The matchup between two of the country's last three unbeaten teams lived up to its hype. In the end, Wake Forest won because it handled Clemson's vaunted full-court press well until the game's final minutes. The Demon Deacons proved they can play defense pretty well, too, as the Tigers never seemed to find any rhythm on offense. Clemson didn't make a field goal in the final 5:35 of the first half, and then missed its first four shots of the second half to fall behind 37-27. Wake Forest overcame its 19 turnovers by shooting 48.2 percent from the floor and 22-for-28 from the foul line.

HOW THE GAME WAS WON: Wake Forest led 58-44 with about 9½ minutes to play, but the Tigers pulled to within 61-60 with a 16-3 run over the next 4½ minutes. Clemson's run included a pair of 3-pointers from sharp-shooting guard Terrence Oglesby and six points from point guard Demontez Stitt. But the Demon Deacons kept their composure once again. Freshman Al-Farouq Aminu dunked over Stitt for a 63-60 lead, and then the Tigers turned it over on the ensuing possession. James Johnson made one of two foul shots to make it 64-60. The Demon Deacons went ahead 67-60 on Johnson's dunk and foul shot with 3:40 to play, and the Tigers couldn't get close from there.

PLAYER OF THE GAME: Johnson, a sophomore from Cheyenne, Wyo., provided big play after big play for the Demon Deacons. After Clemson cut Wake Forest's lead to 61-60 with less than five minutes to play, Johnson scored the game's next eight points to make it 69-60. He finished with 19 points on 7-for-10 shooting with eight rebounds. Johnson also was a standout defender, blocking Oglesby's 3-point attempt as the shot clock was expiring with less than three minutes to go.

PLAYER OF THE GAME II: Wake Forest sophomore Jeff Teague once again turned the ball over too many times, but he finished with 24 points and five assists. The Indianapolis native made only 5 of 12 shots but went 13-for-18 at the foul line.

BEST PLAYER ON THE FLOOR: The myriad NBA scouts sitting courtside had to be drooling over Aminu, a multitalented freshman from Norcross, Ga. Aminu scored 12 points on 6-for-10 shooting and grabbed 10 rebounds. He had two jaw-dropping dunks, including the one over Stitt late in the game. Earlier, Aminu blew past guard Andre Young for a tomahawk dunk that gave the Demon Deacons a 45-33 lead. He also showed his passing abilities with a no-look, behind-the-back assist to Johnson for an easy layup in the second half.

STAT OF THE GAME: 77. Shots attempted by Clemson, which made only 26 of them (33.8 percent). The Tigers were 5-for-23 on 3-point attempts.

WHAT IT MEANS: Wake Forest caps off one fantastic week. The Demon Deacons beat then-No. 3 North Carolina 92-89 at home Sunday night, then won consecutive road games at Boston College and Clemson. In the span of seven days, the Demon Deacons proved they can play with the country's best, handle success and win on the road.

BIZARRE MOMENT OF THE GAME: With about 12 minutes to play, Wake Forest center Chas McFarland fell into the first few rows of the Clemson student section while trying to save an offensive rebound. A Clemson student pulled McFarland to the bleachers and wouldn't let him up. Officials on the court didn't see the incident, but McFarland eventually got back onto the court. The unidentified student was ejected from the arena by police.

WHAT'S NEXT FOR WAKE FOREST: After playing on the road in three of their last four games, the Demon Deacons return home to play Virginia Tech on Wednesday night. Wake Forest then gets a week off before hosting ACC leader Duke in Winston-Salem, N.C., on Jan. 28.

WHAT'S NEXT FOR CLEMSON: ACC play doesn't get any easier for the Tigers. They play No. 6 North Carolina on Wednesday night at the Dean Dome, where Clemson has never won. After hosting Georgia Tech on Jan. 25 and playing at Virginia Tech four days later, Clemson hosts Duke on Feb. 4.

Mark Schlabach is a college football and basketball writer for ESPN.com.