Associated Press

James Johnson (23) posterizes North Carolina's Danny Green in an earlier game. Johnson, a 6-foot-9 sophomore, is averaging 13.4 points and eight rebounds for new No. 1 Wake Forest.

Two years ago, Virginia Tech knocked off the No. 1 men's basketball team in the land.

Last season, Tech played the No. 1 team in a thriller that was decided in the final second.

On Wednesday, the Hokies will get another chance to test themselves against the nation's top-ranked team.

Wake Forest rose to No. 1 in The Associated Press Top 25 media poll Monday for the first time since November 2004. The Demon Deacons, the only unbeaten team left in Division I, also moved up to No. 1 in the coaches poll.

For their first game since becoming No. 1, the Demon Deacons (16-0, 3-0 ACC) will host Virginia Tech (12-5, 2-1) at 7 p.m. Wednesday on ESPN2.

"They're as talented, as well-coached, as skilled a team as I've seen in a long, long time," Hokies coach Seth Greenberg said Monday. "They have so many different ways to beat you."

Tech is 2-6 against No. 1 teams, including an upset of North Carolina in Blacksburg in January 2007. Last year, Tyler Hansbrough made a fadeaway jumper with eight-tenths of a second left to give No. 1 UNC a 68-66 win over the Hokies in the semifinals of the ACC Tournament.

Wake Forest is coming off a 78-68 win at previously undefeated Clemson on Saturday.

"When we guard and when we rebound and share the ball, we could be one of the best teams in the country," Wake coach Dino Gaudio said. "But I told our guys when we got off the bus on Saturday, I said, 'You know, we've come a long way. But we have a long way yet to go. If you guys are happy if the polls come out and we're No. 1 on Monday, ... if you're happy being No. 1 on Jan. 19, then you're not the team that I think you are.'

"There is tremendous room for improvement with these lads."

Wake bumped off North Carolina two weekends ago, and snapped Brigham Young's 53-game home winning streak on Jan. 3.

"The way we're playing, we feel like we can't lose," said sophomore point guard Jeff Teague, who is averaging 21.4 points.

Even before he began preparing for Wake, Greenberg saw an eyeful of the Demon Deacons as he studied tape of Tech's last two foes, Richmond and Boston College. Wake beat both of them.

"I have a little corner of each of my notepads, when I was watching those games, just jotting down [Wake] notes. And then I went to the bathroom and threw up," Greenberg joked.

Wake's starting frontcourt features 7-foot junior center Chas McFarland (10.5 ppg, 7.1 rpg), 6-9 sophomore forward James Johnson (13.4 ppg, 8 rpg) and 6-9 freshman forward Al-Farouq Aminu (12.8 ppg, 8.8 rpg). The bench includes a pair of 6-11 players.

The Demon Deacons rank fourth in Division I in field-goal percentage defense (36.2 percent).

"They protect the front of the rim like very few teams," Greenberg said. "They're hard to get to the basket on. ... About 21 feet of post player usually does it for you."

Wake has adopted the "pack line defense," a sagging man-to-man scheme that was the trademark of former Wisconsin coach Dick Bennett.

"It's a good fit for us because we're so long," Teague said. "We can take up a lot of space when you're sagging in and packing and making people drive.

"Our guys are so long, it's easy to get back to the 3-point line. You can just use your length and your arms to take up space. ... We have so many shot-blockers on the floor. As a point guard, you can take a lot of chances because you know you have people behind you that can clean it up."

The Demon Deacons are averaging 85.1 points, with their crisp passing fueling a good transition game.

"They probably throw more passes over the rim, behind the defense, than any team in college basketball," Greenberg said.

Tech lost 77-75 at Wake last season when Ishmael Smith made a 12-footer with one second left.

"They got a lucky win on us last year," Tech point guard Malcolm Delaney said. "We're just going to have to step our defense up and help each other out."

The Hokies thumped Wake 80-58 in Blacksburg last March.

"We match up real good with them, especially when they go small," Tech point guard Hank Thorns said. "That could be a fast-paced game for us. We've just got to make sure we get back and play D."

The Hokies have already faced one top-five team this season, suffering a 69-44 loss at then-No. 5 Duke on Jan. 4. They also lost in December to Wisconsin, which was No. 22 in the coaches poll at the time but was not ranked in the AP poll.

Tech was 0-6 against ranked foes last season.