The Wake Forest Demon Deacons and the NC State Wolfpack meet Wednesday in college basketball action from PNC Arena. Wake Forest is currently 17-10 on the year. The Demon Deacons lost to Miami in their last game. As for NC State, they’re 21-7 overall following a win over North Carolina on Sunday. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Sports Chat Place.
Wake Forest Demon Deacons
The Demon Deacons managed a reasonable 14-6 run to start the season. The Demon Deacons are a sketchy 3-4 since then, however. The losses came to Pittsburgh, NC State, Duke and Miami with wins over Notre Dame, North Carolina and Georgia Tech in that time.
On Saturday versus Miami, Wake Forest took a 47-44 deficit into the locker room. The Deacons didn’t get any closer on a 49-43 second half and lost 96-87. Tyree Appleby was the top scorer on 15 points with nine assists.
NC State Wolfpack
Over on the NC State side, they hit a 15-5 stretch over their first 20 games this year. The Wolfpack are a solid 6-2 in their last eight games with wins over Notre Dame, Wake Forest, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Boston College and North Carolina.
In the Sunday matchup versus North Carolina, the Wolfpack went into the second half with a slim 32-31 advantage. NC State hit a 45-38 run from there and won it 77-69. Jarkel Joiner was the leading team scorer on 29 points.
ANDREW’S FREE PICK
I’m going to take a stab on Wake Forest here. We should have a pretty good matchup in store overall. The Demon Deacons have been pretty shaky lately, but they’re 3-1 in their last four outings and they’ve generally been competitive against some tough squads. These two teams last met up on January 28 at LJVM Coliseum. The Demon Deacons blew a 37-31 halftime lead in that one and ended up falling 79-77. NC State should still have the advantage with this home rematch but I think Wake Forest can hang in there.