The Wake Forest Demon Deacons will travel to the Cintas Center to take on the 17th ranked Xavier Musketeers this Saturday Night in the Skip Prosser Tournament.
The Wake Forest Demon Deacons won their 3rd straight game and improved to 8-2 on the season after defeating the UNC Greensboro Spartans, 78-75, on December 9th. Wake Forest went into halftime with a 43-31 lead and hung on late for victory. Wake Forest was great on the offensive end as they shot 50.0% from the field and 44.4% (8-18) from beyond the arc. Leading the way for the Demon Deacons was John Collins who had a double-double with 17 points, 12 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 block, and a steal. On the season, Wake Forest is averaging 82.0 ppg on 48.5% shooting from the field. The Demon Deacons are averaging 8.1 three-pointers per game on 38.8% shooting from beyond the arc. Offensively, Wake Forest has been led by John Collins (18.0 ppg, 10.7 rpg, 1.7 bpg), Keyshawn Woods (13.3 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 3.0 apg), Bryant Crawford (13.1 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 5.8 apg, 1.3 spg), and Konstantinos Mitoglou (10.4 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 1.0 apg, 1.0 bpg). Defensively, Wake Forest is allowing their opponents to average 72.6 ppg on 43.4% shooting from the field. The Demon Deacons currently have a rebound margin of 5.1 and a turnover margin of -0.5.
The 17th ranked Xavier Musketeers snapped their 2-game losing streak and improved to 8-2 on the season after defeating the Utah Utes, 77-69, this past Saturday. Xavier went into halftime with a 40-29 lead and by at least five points for the majority of the 2nd half. Xavier was outstanding on the offensive end as they shot 46.6% from the field and 47.1% (8-17) from beyond the arc. Leading the way for the Musketeers was RaShid Gaston who had a double-double with 11 points, 14 rebounds, and 2 assists. On the season, Xavier is averaging 75.6 ppg on 44.2% shooting from the field. The Musketeers are averaging 6.8 three-pointers per game on 32.5% shooting from beyond the arc. Offensively, Xavier has been led by Trevon Bluiett (19.2 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 2.3 apg), J.P. Macura (15.0 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 3.1 apg, 2.2 spg), Edmond Sumner (14.2 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 4.3 apg, 1.5 spg), and RaShid Gaston (7.3 ppg, 7.5 rpg). Defensively, Xavier is allowing their opponents to average 66.2 ppg on 42.8% shooting from the field. The Musketeers currently have a rebound margin of 9.5 and a turnover margin of 2.2.
The Demon Deacons are 5-2 ATS in their last 7 games following a ATS loss and 9-4-2 ATS in their last 15 games as a road underdog. The Musketeers are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 home games and 14-5 ATS in their last 19 non-conference games.
Wake Forest is a young team that has been solid on the offensive end as they currently rank T-42nd in scoring offense and 39th in FG%. Xavier struggled offensively on the road in games against Baylor and Colorado however, the Musketeers are undefeated at home this season and have done a great job on the boards as they rank T-11th in rebound margin. Wake Forest hasn’t been great on the road this season however, as they have some size and can score the basketball, I think Danny Manning’s Demon Deacons will do enough to cover with the points. Take Wake Forest and the points.