[7:02 PM] Wake Forest @ Charleston

Who will WIN this matchup?

Wake Forest Demon Deacons (3-1)

@ Charleston Cougars (3-1)

 

• The line for this game is Wake Forest by 4 points.

• Wake Forest came up short of advancing to its first tournament final in eight seasons and the Demon Deacons will turn their attention to finishing the Charleston Classic on a high note when they meet host Charleston in Sunday’s third-place game. Wake Forest ran into a red-hot Villanova team in the semifinals Friday and couldn’t keep up with the No. 3 Wildcats in the 96-77 loss at TD Arena, but several bright spots still emerged.

• The Demon Deacons are especially difficult to match up against because 6-10, 255-pound stretch forward Konstantinos Mitoglou shoots a decent clip from 3-point range and must be accounted for in rebounding situations. Wake Forest coach Danny Manning would probably like to see him play even more physical and, so far, his rebounds and free-throw attempts are slightly up from last season. Wake Forest’s 6-6 wing Austin Arians has been a nice addition to the starting lineup after coming over from Milwaukee as a graduate transfer, shooting 9-for-20 from 3-point range overall and playing a season-high 33 minutes against Villanova.

• The Cougars need to find a way to get Cameron Johnson untracked or they could find themselves scrambling to break 40 points again. Johnson, the team’s second-leading scorer last season at 12.3 points, hasn’t scored in double figures this season while shooting a combined 8-for-24 from the floor, including 3-for-12 on 2-point shots. Joe Chealey has helped cover for Johnson, as the junior guard who sat out last season with an ACL injury is leading the team in scoring at 14.8 points – though his shooting percentages are also below average.

• Wake Forest has shot 50 percent from the floor or better in three of four games this season.

• The Demon Deacons have won three games by double figures this season after winning just two by that margin all of last year.

• Wake Forest is averaging 9.8 made 3-pointers a game and shooting 45.3 percent after averaging 6.3 and shooting 31.6 last season.

 

StreakSmarts Pick: Wake Forest Demon Deacons

Confidence: 6/10

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