UNC Basketball vs. Wake Forest: Game preview, info, prediction and more
When all four of North Carolina’s ACC basketball teams are playing well, it makes for significantly more exciting basketball.
The issue is, not all four North Carolina ACC schools have always been good at the same time. Duke and NC State played well last year, both making the NCAA Tournament, but such wasn’t the case for UNC and Wake Forest, who both barely reached .500 in conference play.
With significantly improved on-court play and significantly more experience for each program, UNC and Wake Forest are among the ACC’s best teams this year. They’ll actually face off on Monday, Jan. 22, with Carolina (15-3, 7-0) hosting the Demon Deacons (13-5, 5-2) at 7 p.m.
The Tar Heels are both an offensive and defensive juggernaut, holding the ACC’s top-scoring offense and a Top-7 scoring defense. RJ Davis looks like one of the country’s best players, Armando Bacot is finally in a rhythm we need and – best of all – head coach Hubert Davis is dipping deep into his bench.
Wake Forest has come back down to earth a bit, with Florida State ending its 9-game winning streak on Tuesday, Jan. 9, but that’s not to discredit a dangerous scoring offense. The Demon Deacons have four players averaging at least 14 points per game, led by 17.8 from Central Michigan transfer Kevin Miller.
I expect several members of Deactown will travel to Chapel Hill for this game, but I also expect the Dean Dome to be mainly baby blue.
What should you be looking out for in this game?
Key to victory for UNC
With how deep and dangerous Wake Forest is offensively, UNC will need to lock in defensively, particularly on the perimeter.
Nine – yes, nine – Demon Deacons are shooting at least 33 percent from deep. Seven of those players are regulars, as guard Parker Freidrichsen leads the way at 42 percent.
We saw the Tar Heels struggle defending the three against Louisville, as the Cardinals shot 44% from downtown. This nearly cost UNC, which saw a 20-plus-point lead turn to just five.
Something to watch
This might sound generic, but look to see how well UNC plays inside its home arena.
Solid home-court advantages are crucial to have, particularly in a sport like college basketball, with rowdy students and rambunctious fans chanting throughout.
The Tar Heels won their first eight games at home, most recently against Louisville this past Wednesday. The Cardinals aren’t a great team, but they gave Carolina a great scare.
What you don’t want for UNC is to rely solely on the Tar Heel Faithful to carry them towards victory. Instead, Carolina should rely on its strong, on-court play and not become complacent if it jumps out to a large lead.
What you need to know
WHAT? UNC (15-3, 7-0 ACC) vs. Wake Forest (13-5, 5-2)
WHEN? Monday, Jan. 22 at 7 p.m. ET
WHERE? Dean E. Smith Center in Chapel Hill, NC
TV? ESPN (Watch and stream the game live on WatchESPN)
RADIO? Sirius XM (Channel 84 or 380)
LINE? N/A
LAST MEETING? Wake Forest won, 92-85, on 2/7/23 in Winston-Salem, NC
ALL-TIME SERIES? UNC leads, 110-52
PREDICTION? UNC 85, Wake Forest 73
