Wake Forest’s quest to avoid late-season drama regarding its postseason prospects will require good results earlier during its Atlantic Coast Conference schedule.
The Demon Deacons (10-4, 2-1 ACC) try to take another step in building their resume on Saturday afternoon when North Carolina State pays a visit to Winston-Salem, N.C.
NC State (8-5, 1-1) failed to protect a 14-point lead and fell 70-67 to Virginia on Tuesday. The Wolfpack have yet to win outside of Raleigh this season, going 0-5 away from home.
Coach Kevin Keatts said the Wolfpack still are trying to figure out how to best navigate late-game situations.
“This is a new group,” Keatts said. “We preached on it. This group needs each other to play well together to be able to win.”
Wake Forest, which has been on the wrong side of the NCAA bubble the past couple of seasons, is coming off Tuesday’s 81-71 escape at Syracuse. Hunter Sallis scored 23 points in the win.
“Down the stretch, we executed well,” Wake Forest coach Steve Forbes said.
The Demon Deacons shot 9-for-19 on 3-pointers, marking the best percentage for a Syracuse opponent this season. It added up to the most successful 3-point shots for Wake Forest since hitting 10 more than a month earlier against Detroit Mercy.
Sallis has racked up at least 20 points in three consecutive games and six times total this season. Last year against NC State, he had 12 points in a road loss and followed that a few weeks later by posting 33 points in a home victory over the Wolfpack. He’s capable of being a difference-maker in various ways for Wake Forest.
“I just think that he represents us in a way that we want to be represented,” Forbes said.
The Wolfpack hope to have forward Ben Middlebrooks back after he missed Tuesday’s action when he was ill on game day at Virginia. He averages 9.8 points and 4.5 rebounds per game.
“He’s our toughness guy,” Keatts said. “That being said, I thought Brandon (Huntley-Hatfield) and Ish (Diouf) did a good job in the first half (at Virginia) with his absence but as the game went along, we completely missed him.”
This will be the first of three January home games against in-state opponents for Wake Forest.
–Field Level Media
