Wake Forest Demon Deacons vs. Notre Dame Fighting Irish Preview
Where: Purcell Pavilion — South Bend, Indiana
When: Tuesday, February 7, 2017, 7:00 PM ET
Line: Wake Forest Demon Deacons (+7) vs. Notre Dame Fighting Irish (-7); total: 158.0 – view all NCAA Basketball lines
TV Broadcast: ESPNN
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Betting on the Wake Forest Demon Deacons (5-6, 14-9 ACC)
Wake comes in carrying a two-game winnings streak, with the most recent victory against Georgia Tech on Saturday, 81-69.
John Collins continued to lead the scoring for the Demon Deacons, registering 20 points, 11 rebounds and five blocks for his second-consecutive double-double. The sophomore forward has also posted 20 or more points in his previous six games, a stretch in which the team went 4-2 SU and ATS.
There’s no question that Wake can compete against any program with single-digit losses to the likes of Xavier, North Carolina and Duke. What makes the Demon Deacons tough to handle or beat is their very capable offense that’s averaging more than 80 points per contest this season.
Other than Collins, they also have two other players scoring in double digits in Bryant Crawford (14.9) and Keyshawn Woods (12.6).
Wake, however, is extremely vulnerable on the defense end, where it is surrendering at least 76 points per game to opponents this season, including an average of 83.1 points in their six ACC setbacks.
Betting on the Notre Dame Fighting Irish (6-5, 17-7 ACC)
Four-consecutive losses (1-3 ATS) have taken Notre Dame out of the top-25 rankings, making them desperate for a win against Wake Forest this evening.
The all-time series is tied at three wins apiece, but the Fighting Irish were victorious in both meetings last season: 85-62 in South Bend and 69-58 in Winston-Salem. But getting another W won’t be as easy this time, with the Demon Deacons much, much better than a year ago.
Notre Dame’s defense, in particular, will be greatly tested against Wake’s high-scoring offense. The Fighting Irish are allowing 75 points per game in their current losing slide. If they don’t pull it together defensively, that puts enormous pressure on Bonzie Colson and V.J. Beachem to bail them out on offense.
Both lead Notre Dame in scoring this season with at least 15 points each per contest. The latter, though, has been playing better, finishing with 20 or more points in his last three games.
Writer’s Prediction
Notre Dame (-7) wins and covers.
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