Wake Forest Demon Deacons (Overall: 19-13, Conf: 9-9)
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Team Strengths:
Scoring, scoring, and more scoring. Wake Forest, currently priced at +30,000 to win the national title, is never replete of point-producers on the floor. All-ACC first-team selection John Collins, in particular, has been a huge revelation for the team in his sophomore year. Collins has a superb 62-percent field-goal percentage for the season as a scoring threat from every spot on the court and as a foul-drawing machine just the same.
The Demon Deacons also know when to turn up the heat during contests. They’re 10th in in the country with an average of 43.2 points scored in the second half, so teams that are caught napping on the boys from Winston-Salem late often end up on the losing end of those contests.
Team Weaknesses:
The downside to having an explosive offense is that it’s usually attained at the expense of poor defense, and Wake Forest is indeed a casualty of that belief. Five of the team’s losses this season saw opponents break the 90-point barrier, and allowing over half of their opponents’ two-point shots to go in this season isn’t going to do the team any favors in the tournament either.
In addition, the Demon Deacons won just one of their eight contests against ranked opponents this season. That means if no upsets emerge from the tournament, they’ll likely be outclassed by more well-rounded programs that know how to actually play good D or can stay toe-to-toe with them in shootouts.
Team Stats:
| CATEGORY | STAT / G | NCAA RANK |
| Points | 82.7 | 15th |
| Rebounds | 36.8 | 98th |
| Assists | 15.6 | 46th |
| Steals | 5.5 | 232nd |
| Blocks | 3.8 | 109th |
| Field goal percentage | 47.2 | 37th |
| Three-point percentage | 38.7 | 30th |
| Free throw percentage | 77.3 | 11th |
| Turnovers | 11.8 | 64th |
Starting Lineup:
| POSITION | NAME | PPG |
| F | John Collins | 18.9 |
| F | Konstantinos Mitoglou | 9.0 |
| G | Mitchell Wilbekin | 7.0 |
| G | Bryant Crawford | 16.1 |
| G | Keyshawn Woods | 12.8 |
Writer’s Prediction:
Wake Forest (+30,000) reaches the second round of the tournament with wins over First Four hopeful Kansas State and sixth-seeded Cincinnati before getting outgunned by UCLA.
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