Florida State @ Wake Forest preview

Last Meeting ( Mar 9, 2019 ) Florida State 65, Wake Forest 57

Wake Forest has won three straight after rallying to defeat Pittsburgh 69-65 over the weekend but now the Demon Deacons begin a challenging week as they host 10th-ranked Florida State on Wednesday followed by a trip to No. 2 Duke on Saturday. The Seminoles are on a roll of their own, winning six in a row, and they jumped 10 spots in the coaches poll after their impressive 78-65 upset victory at No. 11 Louisville on Saturday.

"I think that our guys showed a level of confidence," Florida State coach Leonard Hamilton told reporters after the Louisville win. "Each time the game got close, we stepped up, made big shots, executed very well, moved the ball, made the extra pass, and played tremendously unselfish." That confidence resulted in the Seminoles shooting 55.2 percent from the field against a usually stingy Louisville defense and they wound up hitting a season-best 11-of-23 3-pointers, with M.J. Walker drilling 5-of-7. The Demon Deacons weren't as prolific against Pittsburgh but overcame a 16-point deficit for their largest comeback win since rallying from 19 points down in a victory over the Panthers in 2017. "I thought this was a typical ACC game in the sense that the home team gets off to a really good start," Wake Forest coach Danny Manning told reporters. "We were down 16 early and I thought we continued to just chip away and keep finding ways to get back in the game."

TIME: 7:30 p.m. ET. TV: Regional Sports Network

ABOUT FLORIDA STATE (13-2, 3-1 ACC): After missing one game with a sore hip, Walker (23 points) made his presence felt quickly against Louisville, coming off the bench to combine with Trent Forrest (20 points) for 43 points as they nailed 18 of their 24 field goal attempts. With that performance, Forrest (12.1 points per game) took over as the team's leading scorer from sophomore Devin Vassell (11.9), who scored 14 in the win, with Walker (11.3) just behind, while Malik Osborne remains the top rebounder with 5.2 per game after totaling nine against Louisville. The Seminoles, however, were outplayed by the Cardinals on the boards as Louisville pulled down 19 offensive rebounds and scored 19 second-chance points.

ABOUT WAKE FOREST (8-5, 1-2): Senior Brandon Childress remains the team's leading scorer (15.7 points per game) but hasn't put up the big numbers the last two outings, held to eight points in each contest after scoring 30 and 22 in the two prior games. The Demon Deacons wound up spreading the ball around against Pitt, with freshman reserve Ismael Massoud leading the way with a season-high 14 points - the first time he paced the team in scoring - as Wake Forest's bench held a 32-5 advantage. That's been a common theme all season as the Demon Deacons' bench is outscoring opponents' reserves 26.8-14.5 thanks to 12 double-digit scoring games from non-starters this season, with eight from Olivier Sarr.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. After sweeping both games last season, Florida State holds a 27-25 edge in this series, with Wake Forest owning a 16-9 mark at home.

2. The Seminoles' three ACC victories were all by double digits - Clemson (72-53), Georgia Tech (70-58) and Louisville (78-65).

3. The Demon Deacons rank second in the ACC in free throw percentage (75.2 percent) behind only Florida State (76 percent).

PREDICTION: Florida State 77, Wake Forest 69