Boston College @ Wake Forest preview

Last Meeting ( Nov 6, 2019 ) Wake Forest 70, Boston College 77

Wake Forest is treading water without talented junior guard Chaundee Brown and is hoping to end a three-game slide when it hosts Boston College on Sunday. Brown (leg) sat out the last three games and remains questionable for Sunday.

Brown ranks second on the team in scoring (13.3 points) and rebounds (6.5), and his absence leaves a big hole in the roster. "I mean, Chaundee is a very key guy on the team," senior point guard Brandon Childress, who leads the team in scoring (15 points), told the Greensboro News and Record. "So, when someone goes out like that, of course it's going to affect our play a little bit, especially somebody who's the second-leading scorer on the team. Even rebounding, you know, Chaundee is a heck of a rebounder. He's also a good defender, as well. You take that, it's a big chunk missing." The Demon Deacons might not need Brown's points to outscore the Eagles, who are averaging 52.8 points while dropping three of the last four games. Boston College will be trying to earn a second victory this season over Wake Forest after forcing 17 turnovers during a 77-70 home win in the season opener on Nov. 6.

TIME: 6 p.m. ET. TV: ACC Network

ABOUT BOSTON COLLEGE (9-8, 3-3 ACC): Graduate transfer Derryck Thornton made his Eagles debut in the first meeting on Nov. 6 and poured in 23 points on 7-of-14 shooting but has not reached those heights since and returned from a two-game absence with a season-low four points on 2-of-7 shooting in a 76-50 loss at Syracuse on Wednesday. Thornton (12.7 points) still leads Boston College in scoring while forward Nik Popovic (11.8 points) and guard Jay Heath (11.7) join him in double figures. A big reason for the Eagles' scoring struggles in ACC play are due to the absence of Popovic, who went down with a back injury last month and is out indefinitely.

ABOUT WAKE FOREST (8-8, 1-5): The Demon Deacons are struggling to get stops with Brown out of the lineup and allowed Florida State, Duke and Virginia Tech to average 82.7 points over the last three games. "I thought we came out in the first half and we went scoreless in a few stretches, but we did enough defensively to only be down two," Wake Forest coach Danny Manning told reporters after the 80-70 home loss to the Hokies on Tuesday. "In the second half, we gave their shooters too many looks, and they started to get comfortable." The Demon Deacons surrendered 47 points in the second half in that setback and committed 18 turnovers overall.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Wake Forest G Andrien White scored a season-high 14 points on Tuesday after scoring in single digits in each of the previous four contests.

2. Boston College is a combined 9-of-48 from 3-point range over the last two games.

3. The Demon Deacons fell 65-61 at home to the Eagles last season.

PREDICTION: Wake Forest 75, Boston College 68