Wake Forest @ NC State preview

Last Meeting ( Dec 7, 2019 ) NC State 91, Wake Forest 82

North Carolina State may still need a win or two next week to secure an NCAA Tournament bid, but a victory over visiting Wake Forest in the ACC regular-season finale Friday night is essential to any hopes. The Wolfpack have some impressive wins on their resume, but they have dropped four of the last six games after suffering an 88-69 setback at 11th-ranked Duke on Monday.

Coach Kevin Keatts’ team has beaten Virginia, Wisconsin, Syracuse and Notre Dame, but NC State is squarely on the bubble with the ACC Tournament looming next week after failing to finish off the two-game sweep of Duke earlier in the week. “They made all the winning plays in the second half,” Keatts told reporters after his team was beaten 16-9 on the offensive glass overall and allowed the Blue Devils to shoot 63 percent from the floor in the final 20 minutes. Wake Forest had won back-to-back games for the first time in two months last week by beating Duke and Notre Dame, but could not get it done Tuesday at North Carolina while allowing the Tar Heels to shoot 50.8 percent overall and make 10 of 17 from 3-point range. “You’ve got to make teams miss,” Demon Deacons coach Danny Manning told reporters after the loss. “We didn’t make them miss enough to give ourselves a chance.”

TIME: 7 p.m. ET. TV: ACC Network

ABOUT WAKE FOREST (13-16, 6-13 ACC): Senior guard Brandon Childress registered 24 points at North Carolina and leads the team in both scoring (15.4) and assists (4.7) as his career draws to a close. Junior center Olivier Sarr is developing into a big threat down the stretch - including his 30-point, 17-rebound effort last week against Notre Dame - and is scoring 13.5 per game overall while adding a team-best 8.9 boards. Freshman guard Jahcobi Neath is averaging 11.5 points over the past four games and sophomore Isaiah Mucius is scoring 12.3 per contest in the last three to provide hope for the future.

ABOUT NC STATE (18-12, 9-10): The Wolfpack boast five players averaging in double figures and senior guard C.J. Bryce (13.4, team-high 6.1 rebounds) leads the way after posting 14 points versus Duke. Senior point guard Markell Johnson is just 16 of 44 from the field in his last four games, but averages 13 points overall and tops the ACC in assists (6.5) while sitting fifth in steals (1.86). Junior forward DJ Funderburk, who shot at least 50 percent from the field the past five games, averages 12.6 points along with 6.1 boards overall while junior guard Devon Daniels (12.4 points) scored 14 to go along with nine rebounds Monday at Duke.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Wake Forest junior G Chaundee Brown averages 12.5 points overall and has drained 5 of 7 from 3-point range the last three games.

2. NC State sophomore F Jericole Hellems is averaging 13 points and shooting 59.4 percent from the field the past four contests.

3. Childress scored 30 points, but the Wolfpack placed six players in double figures to beat the Demon Deacons 91-82 on Dec. 7.

PREDICTION: NC State 82, Wake Forest 72