Wake Forest @ Arizona preview

Nico Mannion has been as good as advertised for No. 14 Arizona, which faces Wake Forest on Sunday in the championship game of the Wooden Legacy in Anaheim, Calif. The freshman guard made the game-winning basket in Thursday’s thrilling 93-91 win over Pepperdine before scoring a career-high 24 points in Friday’s 92-82 victory over Penn.

Mannion was 11-of-14 from the field against Penn and is averaging 16.1 points on 55.7 percent shooting for the Wildcats, who are shooting 59.6 percent from the field and 51.5 percent from 3-point range during the first two games of the tournament. All five Arizona starters have scored in double figures in both games - including freshman guard Josh Green, who scored a career-high 24 points in the win over Pepperdine. “We're further along on offense than we are on defense,” coach Sean Miller told reporters. “We can score and we’re efficient, and I think we can even get better on offense. We have a lot of different ways to be able to beat you. But how much we improve on defense is going to is going to be a big, big factor in our overall success.” The Wildcats may have too much firepower for Wake Forest, which opened tournament play with a 65-56 win over College of Charleston before posting an 88-75 victory over Long Beach State.

TV: 9 p.m. ET, ESPN

ABOUT WAKE FOREST (5-2): Guard Brandon Childress scored 17 points and center Olivier Sarr added 16 points and eight rebounds in the win over Long Beach State as the Demon Deacons secured the victory by shooting 24-of-25 from the free-throw line. Childress averages a team-high 16.6 points and 5.4 assists to lead a balanced rotation that features nine players logging at least 13 minutes per game. Six players scored in double figures in Friday’s victory, including guards Chaundee Brown and Andrien White, who combined for 25 points.

ABOUT ARIZONA (8-0): The Wildcats boast an imposing frontline of 6-11 freshman Zeke Nnaji and 6-10 senior Chase Jeter, who scored a season-high 19 points on 8-for-9 shooting in 22 minutes against Penn. “My teammates were just able to find me in the post,” Jeter told reporters. “Since a lot of teams have been scouting and seeing what Zeke has been capable of, teams are starting to double team him and he’s able to find me out of the trap.” Senior guard Dylan Smith scored a season-high 16 points in the win over Pepperdine and is averaging 7.9 points while shooting 44 percent from 3-point range.

TIP-INS

1. The teams are meeting for the first time since Nov. 26, 2004, when Wake Forest won 63-60 in New York.

2. Arizona F Stone Gettings was limited to nine minutes in Friday’s win due to an eye injury but is expected to be available Sunday.

3. The Deacons are playing in their first tournament title game since winning the 2008 76 Classic in Anaheim (now the Wooden Legacy).

PREDICTION: Arizona 84, Wake Forest 69