UNC Greensboro @ Wake Forest preview

Last Meeting ( Dec 9, 2016 ) Wake Forest 78, NC-Greensboro 75

Whatever goodwill Danny Manning accrued with last season's trip to the NCAA Tournament is already spent as he leads Wake Forest into a home showdown with UNC Greensboro on Friday night. The Demon Deacons' coach is already scrambling for answers with his team having lost four of its first five games.

A sixth-place showing at the Paradise Jam was the latest disappointing result for Manning and Wake Forest, which surrendered a tiebreaking 8-0 run en route to an 78-73 loss to Houston on Sunday. "It was not the three days that I envisioned coming down here," Manning said of his team's 1-2 showing at the Virginia-based tournament. "I'm pretty sure it's not what everyone else envisioned either. We just have to get better. We have to come in with our hard hat and our lunch pail and continue to work on ourselves to get better each time we step on the court - practice or game." The Demon Deacons will look to turn things around beginning Friday against a UNC Greensboro team that is off to a much better start. Francis Alonso's 16 points helped the Spartans remain unbeaten at home with a 31-point win over Longwood the last time out.

TV: 7 p.m. ET, ACC Network

ABOUT UNC GREENSBORO (4-1): The Spartans boast one of the premier defenses in the nation through five games, surrendering a minuscule 51.4 points per game on 36.7 percent shooting. Alonso paces the offense at 14.4 points per game and has caught fire of late, pouring in 61 points over his last three games while knocking down 14 of his 23 3-point attempts over that span. Second-year forward James Hickey has been the lynchpin on defense for UNC Greensboro, averaging 8.6 rebounds and 3.4 blocked shots per game.

ABOUT WAKE FOREST (1-4): The Demon Deacons have plenty to work on if they hope to return to March Madness, but defending the 3-point line needs to be near the top of the list. Wake Forest is surrendering more than 10 made 3-pointers per game, ranking in the bottom 30 among FBS teams; Houston went 9-for-20 from beyond the arc in the victory Sunday, while Drake buried 15 3-pointers in a 77-74 win over Wake Forest in the tournament opener. Bryant Crawford (16.8 ppg) and Keyshawn Woods (16.3) pace the Demon Deacons offense and have combined to make 44-of-48 free throws through five games.

TIP-INS

1. The Demon Deacons rank 34th in the country in free-throw percentage (78.0).

2. Wake Forest C Doral Moore averages nine points and eight rebounds while shooting 80 percent from the field.

3. The Spartans' plus-12.8 rebounding margin ranks 22nd in Division I.

PREDICTION: Wake Forest 70, UNC Greensboro 65