Syracuse @ Wake Forest preview

Last Meeting ( Mar 6, 2018 ) Wake Forest 64, Syracuse 73

Syracuse plays the ultimate "trap game" Saturday when it visits Wake Forest in ACC action. The Orange are in the midst of a four-game stretch against three top-five teams (Duke, North Carolina and Virginia) and this weekend's matchup with the Demon Deacons is the only apparent break in the schedule.

Syracuse hung tough against its first two elite foes, ultimately falling to Duke by 10 and to North Carolina by eight. Tyus Battle, a preseason All-American, had 29 points versus the Tar Heels to notch his highest-scoring game of February. He hopes to carry that success over to March, beginning with the date with Wake Forest, which is 2-1 in its last three games after opening the ACC season 2-10. Brandon Childress hit a big 3-pointer late in the Demon Deacons' win over Miami on Tuesday and likely will be the focus of the Orange's 2-3 zone defense.

TV: Noon ET, Raycom

ABOUT SYRACUSE (18-10, 9-6 ACC): Battle has shot just 31.6 percent from the field over the last four games, and he has recorded only one steal in 145 minutes over that stretch. Elijah Hughes has bounced back with three straight double-figure scoring games after a quiet six-game stretch, and he made five 3s against North Carolina - his most in a game in more than a month. Oshae Brissett has missed 14 of his last 16 3-point attempts and hasn't scored 20 points in a game since the first week of December.

ABOUT WAKE FOREST (11-16, 4-11): The Demon Deacons topped Miami 76-75 behind 21 points apiece from Childress and Chaundee Brown. Each of them drained four 3-pointers, while Brown added 14 rebounds and Childress contributed five boards and five assists. Jaylen Hoard (12 points, 10 rebounds) had a double-double of his own - the seventh of the season for the freshman forward - and he averages 13.8 points, second on the team to Childress (15.0).

TIP-INS

1. Wake Forest, over its last three games, has scored 75, 74 and 76 points, respectively.

2. Syracuse split its first two meetings with Wake Forest last season before capturing the rubber match, 73-64, in the ACC tournament.

3. Brissett is 1-of-9 from the foul line in the last two games.

PREDICTION: Syracuse 79, Wake Forest 74