Louisville @ Wake Forest preview

Last Meeting ( Jan 27, 2018 ) Wake Forest 77, Louisville 96

Red-hot No. 16 Louisville hopes to avoid looking ahead to an important stretch of games when it visits struggling Wake Forest for an ACC matchup Wednesday. The Cardinals, who take on No. 10 North Carolina, No. 11 Virginia Tech, No. 27 Florida State and No. 2 Duke in succession following the trip to Wake Forest, have won five straight by an average of 16.1 points after rallying for a 66-51 victory over Pittsburgh on Saturday despite shooting 39.3 percent

“I think it shows we have some character on our team,” Louisville coach Chris Mack told reporters after the Cardinals avenged their only ACC loss. “It’s easy to win a game when things are going well for you, shots are falling, team isn’t really frazzing you with their pressure, everybody is scoring. … We’re going to have to win games like this.” Louisville will go for a fourth victory in five games against the Demon Deacons since joining the ACC and leans on sophomore forward Jordan Nwora, who averages team highs of 18.2 points and 7.9 rebounds. Wake Forest has dropped three straight contests and six of seven after coughing up a seven-point lead in the final six minutes at home in a 65-61 setback against Boston College on Saturday. “I think the only way to dig our way out is to continue to work, that’s it,” Demon Deacons freshman forward Jaylen Hoard told reporters. “That’s all you can do. Continue to work, continue to battle, continue to fight.”

TV: 8 p.m. ET, Raycom Sports, ACC Network

ABOUT LOUISVILLE (15-5, 6-1 ACC): Junior Steven Enoch and sophomore Malik Williams are averaging a combined 23.3 points on 25-of-46 shooting the last three games to give the Cardinals production from the center position. “They both have a really good shooting touch,” Mack told reporters. “Malik is a little more mobile and he’s not as physical. He doesn’t seal and carve out space as well as Steve.” Senior guard Christen Cunningham struggled to five points against Pitt, but is second on the team in scoring (10.5) and leads the way in assists (4.4) while connecting on 41.7 percent from 3-point range.

ABOUT WAKE FOREST (8-11, 1-6): Junior guard Brandon Childress tops the Demon Deacons in scoring (16.1) and assists (4.3), but is just 7-of-28 from the field the last two games and missed all nine 3-point attempts Saturday. Hoard averages 14.3 points and a team-high 8.1 rebounds after notching his fifth double-double of the season against Boston College (22 points, 10 boards). Sophomore guard Chaundee Brown (10.5 points) has cooled off the last four games while connecting on just 8-of-32 from the field for the Demon Deacons, who shoot 41.6 percent from the field overall.

TIP-INS

1. Wake Forest sophomore C Olivier Sarr has connected on 11-of-17 from the field the past four outings.

2. Louisville junior F Dwayne Sutton (9.9 points per game) has at least eight rebounds in five of the last six contests.

3. The Demon Deacons average just 10.8 assists per game, which ranked tied for 337th in the nation entering Tuesday.

PREDICTION: Louisville 78, Wake Forest 68