The Wake Forest Demon Deacons welcome the Arkansas Razorbacks to Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum. The game starts at 7:00 pm ET on Friday, Dec. 4 and can be seen on ES3.
The Demon Deacons come into this game hoping to repeat their last performance, edging Rutgers 69-68 on Monday. Devin Thomas played a key role, recording his fourth double-double this season with 23 points and 17 rebounds. The Razorbacks, meanwhile, are coming off a 117-78 win over Northwestern State on Tuesday. Moses Kingsley played well and claimed his fourth double-double of the season, accumulating 21 points and 10 rebounds.
Wake Forest, a four-point favorite, will look to capitalize at home against Arkansas. The Over/Under (O/U) for the matchup is sitting at 166 points. The Demon Deacons come into this game 5-2 Straight Up (SU) and 3-3 Against The Spread (ATS). The Demon Deacons are one of the best in Division I in terms of free throws made, making an impressive 21.0 per game. Wake Forest has an edge in the rebounding department for this game, where it racks up an average of 43.6 rebounds per game. Crossing over to the defensive side of the court, opponents have consistently had their shots rejected by the Demon Deacons, ranking 42nd in the country in blocks per game with 5.3.
Across the court, it’s hard to argue with the ATS failures of Arkansas. The Razorbacks are clearly doing something wrong with a 0-3 record ATS to go along with a 3-3 record SU so far. The Razorbacks rank 26th in the country in scoring, averaging 85.8 points per game. The Razorbacks convert their three-pointers at a high percentage, ranking 17th in the nation at .415. The Razorbacks are a force on the offensive glass, grabbing an average of 14.3 offensive rebounds per game. The Razorbacks rarely make costly errors handling the ball. They have the 22nd-best assist-to-turnover ratio in the country at 1.61.
These two will be squaring off for the first time this season. In their most recent meeting a season ago, Arkansas came out on top, taking the head-to-head record to an even 1-1 SU. They are even ATS as well (1-1).
Predictions: SU Winner – Ark, ATS Winner – Ark, O/U – Over
Notes
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Wake Forest’s last 5 games.
Wake Forest is 5-2 SU in its last 7 games.
Arkansas averages 85.8 points per game (ranked 26th). Wake Forest, on the other hand, allows 79.3 points per game (ranked 304th).
Ranked 57th, the Arkansas Razorbacks have an offensive rating of 115.2. The Wake Forest Demon Deacons rank 294th with a defensive rating of just 109.5.
Wake Forest has an average field goal percentage of 43.3%. Arkansas is a losing 1-3 when opponents have a similar or higher field goal percentage.
The Wake Forest Demon Deacons and the Arkansas Razorbacks both rank higher in average field goal percentage when compared to their effective field goal percentages. Wake Forest is 245th and 200th in the nation for eFG% and FG% respectively, while Arkansas ranks 138th and 109th in these categories.
The Arkansas Razorbacks rank 14th in assists per game, making an average of 19.0. The Wake Forest Demon Deacons are among the worst in the country with 11.0 assists per game (ranked 306th).
Wake Forest ranks 42nd in blocks per game with 5.3 and Arkansas ranks 79th with 4.7 blocks per game.
Wake Forest ranks 30th in offensive rebounding. Arkansas ranks 258th in defensive rebounding.
The Arkansas Razorbacks make an average of 8.0 steals per game. When the Wake Forest Demon Deacons give up 8 or more steals, they are a winning 2-1.
