It will be a battle between Atlantic Coast opponents when the Wake Forest Demon Deacons (9-5) welcome the North Carolina State Wolfpack (10-5) to Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum. The game starts at 8:00 pm ET on Sunday, Jan. 10 and will air on ESU and ES3.
The Demon Deacons were beaten by Duke 91-75 on Wednesday. Devin Thomas recorded 21 points and 12 rebounds, earning his eighth double-double of the year. The Wolfpack, meanwhile, are coming off a 77-72 loss to Louisville on Thursday. Abdul-Malik Abu had a solid game, posting his sixth double-double of the season with 15 points and 12 rebounds.
The Demon Deacons do a great job at getting to the charity stripe. They rank 17th in the nation in FTA rate (46.6), but North Carolina State is among the best in the nation at keeping opponents off the line (ranking 21st by allowing a FTA rate of 26.3). The Wolfpack should also expect to protect the ball well. They rank 17th at avoiding errors (TO% of 15.3%). Conversely, the Demon Deacons force the 22nd-fewest turnovers in the nation (opponents’ TO% of 15.6%).
Notes
Ranked 89th, the North Carolina State Wolfpack have an offensive rating of 110.1. The Wake Forest Demon Deacons rank 291st with a defensive rating of just 108.6.
The Wake Forest Demon Deacons average a field goal percentage of 44.1% this season. The North Carolina State Wolfpack are 2-3 when opponents have a FG% of 44.1% or greater.
The Wake Forest Demon Deacons and the North Carolina State Wolfpack both rank higher in average field goal percentage when compared to their effective field goal percentages. Wake Forest is 210th and 179th in the nation for eFG% and FG% respectively, while North Carolina State ranks 313th and 292nd in these categories.
Wake Forest ranks 44th in blocks per game with 5.1 and North Carolina State ranks 35th with 5.3 blocks per game.
Wake Forest ranks 33rd in offensive rebounding. When it comes to defensive rebounds, North Carolina State ranks 78th.
The Wake Forest Demon Deacons make an average of 5.3 steals per game. When the North Carolina State Wolfpack allow 5 or more steals, they are a superb 10-3.
