Atlantic Coast foes will collide when the No. 25 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (14-6) play the Wake Forest Demon Deacons (10-10) at Purcell Pavilion at the Joyce Center. Action begins at 1:00 pm ET on Sunday, Jan. 31 and can be seen on EFC and ES3.
The Fighting Irish are hoping to rebound after their 81-66 loss to Syracuse on Thursday. V.J. Beachem was the team’s leading scorer with 22 points. The Demon Deacons, meanwhile, are feeling some disappointment after their close 72-71 loss against Virginia on Tuesday. Bryant Crawford had a team-high 22 points.
The Fighting Irish could have their way today, as their productive offense faces off against one of the nation’s worst defenses. They currently rank fifth in offensive efficiency while Wake Forest ranks 315th in defensive efficiency. Furthermore, getting to the line could play a crucial role for the Demon Deacons. They rank ninth in the nation in FTA rate (46.9). However, the Fighting Irish are among the best in the nation at keeping opponents off the charity stripe (ranking 25th at 27.4).
This one isn’t expected to be close when Notre Dame, a big 10-point favorite, takes on Wake Forest. The Over/Under (O/U) is sitting at 159 points for this matchup. The Fighting Irish have gone 14-6 Straight Up (SU) and 7-10-1 Against The Spread (ATS). The Fighting Irish are one of the best in Division I in terms of field-goal percentage, shooting an impressive .495 from the field. Notre Dame is one of the most disciplined teams in the nation with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.55.
In the other locker room, the Demon Deacons have records of 7-9-2 ATS and 10-10 SU.
The conference foes will be squaring off for the first time this season. In their most recent meeting a season ago, Wake Forest came out on top, but the win was not enough to overtake Wake Forest in the head-to-head series. Its record is now 1-2 SU. Furthermore, Wake Forest holds the advantage ATS with a record of 2-1.
Predictions: SU Winner – ND, ATS Winner – ND, O/U – Over
Notes
Notre Dame is 3-7-1 ATS in its last 11 games.
Notre Dame is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games.
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Notre Dame’s last 6 games.
Notre Dame is 16-3 SU in its last 19 games at home.
Notre Dame averages 78.5 points per game (ranked 65th). Wake Forest, on the other hand, allows 78.8 points per game (ranked 313th).
In its last game, Wake Forest lost by a margin of one point. Notre Dame is 1-2 in games decided by a margin of three points or less. Wake Forest has a 4-2 record in close games.
The Wake Forest Demon Deacons average 71.2 possessions per game and 1.055 points per possession. The Notre Dame Fighting Irish earn fewer possessions with 64.7, but they score more points with 1.215.
The Notre Dame Fighting Irish have one of the best effective field goal percentages this season, ranking 13th in the country with an eFG% of 56.3%. When their opponents record a similar or higher eFG%, the Wake Forest Demon Deacons have a losing 1-3 record.
The Notre Dame Fighting Irish rank 11th with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.55, while the Wake Forest Demon Deacons rank outside the top 100 (255th) with an A/TO of .93.
Wake Forest, the 74th-ranked team in rebounding, registers an average of 38.9 rebounds per game. Notre Dame does worse, ranked 195th with 36.1.
Wake Forest makes an average of 5.6 steals per game. Notre Dame has a solid 8-4 record when it allows at least 5 steals.
