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3rd-Place Game of Maui Invitational
Wake Forest Demon Deacons (3-2) vs. UCLA Bruins (3-2)
Time: 7:30 p.m. ET
Channel: ESPN2
Online Streaming: WatchESPN
Odds: UCLA -5.5, Over/Under 158
Projected Starters:
Wake Forest: Bryant Crawford, Mitchell Wilbekin, Greg McClinton (or Cornelius Hudson), Dinos Mitoglou, and Devin Thomas
UCLA: Bryce Alford, Aaron Holiday, Isaac Hamilton, Tony Parker, and Thomas Welsh
Our Wake Forest Demon Deacons have a big test today when they take on the UCLA Bruins. In many ways, the teams are very similar. Both are strong rebounding teams who can be sloppy with the basketball. They're also both coached by coaches who were legendary college players. Manning actually has a history with UCLA. When Manning's Tulsa team made the NCAA Tournament in 2014, they actually faced ULCA in their opening game.
UCLA is no longer the UCLA of the John Wooden era, but it's still an excellent program, and a program that has made the Sweet 16 each of the past two seasons. A win over this program would give Danny Manning wins over Indiana and UCLA over a three-day period. The Deacs would be 4-2 on the year, and already have two strong wins on its resume. The Deacs would then be favored for the next four games, and would also be getting Codi Miller-McIntyre back. If that happens, it quickly becomes a very exciting time in Winston-Salem. Let's get it done.
As always, go Deacs!