Wake Forest vs. Florida State Preview/Game Thread

Wake Forest Demon Deacons (9-3) at #20 Florida State Seminoles (12-1)

Tallahassee, FL (Tucker Center)

Time: 5:00 p.m. ET

TV: ESPN2

Online Streaming: Watch ESPN

Odds: Ken Pom Projects that Florida State will win 85-78 (72% win probability). Vegas has FSU as a 8.5 point favorite, and an over/under of 162 points.

Wake Forest begins ACC play with a tough task, as they play a road game against a Top 25 opponent in Florida State. The Seminoles are led by sophomore Dwayne Bacon, who is averaging 16.9 points per game. Florida State's overall strength is its backcourt, as they have a very talented freshman in Jonathan Isaac, as well as a junior Xavier Rathan-Mayes rounding out the backcourt. All have size, and Isaac will create matchup problems against almost every team he faces.

FSU isn't an elite 3-point shooting team, though they are above average, but the Noles make 58% of attempts from inside the arc, which is 9th nationally. On the defensive end, they are outstanding at field goal percentage defense. John Collins will definitely be tested due to FSU's length, and I think this is a game where Dinos Mitoglou will float on the perimeter.

FSU's length could also be a problem for Wake's three-point shooting, as the length could alter a lot of shots. This makes it imperative that Wake Forest has sound and crisp ball movement on the outside, in addition to excellent spacing. I do not believe that this is an excellent matchup for Wake, but this game does present an excellent opportunity to boost the resume with a top 25 road win. Again, if Wake Forest is knocking down perimeter shots, then this team can compete with anyone in the country. The Deacs are coming off their best performance in years, let's see if the Deacs can continue that momentum into the state of Florida.

I hope you'll join me in the game thread. As always, go Deacs!