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Wake Forest basketball officially opens its season today at 2pm against in-state for North Carolina A&T.
The Blogger So Dear staff has predictions for this game.
Andrew
Wake Forest 78-North Carolina A&T 62
The Aggies are dramatically different talent wise than last year. Having lost their two best scorers from transfer/ineligibility, there is a major shift in leadership than the previous campaigns. It looks like the one-two punch of guard Quavious Copeland and big man Ibrahim Sylla should be the team’s focal point on offense. Besides those two, there aren’t any such contributors who could turn the tide in this one.
This is the first game for the Deacons, so expect them to be a bit sloppy coming out of the gate. It’ll be fun to watch how Isaiah Mucius and Jaylen Hoard matchup in their first collegiate affair, only though I wished they would play more simultaneously on the court. The Deacons have the most talent of the two teams up and down and should play to their own style and pace as they begin their new and promising campaign.
I see a blow out on the horizon.
Elijah
Wake Forest 72-North Carolina A&T 65
Wake gets a good start to the season.
Despite losing players like Melo Eggleston, the Deacs will get a victory to start the season off well.
Adam
Wake Forest 95-North Carolina A&T 63
I haven’t seen our team play yet, so I’m really not sure what to expect this season. I don’t really know anything about A&T other than they are supposed to be pretty bad, so I’m just picking a random score and say where we go from there.
Bart
Wake Forest 91-North Carolina A&T 56
Wake takes care of business handily in their season opener against one of the worst teams they will play all year. I’m very excited to see what the new faces bring to this team and think that Jaylen Hoard will have an immediate impact in Winston-Salem. Wake will look to push the tempo as they’ve done consistently under Danny Manning and the Aggies simply cannot keep up.
Rob
Wake Forest 82-North Carolina A&T 60
NC A&T fought hard against UNCG the other night, but A&T is a small team who has significant deficiencies at grabbing defensive rebounds. As a result, I fully expect Olivier Sarr and Jaylen Hoard to dominate in the paint, and for the Deacs to cruise to victory. A&T is currently 345th in Ken Pom, so this better be an easy win.
Edward
Wake Forest 85-North Carolina A&T 64
Wake Forest has a very young team this year, led by junior point guard Brandon Childress. In spite of their youth, the Deacs are very athletic and appear to have a lot of talent. A&T is a small team, so look for Wake to go inside to Olivier Sarr and Jaylen Hoard early and often. Look for Isaiah Mucius and Chaundee Brown to have a field day from the mid-range game. Wake wins this one easily to get the season started off on the right foot.
Riley
Wake Forest 86 - North Carolina A&T 59
There are a ton of question marks headed into this game, as Wake Forest has 10 new players on its roster and A&T has 11. With the Aggies ranked 345th in KenPom anything other than a commanding victory would probably be a cause for concern. I think Jaylen Hoard gets his Wake career off to a big start with a double-double, and Brown also goes for at least 15 en route to a big win.
What do you all think will be the outcome of this game? Comment below.