Big Sports Saturday for Wake Forest Athletics

We are getting into the time of year where there are a lot of sports going on in the world of college athletics. Wake Forest is no exception to this, and this extends beyond just current NCAA competition, as Demon Deacon alums and club teams have big events today as well.

Here is a quick rundown of what’s going on today in a handful of sports and how you can watch (if you so choose to)!

Noon - No. 8 UNC at Wake Forest (ACC Network, Men’s Basketball)

The day gets kicked off with what will likely be the worst chance for the Deacs to get a win. Wake welcomes in top ten in-state rival North Carolina into what will almost certainly be a pro-Tar Heel crowd since most Wake fans are pretty good at finding Baby Blue friends or co-workers to fill seats at the Joel when we are struggling,

1 PM - No. 3 Wake Forest vs. No. 6 UCLA (Elite Eight of Indoor ITA National Championships, Men’s Tennis)

The Deacs had a hard fought victory yesterday against No. 14 Columbia and used a big comeback at the third set from Rrezart Cungu to get the fourth and final point to move on. Wake Forest is looking to defend its title here, while Petros Chrysochos will go for his 120th singles victory in a Demon Deacon uniform which would put him at No. 1 by himself in school history, passing former teammate Skander Mansouri.

Borna Gojo should be available for the Deacs today after sitting out yesterday to rest an injury. Wake will need him to be on top of his game, as this will be a tough match-up.

Live scoring and streaming is available here.

4 PM - Illinois (1-0) vs. Wake Forest (1-0) (Men’s Baseball)

The Deacs got off to a hot start on the diamond with a 14-1 victory over Sacred Heart yesterday. Today will feature a tougher game when it welcomes top 50 opponent Illinois into The Couch for a 4 PM first pitch. The Illini knocked off Georgetown yesterday in their season opener.

Today is the first game that will show us how far the team has come from last season. Hopefully we keep up the #RakeForest mantra.

Live video is not available, but stats/gametracker is available here.

4:30 PM - N.C. State at Wake Forest (Club Hockey ACHL Semi-Finals)

Wake Forest defeated Charlotte yesterday in the first round of the ACHL tournament and today will try to hand N.C. State its first loss of the season. Here is a look at the game-winning goal by freshman Drew Gebhardt to send the Deacs through to the Final Four:

The Wolfpack are 23-0 and heavy favorites to take down the title. Wake lost the title game to Charlotte last season. If you are in Winston and are looking for something to do then be sure to get out to the Annex and support the Deacs. We almost beat the Pack last weekend, so maybe today we will get over the hump! Here’s a link from the IcePack Twitter feed where you can watch:

8 PM - John Collins (NBA Dunk Contest, 8 PM, TNT)

This comes as no surprise to most Wake fans, but John Collins is an athletic freak and that has translated very well to the NBA. He has lit up the league with highlight reel slams for the past year and a half and tonight will get a chance to showcase that to even casual fans as he stars in the NBA Dunk Contest.

He will join Dennis Smith, Jr, (+200), Miles Bridges, and Hamidou Diallo in the competition. Collins is seeking to become the third 6-10+ player to ever win the dunk contest. One thing that he does very well is make dunks look extremely impressive despite his height. Here are some examples from the Rising Stars Challenge from last night. Enjoy, and watch our guy tonight on national television!