Virginia Tech vs Wake Forest Odds, Pick
| Virginia Tech Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
+3.5 -105 | 144.5 -110o / -110u | +150 |
| Wake Forest Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
-3.5 -115 | 144.5 -110o / -110u | -185 |
We head out to Winston-Salem, North Carolina, as the Wake Forest Demon Deacons take on the Virginia Tech Hokies. This will be the first ACC game on the schedule for Wake Forest and the second for the Hokies.
If you've read any of my Wake Forest stories from earlier in the season, you're probably aware that I'm high on this team. The Demon Deacons could be a sneaky dark horse to make some noise in the NCAA Tournament.
As for the Hokies, they've played some good basketball to begin the season and will look to steal a win on the road Saturday afternoon.
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Virginia Tech Hokies
Mike Young's team is very balanced and will be a tough out for every opponent it faces.
The Hokies are a top-65 team in both adjusted offensive and defensive efficiency. According to ShotQuality, this team does not have any negative or positive regression coming its way.
Virginia Tech loves to let it fly from deep, but the Hokies are 165th in the nation in 3PT% (33%). Wake Forest, meanwhile, does not give up a ton of 3-pointers, so the Hokies will need to capitalize on their open looks from deep.
Oddly enough, they struggle to crash the boards on the offensive end of the floor, but they do a good job boxing out on the defensive end. Wake Forest allows a decent amount of offensive rebounds, so this could be a matchup for Virginia Tech to take advantage of.
The question for the Hokies will be if their offense can keep pace with their opponent.
Wake Forest Demon Deacons
Wake Forest's offense has the ability to compete with any team in the country. The rotation isn't too deep, but once guard Damari Monsanto is back, this will be a very dangerous team.
The Demon Deacons were fortunate enough to add big man Efton Reid a few weeks ago, when the NCAA cleared his transfer waiver from Gonzaga. He's been a terrific force inside on both ends of the floor.
But while Wake Forest has won six in a row, it hasn't come against the toughest of opponents, so this will be a great test early on in conference play to see if it should be taken seriously.
The backcourt trio of guards Kevin Miller, Cameron Hildreth and Hunter Sallis has been unstoppable early on. All three of them are shooting above 37% to begin the season. They've done a great job at protecting the basketball on offense, getting to the charity stripe and scoring from multiple areas of the floor.
Defensively, the Demon Deacons are not as sound as the Hokies, and their metrics may be a bit inflated because of their weak schedule thus far. But as I mentioned above, Reid should improve their interior defense moving forward.
What this matchup will come down to is guard play, and I think Wake Forest's guards are much more talented.
Virginia Tech vs. Wake Forest
Betting Pick & Prediction
Wake Forest will be tested here at home, but I trust its offense will combat whatever Mike Young throws at them.
This team is only going to get better when Monsanto gets back, which should be in the next couple of weeks. But even without Monsanto on Saturday, I trust the Demon Deacons' 3-point shooting to be too much to overcome.
Don't overthink this — it's Wake Forest in this spot.
