The Clemson Tigers take on the Wake Forest Demon Deacons in an ACC matchup on Saturday, March 9. Tip-off is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. ET, and the game will air on ACCN.
Clemson (21-9, 11-8 ACC) bounced back from a road loss to Notre Dame with a 15-point win over Syracuse in their most recent game. ESPN’s Joe Lunardi currently projects the Tigers to earn a 5-seed in the NCAA Tournament, and they rank 23rd at KenPom. The Tigers defeated North Carolina and kept Duke within one point this season, but they have not yet faced Wake Forest.
Led by center PJ Hall, Clemson ranks 19th in adjusted offensive efficiency. The Tigers score 78.2 points per game on average (51st in the nation). Hall added 25 points in their most recent win over Syracuse.
Wake Forest (18-12, 10-9 ACC) is on a shocking three-game losing streak since pulling off a major upset over Duke. The Demon Deacons have now dropped games to Notre Dame, Virginia Tech, and Georgia Tech in the last two weeks, and are in Lunardi’s Last Four In. A weak finish to the season and an early ACC tournament exit could place this team on the wrong side of the bubble.
The Deacons average 78.6 points per game (45th in the nation), shooting 37.4% from the three-point line (23rd in the nation), and 47.5% from the field (36th in the nation). They badly need a win here to stay in contention for the Big Dance.
Clemson vs. Wake Forest odds from DraftKings Sportsbook
Spread: Wake Forest -3.5
Total: 149.5
Moneyline: Wake Forest -180, Clemson +150
Pick: Clemson -3.5
Wake has simply melted down, losing their last three in nuclear-fail fashion. And even a win over Clemson at home might not be enough to get them an at-large bid in the NCAA Tournament.
Meanwhile Clemson has won seven of nine, and shoots free throws well enough to ice what should be a close on in Winston-Salem today. Expect a big game out of PJ Hall on the block against a Wake team that doesn’t really have a way to contain him.