Memphis and Wake Forest both came up just short against two of the best teams in the country on Thursday. Memphis hung tough with Purdue for much of the game before losing by nine points, but covering the spread. Wake took Texas Tech right down to the wire, losing by a single point. Now the two meet on Friday night in the Bahamas.
Memphis vs. Wake Forest (Friday 7:00pm ET)
Both of these teams were completely over looked in the first round of this tournament at Baha Mar, pushing national contenders to their limits. For Memphis, it was the third consecutive loss, after opening the season with a win over San Francisco. While I don’t have too many reasons to fade the Tigers, the lineup does lack some star power. Dug McDaniel provides some senior leadership and experience at point guard, to go along with some good athletes around him.
That said, this Wake Forest team has played hungry to start the season, and is a team I want to be backing. Not only did the Demon Deacons take Texas Tech to the final possession just a day ago, but last week they pushed Michigan to the final possession, losing another one point game to a Top-10 team.
This is Wake’s time to breakthrough and collect a win. Juke Harris has broken out as a star for this team, and is surrounded by better talent and depth than the Memphis roster has to offer. This team has been on the cusp of a big upset multiple times this season, and this is where the Demon Deacons can let some of that out against an opponent they are better than.
Wake ranks significantly ahead of Memphis in both offensive and defensive efficiency, with the Demon Deacons ranking 28th on the defensive side of the ball. Expect them to put the Tigers into some scoring droughts and pull away in this game.
College Basketball Pick: Wake Forest -3 (-110)
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