The No. 10 Virginia Cavaliers (14-3, 6-2 ACC), one of the nation’s top scoring defenses, travel to face the Wake Forest Demon Deacons (14-5, 6-2 ACC) on Saturday. Virginia topped the Virginia Tech Hokies 78-68 at John Paul Jones Arena on Wednesday, their fourth consecutive win. Kihei Clark had a standout performance with 20 points.
The Cavaliers are third in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Wake Forest won their fourth in a row on Tuesday at Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum, beating the Clemson Tigers 87-77. Tyree Appleby had 24 points, seven assists, and five steals, leading the team. The Demon Deacons dropped to fourth in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
The teams are meeting for the only time this season. Wake Forest won the only matchup between the teams last season 63-55 at John Paul Jones Arena in January 2022. Jake LaRavia led the Demon Deacons with 15 points, while Isaiah Mucius added 12 points and eight rebounds. Armaan Franklin had 18 points in the losing effort.
The Cavaliers have been led this season by Franklin (12.1 ppg), Clark (11.5), and Jayden Gardner (10.4). Gardner also has grabbed 4.8 rebounds per game, while Clark has dished 5.9 assists per game.
Appleby has powered the Demon Deacons’ offense, averaging 18.1 points per game. Appleby also has recorded 6.1 assists per game, 10th-most in the NCAA. Cameron Hildreth has pulled down 6.3 rebounds per game.
The Cavaliers are holding opponents to 59.9 points per game, ranking as one of the best scoring defenses in the NCAA (13th).In the last 10 games, Virginia is 7-3 with an average margin of +6.3 (66.8-60.5). Wake Forest has also gone 7-3 over the last 10, scoring 77.3 points per game on average while allowing 73.9 (+3.4 margin).
CAVALIERS HOT/COLD
(Last Five | Season Average | Differential)
Points + Rebounds + Assists:
Armaan Franklin: 23.4 | 17.6 | +5.8
Jayden Gardner: 9.6 | 15.7 | -6.1
Points per game:
Armaan Franklin: 15.4 | 12.1 | +3.3
Jayden Gardner: 6.4 | 10.4 | -4.0
Rebounds per game:
Armaan Franklin: 6.2 | 4.3 | +1.9
Jayden Gardner: 2.8 | 4.8 | -2.0
DEMON DEACONS HOT/COLD
(Last Five | Season Average | Differential)
Points + Rebounds + Assists:
Andrew Carr: 26.2 | 19.4 | +6.8
Points per game:
Damari Monsanto: 16.0 | 11.4 | +4.6
Rebounds per game:
Andrew Carr: 7.8 | 6.0 | +1.8
Assists per game:
Tyree Appleby: 7.8 | 6.1 | +1.7
SportsTips’ College Basketball Pick:
Virginia -2.5 (-110)
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*Odds correct at time of publication, courtesy of BetMGM.
