This is a rematch of a game played 3 weeks ago in Winston-Salem. It's a bit of a bad break in the scheduling to draw the Demon Deacons for Stanford's 3rd home-and-home opponent (along with "geographical rivals" Cal & SMU). Here is my preview from that previous game:
https://thecardboard.org/board/showthread.php?tid=25400
In that game, Stanford jumped out to an early lead 13-4. By halftime Wake Forest had cut the deficit to 35-33. It remained close for most of the 2nd half - Stanford trailed 64-63 with just over 5 minutes left. But Wake Forest pulled away to secure an 80-67 victory.
Back on the home court, Stanford is a 2-point favorite. Over/under is 139.5, so the implied score is 70.75-68.75. Wake's record is 16-6, 8-3 in the ACC, & 3-4 on the road. Stanford is 15-7, 7-4 in the ACC, & 12-1 at Maples. Hopefully those oddsmakers know what they're talking about - and hopefully they know more than I do about Stanford's injury situation. Without Jaylen Blakes back in the line-up, I've got to believe Wake should be favored. And it would sure help to get Donavin Young back as well.
Updating some stats from the earlier preview....
Among the ACC's top 25 scorers, Stanford has #1 Maxime Raynaud (20.4ppg), #18 Blakes (14.6), & #19 Oziyah Sellers (14.5). Wake has #5 Hunter Sallis (18.3) & #24 Cameron Hildreth (13.6). Raynaud still leads in rebounds with 11.8rpg. Wake has #5 Tre'Von Spillers (8.3) & #20 Efton Reid (6.0). Blakes is #6 in assists (5.0), while Wake has #19 Hildreth (3.1) & #23 Ty-Laur Johnson (2.7).
Both teams remain heavily reliant on their frontline players with Raynaud, Sellers, & Blakes for the Card and Sallis, Hildreth, & Spillers for the Deacons all averaging more than 32 minutes per game. In both the previous game with Stanford and in their most recent game vs Pitt (a 76-74 win), Wake used their 5 starters (Sallis, Hildreth, Spillers, Reid, & Johnson) for heavy minutes, supplemented only by Juke Harris & Parker Friedrichsen. In that game at Wake, Stanford also got heavy use of their starters (Raynaud, Blakes, Sellers, Agarwal, & Young), with help from only Okpara, Cammann, & Gealer.
This game provides a chance to get back to even with the Deacons in the ACC standings and to regain the momentum Stanford had gained in slowly moving up the various rankings. At full strength, Stanford should be very competitive. Without Young, the task will be more difficult. Without Blakes, my rose-colored glasses will quickly lose their tint.
https://thecardboard.org/board/showthread.php?tid=25400
In that game, Stanford jumped out to an early lead 13-4. By halftime Wake Forest had cut the deficit to 35-33. It remained close for most of the 2nd half - Stanford trailed 64-63 with just over 5 minutes left. But Wake Forest pulled away to secure an 80-67 victory.
Back on the home court, Stanford is a 2-point favorite. Over/under is 139.5, so the implied score is 70.75-68.75. Wake's record is 16-6, 8-3 in the ACC, & 3-4 on the road. Stanford is 15-7, 7-4 in the ACC, & 12-1 at Maples. Hopefully those oddsmakers know what they're talking about - and hopefully they know more than I do about Stanford's injury situation. Without Jaylen Blakes back in the line-up, I've got to believe Wake should be favored. And it would sure help to get Donavin Young back as well.
Updating some stats from the earlier preview....
Among the ACC's top 25 scorers, Stanford has #1 Maxime Raynaud (20.4ppg), #18 Blakes (14.6), & #19 Oziyah Sellers (14.5). Wake has #5 Hunter Sallis (18.3) & #24 Cameron Hildreth (13.6). Raynaud still leads in rebounds with 11.8rpg. Wake has #5 Tre'Von Spillers (8.3) & #20 Efton Reid (6.0). Blakes is #6 in assists (5.0), while Wake has #19 Hildreth (3.1) & #23 Ty-Laur Johnson (2.7).
Both teams remain heavily reliant on their frontline players with Raynaud, Sellers, & Blakes for the Card and Sallis, Hildreth, & Spillers for the Deacons all averaging more than 32 minutes per game. In both the previous game with Stanford and in their most recent game vs Pitt (a 76-74 win), Wake used their 5 starters (Sallis, Hildreth, Spillers, Reid, & Johnson) for heavy minutes, supplemented only by Juke Harris & Parker Friedrichsen. In that game at Wake, Stanford also got heavy use of their starters (Raynaud, Blakes, Sellers, Agarwal, & Young), with help from only Okpara, Cammann, & Gealer.
This game provides a chance to get back to even with the Deacons in the ACC standings and to regain the momentum Stanford had gained in slowly moving up the various rankings. At full strength, Stanford should be very competitive. Without Young, the task will be more difficult. Without Blakes, my rose-colored glasses will quickly lose their tint.
