Wake Forest vs Boston College Odds
| Wake Forest Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
-1.5 -110 | 150.5 -110o / -110u | -135 |
| Boston College Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
+1.5 -110 | 150.5 -110o / -110u | +110 |
College basketball's season syncs up with the calendar, with the flip to a new year signaling the rise in great hoops across the country. While conference play means great games at the top, it also sets up some great matchups further down the standings that could have massive implications for both teams' seasons.
For example, take this matchup between Boston College and Wake Forest. BC is off to one of its best starts in recent memory and Wake is eyeing an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament for the first time in a long time. The winner here could really spark some momentum as ACC play ramps up in 2024.
Here's NCAAB odds and a pick for Wake Forest vs Boston College.
Wake Forest Demon Deacons
If you're listing the best coaches in college basketball, Steve Forbes isn't the first name on your list, but he better be mentioned somewhere. The guy has simply proven he can build a winning team by any means necessary.
After five years at East Tennessee State — all of which featured 24 or more wins — he took over at Wake Forest. After one rebuilding season, he has the Demon Deacons ready to compete in one of the country's toughest conferences.
Last season, Wake Forest was 19-14 before losing two of its leading scorers. That sparked a refreshed roster, and Forbes did so quickly, putting the Deacs firmly in line to fight for a spot in March Madness this season.
He started with an under-the-radar signing who's proven to be one of the best transfer portal gets of the offseason. Hunter Sallis started his career at Gonzaga, entering the program with a five-star pedigree. For whatever reason, he didn't click in Spokane, finishing last season with just 4.5 points per game in 16.7 minutes.
At times though, he was the Zags' spark plug and still clearly possessed the talent that earned him his high recruiting ranking. That talent has bloomed under forces in Winston-Salem, with Sallis leading the Deacs with 18.2 points per game.
He's joined by three other players posting 15 points per game, and all arrived to Wake Forest in unlikely ways.
Center Andrew Carr was at Delaware two years ago, but he was ready for a jump to a higher level.
The same was clearly true of Kevin Miller, who posted 18.5 points and 5.3 assists for Central Michigan last season.
Cameron Hildreth is in his third year at Wake, but came to college basketball from the little recruited area across the pond in the United Kingdom.
Forbes has taken two mid-major transfers, a recycled and forgotten five-star and a British lad and turned them into a top-50 team in the country.
After that quartet, the production dries up a bit. But if that's a problem, there's probably 250 coaches in Division I who would sign up for that issue on their team.
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Boston College Eagles
For the sad troupe of Boston College basketball fans — which unfortunately includes me due to my four years on campus and the amount I had to pay to BC in tuition and student loans — this season has been a bright spot that could indicate some light out of the tunnel.
There's little argument that this has been one of the worst power conference basketball programs of the last decade. The Eagles joined the ACC in the fall of 2005, collecting four winning seasons in conference in their first six years in the ACC, with three NCAA tournament berths in the process.
Since 2009, Boston College hasn't been .500 in ACC play or sniffed the Big Dance. For reference of how long that's been, their last NCAA tournament game came the spring before I started at BC as a freshman. Now I'm a 33-year old with a wife, kids and mortgage. Time flies, but hey, maybe it's my fault somehow.
But, as I mentioned, there's some hope.
The Eagles started 9-2 in non-conference play, their best mark since 2006. Head coach Earl Grant has built some momentum in his third season since taking over, certainly more than either of his predecessors.
This season's Eagles are driven by star big man Quinten Post. The senior 7-footer from Amsterdam, who started his career at Mississippi State, is a threat to score at every level of the defense and a high-level shot blocker at the other end as well.
There are few players in college hoops more directly valuable to their team's wins than Post has been for these Eagles.
He's complemented by a productive backcourt. Charleston Southern transfer Claudell Harris Jr. scored 17.4 points per game last season playing in the Big South Conference, but he's looked ready for the role of secondary scorer at the power-conference level. Homegrown junior point guard Jaeden Zackery is the team's best passer and creator off the bounce.
This all amounts to a team that isn't really ready for postseason play, though should throw plenty of punches in the ACC. In order to do so, the Eagles will need to hold serve at home, which has been an issue. Since 2013, BC is just 68-81-2 (.456) ATS at home.
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Wake Forest vs. Boston College
Betting Pick & Prediction
This matchup looks like a fun test that could help sort out the middle of the pack in the ACC. It offers a unique challenge for the teams involved, given where they each stand at this point in the season.
BC has only played three top-100 KenPom teams and is 1-2 SU and 1-2 ATS in those games. Meanwhile, Wake has only played four games outside the comforts of its home, going 1-3 SU and 1-3 ATS in those outings. Something's got to give here.
I lean towards the Demon Deacons. It should be a sleepy, winter break atmosphere on the road, in an environment that hasn't been super strong for BC anyway (184th in KenPom's home court advantage metric).
More importantly, Forbes has multiple bodies to throw at Post. Carr is every bit of 6-foot-10 and a quality defender. He's joined in the Wake frontcourt by another Gonzaga transfer, 7-footer Efton Reid III. I like their chances to bother Post more than I like the Eagles' chances to find an answer to Sallis.
Give me the better team as modest underdogs.
Pick: Wake Forest ML
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