Opponent preview: Everything to know about Wake Forest
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Syracuse’s 71-64 win over Boston College wasn’t its prettiest game, but as head coach Felisha Legette-Jack said postgame, the Orange will take an ugly win over a pretty loss any day. SU shot just 37.1% from the floor, but it was just enough to carry them to a much-needed bounce-back win over the Eagles. Three days earlier, SU was blown out by North Carolina, who snapped its eight-game winning streak and spoiled its debut as a team ranked in the AP Poll.
SU’s win against the Eagles improved its record to 12-2, its best record through 14 games since 2018-19. But something the Orange have yet to do throughout their dominant season is defeat a Power Five team in a true road game. In addition to its loss in Chapel Hill, Syracuse fell to then-No. 20 Maryland 83-81 in College Park on Nov. 19.
On Thursday, the Orange will travel to Winston-Salem, N.C. to face Wake Forest in their fourth ACC game of the season. The Demon Deacon are winless in their first three conference games, falling to then-No. 22 Florida State, then-No. 13 Virginia Tech and Miami.
Here’s everything to know about Wake Forest (4-11, 0-3 ACC) before it hosts Syracuse (12-2, 2-1 ACC) on Thursday:
All-time series
Syracuse leads 9-3.
Last time they played
After going 8-2 in the nonconference portion of its schedule to begin the 2022-23 season, Syracuse hosted Wake Forest in its first ACC game on Dec. 18. At halftime, the Demon Deacons, who were 8-4 entering the contest, led 32-30.
Wake Forest retained its lead into the fourth quarter but couldn’t hold on. Throughout the fourth, SU outscored the Demon Deacons 24-14 en route to a 67-58 win. 11 of the Orange’s 24 points in the final period were scored by Dyaisha Fair, who finished with a game-high 25 points shooting 7-for-19 from the field and 8-for-9 from the free throw line.
The Demon Deacon report
Entering the 2023-24 season, Wake Forest was picked to finish 14th out of the 15 ACC teams by the conference’s Blue Ribbon Panel. So far, it has fit that billing, as its 26.7% win percentage ranks last in the conference while its 0-3 in-conference record is the worst in the ACC alongside Virginia and Pitt.
After finishing the 2022-23 campaign 17-17 under first-year head coach Megan Gebbia, two of Wake Forest’s top three leading scorers transferred out of the program. Guard Jewel Spear, who led the team with 16.5 points per game as a junior after leading the ACC with 18.3 points as a sophomore, transferred to Tennessee while fifth year forward Olivia Summiel (7.4 points) now plays for Virginia Tech.
With the loss of Spear and Summiel, the Demon Deacons have struggled offensively, with their 59.4 points per game ranking 263rd in Division I, per HerHoopStats. Wake Forest also struggles to string stops together on the defensive end, as opponents score 65.8 points per game, which ranks 193rd in D-I.
How Syracuse beats Wake Forest
Against a team that struggles on both ends of the court, all the Orange really need to do is be efficient and take care of the ball — two things they struggled with in their win over Boston College.
Against the Eagles, Syracuse turned the ball over a season-high 25 times while its 37.1% field goal percentage was its second-worst in a game this season, with its previous worst performance (29.6%) coming against North Carolina the game before. If the Orange stay in line with their 43.7% season field goal percentage and 15.7 turnovers per game, they should easily take care of Wake Forest.
Stat to know: 32.0
One of the key reasons why the Demon Deacons have struggled on both ends of the floor is their poor rebounding. Corralling just 32.0 rebounds per game, Wake Forest ranks 319th in D-1.
For a team that shoots so poorly (38.2%) from the floor, it’s critical to win the battle on the glass, but the Demon Deacons typically don’t. Facing the Orange, who average 45.0 rebounds (13th in D-1) and 17.5 offensive rebounds (4th in D-1) per game, per HerHoopStats, the game could slip out of Wake Forest’s hands quickly if they can’t compete on the glass.
Player to watch: Alexandria Scruggs, guard, No. 32
Alexandria Scruggs, a graduate student who has spent all five years of her collegiate career at Wake Forest, is enjoying the best year of her collegiate career in 2023-24.
After primarily coming off the bench across her first four seasons, Scruggs has stepped into a starting role this season and is averaging career highs in field goal percentage (48.1%), minutes (28.5), points (8.0) and rebounds (5.5) per game. In ACC play, Scruggs is averaging 10.7 points per game while shooting 14-for-29 from the field.
