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The Charlotte 49ers and the Wake Forest Demon Deacons will meet at Lawrence Joel Coliseum this Thursday night as both teams will be looking for a bounce-back victory. Charlotte enters this game with a 2-4 record after losing to Charleston in its last game. Meanwhile, Wake Forest is 4-3 this season after losing to Richmond in its last game. Now, both teams will be looking to improve on their respective records in this one.
Wake Forest Continues To Be Inconsistent
Last season, the Wake Forest Demon Deacons went 11-20 and lost in the first round of its conference tournament to Syracuse. Wake Forest entered this season with hopes of drastic improvement as the team hoped to potentially finish the season with a winning record. So far this season, the team has looked pretty average as it has won four of its first seven games. However, the Demon Deacons have faced pretty easy competition so far which means that the team is on pace to virtually collapse once conference play begins. Until then, Wake Forest has to try feasting on its all of its weaker non-conference foes which it has been unable to do on a consistent basis. Wake Forest has alternated wins and losses in each of its last four games and will be looking to continue that trend in this one as the team lost to Richmond by ten points in its last game. In that game, Wake Forest’s defense struggled as it allowed its opposition to score 84 points on an absurd 53.6% shooting from the floor. If Wake Forest plans on winning this game, its defense better play a lot stronger.
The Wake Forest Demon Deacons are led by junior guard Brandon Childress who averaged 9.1 points per game last season. This season, he has managed to improve as he is currently leading the team in scoring with 17.4 points per game on over 53% shooting from the floor. As the best player on this year’s team, Childress better be at his best if Wake Forest plans on getting back on track with a win in this one.
Charlotte Continues To Struggle
Last season, the Charlotte 49ers went 6-23 and only won two of their 18 conference games. Charlotte entered this season with hopes of drastic improvement as the team hoped to win at least ten games this season even though this team still had serious issues. So far this season, the team has still looked awful as it has won two of its first six games. It is worth mentioning that the 49ers have had a pretty tough schedule up to this point as the team had to face off against multiple teams that were in the NCAA tournament last season including Charleston and Davidson. To no one’s surprise, the 49ers lost both of those games which pushed the team’s record to 2-4. However, Charlotte was actually competitive against Charleston in its last game as the team only lost by eight points. In that game, Charlotte was only down by one point at halftime before and was even leading at points in the game. However, Charlotte’s sloppiness was its undoing as the team lost the turnover battle by ten and committed 11 more fouls than Charleston. In this game, Charlotte better be smarter on the court if it is going to pull off this upset.
WATCH: Charlotte men's basketball highlights against Longwood. pic.twitter.com/TRIzBqOLQl
— Charlotte Men’s Basketball (@CharlotteMBB) November 20, 2018
The Charlotte 49ers are led by senior guard Jon Davis who averaged 17.6 points per game last season. This season, he has managed to improve as he is currently leading the team in scoring with 20.3 points per game along with 4.5 rebounds per game. As the best player on a below average team, he will most likely have to do all of the heavy lifting if Charlotte plans on pulling off this upset.
Notable Trends
- Demon Deacons are 5-1 ATS in their last 6 vs. Conference USA.
- 49ers are 1-6 ATS in their last 7 Thursday games.
- 49ers are 5-17 ATS in their last 22 games following an ATS win.
- 49ers are 5-15-1 ATS in their last 21 non-conference games.
The Bottom Line What to bet on this game.
Full-Game Side Bet
Although Wake Forest might be the better all-around team, I simply believe that the spread is just too high. Wake Forest has struggle winning games by double digits this season and Charlotte is a pretty crafty team. Charlotte even managed to beat Oklahoma State earlier this season. Wake Forest should win this game but I expect it to be by single digits. Give me the underdog plus the points in this one as a result.
Prediction: Charlotte +11
Full-Game Total Pick
Both teams have the ability to score a decent points and I think that their respective defenses are decent at best. However, Wake Forest likes to play an uptempo style of offense which should lead to more shots and possessions as a whole. I expect Wake Forest to control the pace as this game gets into the 140s. I think this total is a bit too low as a result so I recommend the over in this matchup.
Prediction: Over 135.5
