North Carolina Tar Heels vs Wake Forest Demon Deacons: Predictions, Odds and Roster Notes

Where: Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Winston-Salem, North Carolina

When: Saturday, February 16th at 12:00 PM EST

How (TV): The ACC Network, ESPN

North Carolina Tar Heels (Away)

Head Coach: Roy Williams {Overall: 19-5 .792 W-L% | Conference: 9-2, 2nd in ACC}

The Tar Heels are looking to bounce back after a recent loss to No. 4 ranked Virginia in their last match. They take on Wake Forest in the first match of a two-game intra-state road trip.

It was a tough match for the Tar Heels against Virginia. Not only did they have no contributions from their reserves but big man Luke Maye couldn’t overcome Virginia’s intense interior defence.

Wake Forest are 14th in the ACC and are one of the weakest teams in the conference. While Wake Forest has been able to get to the line at a decent clip so far this season, the Wake Forest attack shouldn’t bother North Carolina’s stout defence.

Wake Forest Demon Deacons (Home)

Head Coach: Danny Manning {Overall: 9-14 .391 W-L% | Conference: 2-9, 14th in ACC}

The Wake Forest Demon Deacons have been in for a tough season. While they were decently capable against smaller, inter-conference competition, Wake Forest’s quality has been seen in their poor performances in the ACC.

Since Wake Forest’s schedule has moved over to only ACC competition, the Demon Deacons have truly been out of their league. With a three-game losing streak and a five-game losing streak over the last ten games, Wake Forest isn’t projected to do much this season.

Wake Forest have some interesting scorers on their team in Brandon Childress and Jaylen Hoard. However with their lack of size on the front line, they may have difficulty with North Carolina’s capable front court. To combat that, expect to see more of French duo Haylen Hoard and Olivier Sarr.

North Carolina Tar Heels Roster Notes

F Nassir Little – 11 Feb 2019 – (Ankle) is listed as doubtful.

G Rechon Black – 11 Feb 2019 – (Ankle) is out indefinitely.

F Sterling Manley – 11 Feb 2019 – (Knee) is listed as questionable.

Wake Forest Demon Deacons Roster Notes

G Jamie Lewis – 9 Nov 2018 – (Disciplinary) is out indefinitely.

Head-to-Head: Luke Maye (UNC) vs Olivier Sarr (WAK)

Luke Maye

Forward | 6-8, 240lb (203cm, 108kg) | Hough HS | Hunstersville, NC | Senior

14.7 PPG | 2.1 APG | 9.7 RPG | 0.6 SPG | 0.5 BPG | 2.0 TOV | .431 FG% | .326 3P%

Olivier Sarr

Center | 7-0, 235lb (213cm, 106kg) | INSEP | Toulouse, France | Sophomore

5.8 PPG | 0.5 APG | 5.6 RPG | 0.4 SPG | 0.9 BPG | 1.3 TOV | .449 FG% | .214 3P%

Luke Maye will face off against one of the ACC’s biggest centres when he faces off against Wake Forest’s French giant Olivier Sarr.

Luke Maye had a tough night against Virginia. He was unable to overcome the interior defence of the Cavaliers and thus had a poor shooting night. Where he struggled with team-rebounding against Virginia, he will face off against a singular capable big man in Olivier Sarr. While he likely can’t match his length, Maye could take advantage of his craftiness against the young Frenchman.

Olivier Sarr is certainly a raw player. Coming from the internationally prestigious INSEP program in France, Sarr has a bright future ahead of him. While he struggles with bigs with a lower centre of gravity, his length and awareness on both ends of the court make other teams struggle mightily.

North Carolina Tar Heels at Wake Forest Demon Deacons Predictions and Odds

The odds makers have the North Carolina Tar Heels favoured over the Wake Forest Demon Deacons by 16.5, with an over/under of 110.