Back On Track
Winston Salem,N.C. – Since knocking off the nation’s top-ranked team, not much has gone right for Wake Forest. Boston College suffered a similar hangover after beating the No. 1 team in the country, but appears to have its season back on track.
The seventh-ranked Demon Deacons look to break out of their funk and avoid losing their third straight game on Sunday when they host Boston College, which is trying to win its sixth in a row.
Oddsmakers from Online Sportsbook Sportsbook.com have made the Wake Forest 10.5 point spread favorites for Thursday’s game against the Boston College Current College Basketball Public Betting Information shows that 54% of more than 228 bets for this game have been placed on the Boston College +10.5.
After being bounced from the top spot in the AP poll with a 78-71 loss to Virginia Tech on Jan. 21, Wake Forest (17-3, 4-3 ACC) rebounded with a 70-68 win over then-No. 1 Duke on Jan. 28 to get back in contention in the conference.
With losses in their last two games, though, the Demon Deacons have fallen into the middle of the pack in the ACC.
Wake fell to Miami 79-52 on Wednesday after losing in the final second last Saturday at Georgia Tech, which came into the game winless in league play.
The Demon Deacons had no answer for Miami’s zone. Wake shot a season-low 31.7 percent, including 3-for-20 from 3-point range, and finished with its lowest-scoring game of the season after averaging 82.9 points on 49.7 percent shooting in its first 19 contests.
"(The Hurricanes) fought extremely hard because they’re fighting for their lives," Demon Deacons center Chas McFarland said. "We’ve got to be doing the same thing."
Boston College (18-6, 6-3) can certainly relate to Wake’s little funk.
The Eagles knocked off then-No. 1 North Carolina 85-78 on Jan. 4, but proceeded to lose their next four games, including 83-63 at home to Wake on Jan. 14.
That slide is a distant memory for Boston College, though, as it beat Virginia 80-70 on Wednesday for its fifth straight victory. The Eagles improved to 4-1 on the road in the ACC after going 1-7 away from home in league play last season.
"Everybody’s capable of winning in this league," Boston College coach Al Skinner said. "We’re really pleased about the fact that we were able to come in here and get a win because it’s not easy going on the road and getting wins."
The Eagles are 3-0 all-time at Wake, but the Demon Deacons have won nine of 10 games at Joel Coliseum this season.
Wake’s Jeff Teague had 29 points on 10-of-17 shooting in the win over Boston College last month, but he’s been struggling with his shot lately. Teague is averaging 15.3 points on 38.1 percent shooting in his last three games after averaging 28.0 and making 56.8 percent of his shots over the previous five.
Boston College’s Tyrese Rice had 20 points in last month’s meeting, and is averaging 24.3 points while shooting 11-of-18 from 3-point range in his last three games against the Demon Deacons.
Rice, who is averaging a team-high 18.0 points, looks to help Boston College win six consecutive conference games for the first time since opening 9-0 in 2004-05 when it was a member of the Big East.
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Posted: 2/8/09 2:30AM ET
