CSJ Men’s Hoops Preview, Davidson at Wake Forest, How to Watch and Fearless Prediction
Davidson at Wake Forest
When: Monday, December 17, 7:00 PM
Where: LJVM Coliseum, Winston-Salem, NC
TV/Streaming: ESPNU, WatchESPN (subscription req’d)
Davidson Wildcats (8-2, 0-0)
Davidson, North Carolina
Atlantic 10 Conference
Enrollment: 1,950
FCS Sagarin Rating: 69 (11 in CSJ High-Major Men’s Basketball Top 25)
Scouting Report: Davidson is off to an 8-2 start for the fifth time (1993-94, 2008-09, 2014-15 & 2015-16) under head coach Bob McKillop.
The Wildcats however suffered their second loss of the season last time out, following a 77-75 overtime setback to Temple in the Hall of Fame Boardwalk Classic Saturday. In addition to turning 18 Davidson miscues into 31 points, Temple (8-2) finished with 16 second-chance points.
The Wildcats will be hoping to put Saturday’s loss behind them as they take on a solid ACC opponent. Despite being separated by just 65 miles, Davidson and Wake Forest haven’t met on the hardwood since the Wildcats’ 54-49 overtime win on Feb. 2, 2000 at Belk Arena.
Key Fantasy Player: G Kellan Grady, one of the leading scorers on the Wildcats (19.4 ppg), sat out the Temple game, and it showed. He will be a gametime decision on Monday, and if he’s out, then it will rest on G Jon Axel-Gudmundsson (18.6 ppg) to shoulder the bulk of the scoring load. If Grady is ready to go and 100%, Davidson’s chances in this game increase tremendously, but if he’s out, Gudmundsson will probably have a monster statistical day.
Wake Forest Demon Deacons (5-3, 0-0)
Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Atlantic Coast Conference
Enrollment: 7,440
FCS Sagarin Rating: 154
Scouting Report: Wake Forest returns from an 11-day exam break to host Davidson. It is the first meeting between the schools in 19 seasons after they played regularly from 1952-2000.
In the last meeting at the LJVM Coliseum, the Demon Deacons posted a 59-58 victory in 1998-99. Wake Forest has won the last 12 meetings in Winston-Salem, with Davidson’s last road win in the series coming in 1974.
The Deacons are coming off an impressive win vs. Charlotte, 80-56. Five players on this young team scored in double figures in this game, underscoring the depth of this squad.
Key Fantasy Player: Junior G Brandon Childress is the ironman Wake Forest works around. He averages 36 minutes a game and leads the Demon Deacons in both scoring (16.9 ppg) and assists (4.3 apg).
Fearless Prediction:
If Grady is back, this instantly becomes a very interesting game where the Wildcats could pull off the upset. But if he’s not, or he’s not 100%, it’s easy to see Wake’s depth and inside-out game carry the day. Wake Forest 74, Davidson 69
Chuck has been writing about Lehigh football since the dawn of the internet, or perhaps it only seems like it. He’s executive editor of the College Sports Journal and has also written a book, The Rivalry: How Two Schools Started the Most Played College Football Series.
Reach him at: this email or click below:
