Pittsburgh Panthers vs Wake Forest Demon Deacons Prediction, 2/20/2024 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Pittsburgh Panthers vs Wake Forest Demon Deacons

Date: Tuesday, February 20, 2024

Location: Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Winston-Salem, NC

TV: ESPN

Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum is the location where the Wake Forest Demon Deacons (16-9) will take on the Pittsburgh Panthers (17-8) on Tuesday.

The Pittsburgh Panthers played Louisville and took home the win by a score of 86-59 in their last game. Pittsburgh ended the contest with a 46.3% field goal percentage (31 of 67) and made 15 of 31 shots from beyond the perimeter. At the free throw line, the Panthers buried 9 of 11 shots for a rate of 81.8%. When talking about pulling down boards, they compiled 34 with 10 of them being of the offensive variety. They also doled out 22 dimes in the matchup as well as forcing the other team into 12 turnovers and having 9 steals. In the matter of defending, Pittsburgh allowed the other team to shoot 44.4% from the floor on 20 of 45 shooting. Louisville earned 9 assists and had 2 steals in the game. In addition, Louisville had 26 rebounds (2 offensive, 24 defensive), but wasn't able to record a block. Louisville finished shooting 85.7% from the free throw line by burying 18 of 21 attempts. They also made 1 out of their 12 attempts from three-point range. In relation to personal fouls, the Panthers finished with 15 while Louisville recorded 12 personal fouls.

Blake Hinson is one player who was a major factor in this game. He totaled 41 points on 14 out of 24 shooting. He was on the court for 34 mins and pulled down 5 rebounds. He finished the contest at 58.3% from the field but had no dimes when the game ended.

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Pittsburgh will play this game with a record of 17-8 this year. They are giving up possession 9.5 times per contest and as a team are committing 15.0 personal fouls per contest. As a unit, Pittsburgh is pulling in 38.2 rebounds per game and has accumulated 349 assists so far this year, which is 166th in Division 1 in terms of passing. The Panthers are connecting on 35.0% on shots from distance (239 of 682) and 70.1% from the charity stripe. They have an average of 75.6 pts per game (125th in Division 1) while hitting 43.3% from the field.

On the defensive end of the court, the Panthers are forcing 11.3 turnovers per contest and they draw 17.2 personal fouls. They are 96th in college basketball in allowing assists with 305 surrendered for the season. The Panthers are giving up and opponent field goal percentage of 42.1% (591 of 1,403) and they surrender 33.0 boards per contest as a team. They concede 29.7% from 3-point land and they are 41st in D-1 in points per game allowed (66.2).

For their last game, the Wake Forest Demon Deacons took a loss by a score of 49-47 when they played Virginia. When discussing how they attacked the glass, Wake Forest allowed Virginia to get 33 in all (9 on the offensive glass). They finished the game shooting 30.8% from beyond the perimeter by connecting on 4 out of 13 and ended up shooting 1 out of 11 at the free throw line (9.1%). The Demon Deacons allowed Virginia to convert 22 out of their 54 tries from the floor which had them at 40.7% in this contest. In all, the Demon Deacons finished the game shooting 19 for 55 from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 34.5%. Pertaining to 3-point shots, Wake Forest converted 5 out of 21 tries (23.8%). They were able to bury 4 of the free throw tries for a rate of 80.0%. Virginia committed 11 fouls in the matchup which took the Demon Deacons to the free throw line for a total of 5 tries. They gave up possession 10 times, while earning 3 steals for the game. The Demon Deacons corralled 28 defensive boards and 9 offensive rebounds for a total of 37 in this contest.

Hunter Sallis ended up being important for the Demon Deacons in this matchup. He made 5 out of 10 for the contest for a field goal percentage of 50.0%, and accounted for 3 rebounds. He scored 12 points in his 37 minutes on the hardwood and accounted for 1 assist for the contest.

Wake Forest has a win-loss record of 16-9 on the season. As an offense, the Demon Deacons are hitting on 46.9% from the field, which ranks them 69th in college basketball. Wake Forest has accounted for 1,974 pts so far this year (79.0 per game) and they collect 35.3 rebounds per contest. Their rate of assisting teammates is at 12.4 times per contest (257th in the country) and they cough up possession 11.1 times per game. The Demon Deacons are committing 15.6 fouls per contest and they go 79.9% from the charity stripe.

The Demon Deacons are ranked 120th in college basketball in points given up per game with 69.8. They are forcing their opponents into 11.5 turnovers on a nightly basis and allow teams to shoot 42.8% from the field (138th in college basketball). The Wake Forest defense allows 31.6% on 3-point shots (149 of 471) and their opponents are connecting on 72.4% of their shots from the free throw line. They surrender 10.5 assists and 33.2 rebounds on a nightly basis, which is ranked 20th and 96th in the nation.

Who will win tonight's NCAA basketball game against the spread?

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Pittsburgh

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