Wake Forest Demon Deacons vs SMU Mustangs Prediction, 2/15/2025 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Wake Forest Demon Deacons vs SMU Mustangs

Date: Saturday, February 15, 2025

Location: Moody Coliseum in Provo, UT

TV: ESPN+

Moody Coliseum is where the SMU Mustangs (19-5) will try to defeat the Wake Forest Demon Deacons (18-7) on Saturday.

The Wake Forest Demon Deacons took the court against Florida State and took a loss by a score of 72-70 in their last game. Regarding fouls, the Demon Deacons ended up walking away with 17 and Florida State totaled 16 fouls. They buried 7 of their 23 attempts from 3-point land. Florida State went 72.2% from the charity stripe by making 13 of 18 attempts. Furthermore, Florida State snagged 29 boards (6 offensive, 23 defensive), but didn't notch a block. Florida State totaled 13 assists and had 6 steals in this contest. In terms of the defense, Wake Forest let their opponent shoot 44.8% from the field on 26 out of 58 shooting. They also dished out 12 assists in this matchup while forcing the opposition into 9 turnovers and earning 4 steals. When talking about pulling down rebounds, they compiled a total of 26 with 2 of them being of the offensive sort. When they shot from the charity stripe, the Demon Deacons buried 12 of their 17 shots for a rate of 70.6%. Wake Forest finished the contest with a 47.3% field goal percentage (26 of 55) and made 6 of 17 shots from 3-point land.

Cameron Hildreth is one player who was a factor in the game. He finished 57.1% from the floor and dished out 2 assists. He was on the court for 37 mins played and snagged 2 rebounds. He accounted for 22 points on 8 of 14 shooting.

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Wake Forest will enter this matchup with a record of 18-7 this year. They average 70.4 points per contest (277th in D-1) while connecting on 45.3% from the floor. The Demon Deacons are shooting 29.2% on 3-pointers (146 of 500) and 74.9% from the charity stripe. As a team, Wake Forest is grabbing 33.0 boards per game and is sitting with 288 dimes for the season, which ranks 315th in college hoops in terms of passing. They turn it over 11.6 times per game and as a team are committing 16.6 fouls on a nightly basis.

When they are on defense, the Demon Deacons are forcing 13.7 turnovers per contest and they draw 17.8 personal fouls. They rank 179th in college hoops in giving up assists with 320 surrendered so far this season. The Demon Deacons defensively are giving up a shooting percentage of 39.4% (564 of 1,432) and they surrender 34.9 rebounds per game as a team. They are relinquishing 30.3% on shots from beyond the arc and they are ranked 47th in D-1 in PPG allowed (66.7).

When they last stepped on the court, the SMU Mustangs got the victory with a final of 83-63 against Pittsburgh. When discussing team rebounding, SMU permitted Pittsburgh to snag 32 in all (14 offensive). They finished the game shooting 25.7% from behind the 3-point line by connecting on 9 of 35 and ended up shooting 12 out of 15 at the free throw line (80.0%). The Mustangs permitted Pittsburgh to make 21 of their 66 tries from the field which gave them a rate of 31.8% for the contest. At the conclusion of this game, the Mustangs finished the game shooting 29 out of 52 from the floor which gave them a percentage of 55.8%. In reference to three-point attempts, SMU knocked down 10 of their 20 tries (50.0%). They were able to make 15 of the free throws for a percentage of 65.2%. Pittsburgh earned 20 personal fouls for the contest which took the Mustangs to the charity stripe for 23 shots. They turned the ball over 15 times, while getting 9 steals for this game. The Mustangs were able to snag 28 defensive rebounds and 9 offensive boards for a total of 37 in this contest.

Kario Oquendo ended up being a major contributor for the Mustangs for the game. He converted 5 of 8 in the game giving him a rate of 62.5%, and had 4 rebounds. He earned 17 points in his 28 minutes on the court, but didn't record an assist.

SMU has a win-loss mark of 19-5 so far this year. The Mustangs are committing 16.7 personal fouls every game while shooting 73.2% from the charity stripe. They are earning an assist 16.4 times per game (36th in Division 1) and they turn the ball over 11.6 times per game. SMU has scored 1,987 pts so far this year (82.8 per contest) and they average 39.8 boards per game. When it comes to executing on offense, the Mustangs are hitting on 48.3% from the floor, which ranks them 33rd in college hoops.

The SMU defense concedes 32.5% on shots from behind the 3-point line (192 of 590) and their opposition makes 75.2% of their foul shots. They give up 15.1 dimes and 33.8 rebounds on a nightly basis, which is ranked 320th and 153rd in college. The Mustangs on the defensive side of the court are 168th in the country in points given up per game with 71.1. They have forced 12.3 TO's per game and have allowed teams to shoot 40.0% from the field (26th in college).

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take SMU

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