Louisville Cardinals vs Wake Forest Demon Deacons Prediction, 2/7/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Louisville Cardinals vs Wake Forest Demon Deacons

Date: Saturday, February 7, 2026

Location: LJVM Coliseum in Winston-Salem, NC

TV: ACC Network

The Wake Forest Demon Deacons (11-11) will compete against the Louisville Cardinals (16-6) at LJVM Coliseum on Saturday.

The Louisville Cardinals faced Notre Dame and went home with a win by a final score of 76-65 in their last game. Louisville ended the game having earned a 43.1% FG percentage (28 of 65) and knocked down 7 of their 31 shots from distance. At the free throw line, the Cardinals converted 13 of 18 attempts for a rate of 72.2%. When it comes to pulling down boards, they earned 44 with 15 of them being of the offensive sort. They also recorded 19 assists in this contest while forcing the opposition into 11 turnovers and earning 6 steals. When talking about defending, Louisville allowed the other team to shoot 38.7% from the floor on 24 of 62 shooting. Notre Dame doled out 14 assists and had 9 steals for the game. Furthermore, Notre Dame pulled down 33 boards (10 offensive, 23 defensive), but didn't have a block. Notre Dame ended up shooting 42.9% when shooting free throws by burying 6 of their 14 attempts. They also converted 11 of their 27 attempts from downtown. In reference to fouls, the Cardinals finished with 16 and Notre Dame accounted for 17 fouls.

Isaac McKneely is one guy who was a major contributor for the matchup. He ended up going 50.0% from the field but had no assists at the end of the game. He saw the court for 27 mins and collected 2 boards. He finished with 13 points on 4 of 8 shooting.

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Louisville will enter this matchup with a record of 16-6 on the year. They currently have an average of 85.6 points per contest (27th in college) while hitting 46.2% from the field. The Cardinals are shooting 34.3% on three-point shots (255 of 743) and 76.4% from the charity stripe. As a team, Louisville is snagging 40.6 boards per contest and has racked up 389 assists on the campaign, which is 44th in the country in terms of passing the rock. They are losing possession via turnover 11.5 times per contest and as a group are committing 18.8 fouls per contest.

On the defensive end, the Cardinals are forcing 12.7 turnovers per contest while drawing 18.6 personal fouls. They currently rank 45th in the country in allowing assists with 255 surrendered so far this season. The Cardinals defense is allowing a shooting percentage of 40.3% (530 of 1,316) and they surrender 34.2 boards per game as a squad. They give up 33.8% from 3-point land and they are ranked 83rd in the country in points per game allowed (70.2).

The last time they took the court, the Wake Forest Demon Deacons took a loss by a final score of 96-78 when they played North Carolina State. The Demon Deacons corralled 21 defensive rebounds and 5 offensive rebounds totaling 26 for this contest. They coughed up the ball 8 times, while recording 5 steals in this matchup. North Carolina State was called for 17 fouls for the contest which took the Demon Deacons to the free throw line for a total of 24 shots. They were able to make 21 of the free throw tries for a percentage of 87.5%. In the matter of shots from downtown, Wake Forest made 7 of 20 attempts (35.0%). When the final whistle blew, the Demon Deacons finished shooting 25 out of 53 from the floor which gave them a percentage of 47.2%. The Demon Deacons permitted North Carolina State to convert 33 of their 61 attempts from the floor which gave them a percentage of 54.1% in this game. They finished the game shooting 57.1% from 3-point land by shooting 16 out of 28 and ended up shooting 14 of 18 from the charity stripe (77.8%). When talking about rebounds, Wake Forest allowed North Carolina State to get 26 in all (6 on the offensive glass).

Juke Harris was important for the Demon Deacons in this contest. He earned 31 points in his 40 mins on the court and had 1 assist in this matchup. He converted 11 of 25 for this contest for a rate of 44.0%, and accumulated 7 rebounds.

Wake Forest has a mark of 11-11 on the year. The Demon Deacons are committing 18.9 fouls every game and they connect on 76.7% from the charity stripe. Their rate of earning assists is at 14.6 times per contest (147th in Division 1) and they turn it over 11.6 times per contest. Wake Forest has totaled 1,761 points so far this year (80.0 per contest) and they collect 33.2 rebounds per contest. As an offense, the Demon Deacons are connecting on 45.0% from the floor, which ranks 200th in the nation.

The Demon Deacons are ranked 278th in college in points per game surrendered with 77.6. They have forced 14.5 turnovers per game and have let teams shoot 44.4% from the field (211th in D-1). The Wake Forest defense gives up 32.0% on 3-point shots (196 of 613) and their opposition knocks down 74.1% of their shots from the free throw line. They relinquish 15.6 assists and 36.0 boards per contest, which is ranked 313th and 266th in college hoops.

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Louisville

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