North Carolina State Wolfpack vs Wake Forest Demon Deacons Prediction, 1/31/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: NC State Wolfpack vs Wake Forest Demon Deacons

Date: Saturday, January 31, 2026

Location: LJVM Coliseum in Winston-Salem, NC

TV: ESPN+

LJVM Coliseum is the location where the Wake Forest Demon Deacons (11-10) will go up against the NC State Wolfpack (15-6) on Saturday.

The NC State Wolfpack took the court against Syracuse and went home with a win by a final score of 88-68 in their last game. When it comes to personal fouls, the Wolfpack walked away with 16 while Syracuse racked up 15 personal fouls. They also converted 7 of 23 shots from distance. Syracuse ended up going 56.3% when shooting free throws by converting 9 of 16 tries. On top of that, Syracuse grabbed 32 boards (15 offensive, 17 defensive), but didn't notch a block. Syracuse recorded 10 dimes and had 8 steals for this game. In reference to the defense, North Carolina State allowed the other team to shoot 38.8% from the floor on 26 out of 67 shooting. They also recorded 21 assists in this game while forcing the opposition into 10 turnovers and having 8 steals. Regarding getting rebounds, they compiled 44 with 15 of them being of the offensive sort. When they shot from the charity stripe, the Wolfpack buried 15 of 18 shots for a rate of 83.3%. North Carolina State walked away from the contest with a 50.8% field goal percentage (33 of 65) and converted 7 of 24 shots from beyond the arc.

Darrion Williams is one player who was a major contributor for the game. He went 56.3% from the floor and dished out 5 assists. He saw the court for 34 mins played and snagged 6 boards. He racked up 23 points on 9 of 16 shooting.

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North Carolina State heads into this contest with a win-loss record of 15-6 on the year. They have an average of 85.4 pts per contest (31st in D-1) while shooting 47.8% from the field. The Wolfpack are connecting on 39.0% from downtown (222 of 569) and 76.5% from the charity stripe. As a unit, North Carolina State is pulling down 36.3 boards per game and has tallied 351 dimes on the campaign, which ranks 52nd in college in terms of passing the rock. They cough up possession 9.8 times per contest and as a unit are committing 19.0 fouls per contest.

On the defensive end, the Wolfpack are forcing their opponents into 14.1 turnovers per contest while drawing 17.5 fouls. They give up 33.4% on three-point shots and they are 127th in the nation in PPG allowed (71.7). The Wolfpack defense is allowing a field goal percentage of 42.4% (505 of 1,190) and they surrender 34.8 rebounds per contest as a group. They are ranked 79th in Division 1 in giving up assists with 252 relinquished for the year.

For their last game, the Wake Forest Demon Deacons went home defeated by a final of 80-76 when they faced Pittsburgh. The Demon Deacons corralled 28 defensive boards and 7 offensive rebounds totaling 35 in the game. They also gave up possession of the ball 13 times, while earning 5 steals for this game. Pittsburgh was called for 19 fouls in the matchup which got the Demon Deacons to the free throw line for a total of 19 attempts. They were able to knock down 15 of the free throw attempts for a rate of 78.9%. When discussing three-point shots, Wake Forest converted 7 of their 24 tries (29.2%). When this game wrapped up, the Demon Deacons went 27 for 59 from the floor which gave them a percentage of 45.8%. The Demon Deacons allowed Pittsburgh to make 26 out of 68 tries from the floor which left them with a rate of 38.2% for the contest. They went 30.6% from three-point range via 11 out of 36 and finished the contest at 17 out of 25 from the charity stripe (68.0%). In relation to team rebounding, Wake Forest allowed Pittsburgh to collect 39 in all (15 on the offensive glass).

Myles Colvin ended up being a major contributor for the Demon Deacons in this game. He made 4 out of 14 in this contest giving him a field goal percentage of 28.6%, and earned 4 rebounds. He racked up 18 points in his 42 minutes on the hardwood and accumulated 1 assist for the matchup.

Wake Forest has a win-loss mark of 11-10 on the season. The Demon Deacons are committing 19.1 fouls per game while shooting 76.1% from the charity stripe. They are dishing out assists 14.9 times per contest (132nd in Division 1) and they are turning it over 11.8 times per contest. Wake Forest has tallied 1,683 points on the year (80.1 per contest) and they grab 33.5 rebounds per game. As an offense, the Demon Deacons are connecting on 44.9% from the floor, which is 208th in the nation.

The Wake Forest defense allows 30.8% on shots from behind the 3-point line (180 of 585) and opponents are converting on 74.0% of their foul shots. They concede 15.4 dimes and 36.2 boards on a nightly basis, which has them ranked 309th and 281st in those defensive categories. The Demon Deacons are ranked 264th in the nation in PPG surrendered with 76.7. They are forcing 14.9 turnovers per game and have allowed teams to shoot 43.9% from the floor (188th in the nation).

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take North Carolina State

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