Syracuse Orange vs Wake Forest Demon Deacons Prediction, 2/28/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Syracuse Orange vs Wake Forest Demon Deacons

Date: Saturday, February 28, 2026

Location: LJVM Coliseum in Winston-Salem, NC

TV: ESPN+

The Wake Forest Demon Deacons (14-14) will go up against the Syracuse Orange (15-13) at LJVM Coliseum on Saturday.

The Syracuse Orange played North Carolina and went home with a loss by a final score of 77-64 in their last game. Syracuse finished the contest with a 42.4% FG percentage (25 out of 59) and converted 3 out of their 17 three-point shots. From the charity stripe, the Orange buried 11 of their 16 attempts for a rate of 68.8%. When discussing grabbing rebounds, they compiled 28 with 7 of them being on the offensive end. They also distributed 6 assists for the game in addition to forcing 10 turnovers and earning 4 steals. When talking about defense, Syracuse let their opponent shoot 51.9% from the field on 28 of 54 shooting. North Carolina doled out 10 dimes and had 5 steals in this matchup. Furthermore, North Carolina grabbed 35 boards (7 offensive, 28 defensive), but didn't record a block for the team. North Carolina ended up going 53.6% from the charity stripe by converting 15 of their 28 shots. They made 6 of 16 tries from 3-point land. When talking about personal fouls, the Orange walked away with 23 while North Carolina recorded 18 personal fouls.

JJ Starling is one player who was a contributor for the contest. He finished with 22 points on 10 of 19 shooting. He played 34 minutes and also collected 4 boards. He ended up shooting 52.6% from the field and totaled 2 assists.

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Syracuse will enter this matchup with a mark of 15-13 for the campaign. They have an average of 75.6 pts per contest (192nd in D-1) while hitting 46.9% from the field. The Orange are shooting 33.0% on shots beyond the perimeter (196 of 594) and 63.4% from the free throw line. As a team, Syracuse is grabbing 34.8 rebounds per game and has totaled 361 assists on the year, which has them ranked 277th in the nation in terms of passing the ball. They are turning it over 11.2 times per game and as a unit are committing 16.8 fouls every game.

On the defensive end of the court, the Orange are forcing 12.4 turnovers per game while drawing 18.5 fouls. They are 185th in college hoops in allowing assists with 384 surrendered on the campaign. The Orange defensively are allowing a FG percentage of 43.6% (726 of 1,664) and they relinquish 36.9 rebounds per contest as a team. They are conceding 33.6% on 3-point shots while they are 170th in college in points per game allowed (73.4).

When they last played, the Wake Forest Demon Deacons took a defeat with a final score of 68-67 against Boston College. Concerning cleaning the glass, Wake Forest permitted Boston College to collect 35 in all (9 on the offensive side). They finished the game shooting 25.0% from distance by going 7 out of 28 and ended up shooting 11 out of 13 at the charity stripe (84.6%). The Demon Deacons permitted Boston College to convert 25 of 58 attempts from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 43.1% in this contest. When the final whistle blew, the Demon Deacons finished shooting 22 out of 62 from the floor which gave them a rate of 35.5%. Regarding shots from beyond the perimeter, Wake Forest converted 10 of their 30 attempts (33.3%). They were able to convert 13 of the free throws for a clip of 76.5%. Boston College committed 15 personal fouls for this game which got the Demon Deacons to the free throw line for 17 shots. They turned it over 6 times, while earning 8 steals for this contest. The Demon Deacons were able to snag 23 defensive boards and 12 offensive boards for a total of 35 for the game.

Juke Harris ended up being a major contributor for the Demon Deacons for this contest. He made 12 of 19 in this matchup for a field goal rate of 63.2%, and tallied 6 rebounds. He tallied 38 points in his 39 mins of playing time and added 1 assist for the game.

Wake Forest has a record of 14-14 for the year. The Demon Deacons are responsible for committing 18.6 personal fouls per game while shooting 76.5% from the free throw line. Their rate of assisting teammates is at 14.3 times per game (157th in Division 1) and they turn the ball over 10.9 times per contest. Wake Forest has scored 2,207 points so far this year (78.8 per contest) and they grab 33.0 rebounds per game. As an offense, the Demon Deacons are shooting 44.8% from the floor, which has them ranked 207th in the nation.

The Demon Deacons on the defensive end are ranked 260th in the country in points allowed per contest with 76.9. They are forcing their opponents into 13.3 TO's every game and have let teams shoot 44.6% from the floor (205th in college). The Wake Forest defense gives up 32.8% on shots from beyond the perimeter (252 of 769) and their opponents are converting on 73.3% of their shots from the free throw line. They have allowed 15.4 assists and 35.2 total rebounds per game, which ranks them 311th and 231st in Division 1.

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Syracuse

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