Wake Forest Demon Deacons vs Florida State Seminoles Prediction, 1/17/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Wake Forest Demon Deacons vs Florida State Seminoles

Date: Saturday, January 17, 2026

Location: Tucker Center in Tallahassee, FL

TV: ESPN+

The Wake Forest Demon Deacons (10-7) are on their way to Tucker Center on Saturday where they will take on the Florida State Seminoles (7-10).

The Wake Forest Demon Deacons stepped onto the hardwood against North Carolina and ended up losing by a score of 87-84 in their last game. Wake Forest wrapped up the game having earned a 48.4% FG percentage (31 of 64) and buried 14 out of their 35 3-point shots. When they shot from the free throw line, the Demon Deacons converted 8 of their 11 shots for a rate of 72.7%. Pertaining to pulling down rebounds, they earned 23 with 7 of them being on the offensive end. They also doled out 13 dimes in this matchup in addition to creating 14 turnovers and having 9 steals. Regarding the defense, Wake Forest allowed 52.7% from the floor on 29 out of 55 shooting. North Carolina totaled 20 assists and had 10 steals for the game. On top of that, North Carolina pulled down 29 rebounds (12 offensive, 17 defensive), but didn't notch a block. North Carolina shot 66.7% at the free throw line by converting 20 of 30 attempts. They also made 9 of 26 tries from 3-point range. When talking about personal fouls, the Demon Deacons ended up with 22 and North Carolina recorded 13 personal fouls.

Juke Harris is a guy who was a major contributor for this contest. He went 55.6% from the floor and recorded 1 assist. He played for 38 minutes and pulled down 6 rebounds. He ended up scoring 28 points on 10 out of 18 shooting.

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Wake Forest heads into this matchup with a win-loss mark of 10-7 so far this year. They are averaging 81.8 pts per contest (92nd in the country) while hitting 45.4% from the field. The Demon Deacons are hitting 34.1% on shots from beyond the arc (157 of 460) and 75.8% from the charity stripe. As a unit, Wake Forest is pulling in 34.6 boards per game and has accounted for 258 dimes for the year, which has them ranked 156th in Division 1 in terms of passing the ball. They turn it over 12.3 times per contest and as a group are committing 19.3 personal fouls on a nightly basis.

On defense, the Demon Deacons have forced 15.6 turnovers per contest and they draw 18.7 personal fouls. They currently rank 292nd in the nation in giving up assists to the opposition with 263 conceded so far this season. The Demon Deacons defense is allowing an opponent shooting percentage of 43.8% (431 of 983) and they surrender 34.8 rebounds per game as a squad. They give up 30.3% on shots from downtown and they are 233rd in college in PPG allowed (75.4).

The last time they took the hardwood, the Florida State Seminoles took a loss by a score of 94-86 against Syracuse. The Seminoles collected 17 defensive boards and 14 offensive boards for a total of 31 in this matchup. They turned it over 14 times, while earning 8 steals in this matchup. Syracuse had 17 fouls for this game which took the Seminoles to the charity stripe for a total of 27 tries. They were able to make 20 of the free throw attempts for a rate of 74.1%. In reference to shooting from distance, Florida State made 10 out of 27 tries (37.0%). When this game wrapped up, the Seminoles ended up going 28 for 62 from the floor which had them at 45.2%. The Seminoles allowed Syracuse to make 37 of 62 tries from the field which had them shooting 59.7% in this game. They finished shooting 40.7% from distance by going 11 of 27 and finished the game at 9 of 15 at the charity stripe (60.0%). In the matter of team rebounding, Florida State allowed Syracuse to grab 32 in total (10 on the offensive side).

Kobe MaGee pitched in for the Seminoles in the matchup. He recorded 20 points in his 32 minutes on the court and totaled 3 dimes in this game. He buried 5 of 12 for the game for a field goal rate of 41.7%, and accounted for 4 rebounds.

Florida State has a mark of 7-10 on the campaign. The Seminoles commit 20.0 fouls every game and they shoot 70.8% from the charity stripe. They are dishing out assists 15.2 times per contest (124th in college) and they cough up possession 12.5 times per contest. Florida State has 1,413 points so far this year (83.1 per contest) and they average 36.6 boards per contest. As an offensive unit, the Seminoles are shooting 42.4% from the floor, which has them ranked 315th in Division 1.

The Seminoles are ranked 341st in college hoops in PPG given up with 82.1. They are able to force 16.1 turnovers per game and allow teams to shoot 46.2% from the floor (301st in Division 1). The Florida State defense concedes 34.8% on 3-point shots (155 of 445) and their opponents are knocking down 73.1% of their shots from the charity stripe. They have relinquished 16.5 dimes and 39.6 rebounds every game, which ranks them 339th and 352nd in the country.

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Wake Forest

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