by Chuck Sommers
Friday, Dec 02, 2022
Time: 7 p.m. ET
Venue: Littlejohn Coliseum, Clemson, SC
Where to watch: ACC Network
Opening Odds at USA Sportsbooks
DraftKings: Clemson -3
FanDuel: Clemson -2.5
BetMGM: Clemson -2.5
Caesars: Clemson -3
Season record
Wake Forest: 7-1
Clemson: 6-2
It’s been upsets galore in the world of college basketball, and if you thought the rankings were busted before, you haven’t seen anything yet. Nothing’s been certain to this point, and nothing might not be certain in who’s good or bad until much later down the line. Look no further than Gonzaga already falling down to No. 14 after two losses. No one ever really expects that. So what can we expect this weekend? Our champion handicappers no exactly how to make that happen. Jim Feist is 31-14-2 over the last month with a net of more than $15,000. How about Wayne Root? He’s off to a tremendous 23-11-0 run and has netted $11,000. You want in on this action too, right? Make sure to be following bigal.com for all the fun this college basketball season and take the advice of our champion handicappers!
Wake Forest – Clemson preview, prediction and analysis
Recent form
Wake Forest: won 3 straight; won 78-75 at Wisconsin on Tuesday
Clemson: won 101-94 (2OT) vs. Penn State
Wake Forest analysis
The Wake Forest Demon Deacons aren’t getting any love from the voters. A 7-1 start for Wake Forest isn’t even getting them votes in the AP Top 25 this past week, but maybe that’ll change this week if the Deacons can complete this impressive sweep of a week with a win in Clemson to open up ACC play.
Because any time you can go into Wisconsin and win, you’ve done something right. That’s a quality win that the Deacons can hang their hat on when it gets closer to March. Leading scorer Tyree Appleby scored 20 of his 32 points in the second half for Wake Forest to pull off the upset. That win was a complete effort for Wake Forest, despite it being a 3-point game.
The Deacons shot 53.7% from the floor while holding a normally-efficient Wisconsin team to 42.9% from the floor. They out-rebounded the Badgers 33-23. The only things they didn’t do well was hold onto the ball (15 turnovers) and contain the 3-point ball. Wisconsin doubled Wake Forest in 3-point makes (12) but couldn’t make anything inside the 3-point line.
That’s a good sign of a good defensive team that doesn’t allow Wisconsin, who likes to play from the outside in, to get anything going in an offensive rhythm. It’s been a long time since the Deacons had a team like this that could be a scary contender, but having a guy like Appleby making shots the way he has certainly helps the cause.
Clemson analysis
Much like their counterparts win Winston-Salem, it’s been a hot minute since the Clemson Tigers had anything to cheer for. They’ve only made the NCAA Tournament three times in Brad Brownell’s 12-year tenure. Entering his 13th year, there’s some buzz surrounding other teams in the ACC that aren’t named North Carolina or Duke.
Clemson’s only two blemishes to this point are a 2-point road loss to South Carolina and a 3-point loss to No. 25 Iowa. That’s not bad, all things considered. The Tigers bounced back with wins over Bellarmine, Cal, and a double-overtime thriller Tuesday, 101-94, over the Penn State Nittany Lions.
I’m not sure if Clemson has laid claim to the Hunter Dynasty for their duo of Chase Hunter and Hunter Tyson, but it might be something they should look into. Tyson led the way with 24 points and nine rebounds in the victory to offset a horrendous night from leading scorer Chase Hunter, who was held to 1 of 12 shooting and just 7 points.
Clemson big man PJ Hall picked up the slack with 24 points on 6 of 8 shooting, while Alex Hemenway had 15 points.
The Tigers are a balanced offensive team in terms of when to get their points. They made 51 percent of their shots while shooting an efficient 11 of 21 from 3-point range. They didn’t force things from deep like Penn State did on Tuesday. That’s going to bode well for this game comparing two completely different styles of how to play.
Prediction
Clemson might be the most patient offensive-ran team that Wake Forest has played to this point, and it’s safe to say Hunter won’t regress to another 1 of 12 shooting performance. He gets back on track and Clemson gets a quality resume win. Clemson by 6
Betting trends
Wake Forest is 17-7 ATS off an over the last 2 seasons.
Wake Forest is 14-5 ATS after winning 3 of 4 the last two seasons.
Clemson is 28-14 ATS in home games after winning 6 or 7 of their last 8 since 1997.
Clemson is 15-6 ATS after playing their last game as a favorite the last 2 seasons.
Projected starting lineup
Wake Forest:
PG: Tyree Appleby
SG: Cameron Hildreth
SF: Damari Monsanto
PF: Andrew Carr
C: Zach Keller
Clemson:
PG: Brevin Galloway
SG: Alex Hemenway
SF: Chase Hunter
PF: Hunter Tyson
C: PJ Hall
Statistical leaders
Wake Forest:
Points: Tyree Appleby – 19.6
Rebounds: Cameron Hildreth – 6.6
Assists: Tyree Appleby – 5.5
Clemson:
Points: Chase Hunter – 15.4
Rebounds: Hunter Tyson – 8.8
Assists: Chase Hunter – 5.3
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Chuck Sommers
About the Author:
Chuck Sommers has camped outside of sportsbooks since he can remember, learning the tricks and nuances of the trade. He still has nightmares of betting $5,000 on the Raiders in the Tuck Rule game but has since turned that to 25 years of veteran handicapping greatness. You can find him mostly in the shadows at the Red Rock or Aliante casinos wondering if the over is cashing on any given Sunday.
