West Virginia hoops is set for its tenth game of the season, as the Mountaineers clash against Wake Forest in Charleston this evening. Tipoff is set for 6:00 p.m and KenPom gives the Mountaineers a 54 percent chance of winning, with an expected score of 71-70. Here’s everything you need to know about the Demon Deacons ahead of today’s matchup.
All data is per KenPom or hoop-exlorer.
COACHING AND THIS YEAR
Wake Forest is led by sixth-year head coach Steve Forbes, who holds a 98-68 (0.590) overall record with the program since taking over back in 2020. After a 6-16 year one campaign, Forbes has won no less than 19 games in each of the following four seasons. With that said, he has yet to make the NCAA Tournament with the Demon Deacons, having fallen just short multiple times. The ACC isn’t what it once was.
Prior to his time with WF, he was the head coach of East Tennessee State for five years. He won an impressive 130 games during that time, with two NCAA Tournament appearances (if you count the COVID cancellation they qualified for) and two SoCon titles. He also spent time as a top-notch JUCO coach back in the late 90’s.
The Demon Deacons are currently 6-3 this year, with 1-point losses against Texas Tech and Michigan and a recent blowout defeat to Oklahoma. The most impressive victory is a 1-point win over Memphis. Wake Forest is currently No. 53 in KenPom’s rankings.
LINEUP (ARCHETYPE)
6-foot-2 G Nate Calmese – 8.6 ppg, 2.2 rpg, 5.4 apg (Facilitator Point Guard)
6-foot-5 G Mekhi Mason – 10.9 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 2.1 apg (Shooter)
6-foot-7 G Juke Harris – 19.9 ppg, 7.7 rpg, 1.7 apg (True Wing)
6-foot-7 F Tre’Von Spillers – 14 ppg, 6.2 rpg, 1.7 apg, 2.6 ‘stocks’ (Small Ball Big)
6-foot-8 F Omaha Biliew – 5.2 ppg, 2.1 rpg (Stretch Big)
WF bolsters a pretty big lineup with good positional size… The biggest dude is ‘just’ 6-foot-10 (bench center Cooper Schwieger), but the guards have some serious length. 33.6 percent of this team’s minutes come from the bench, which is close to the national average. It has been an approximately 9-man rotation so far this season.
OFFENSE
Forbes’ offenses are typically pretty good, and this year’s edition has been OK. They rank No. 76 nationally in adjusted points per 100 possessions, with some preseason bias, and have eclipsed 80 points in eight of their nine games this season. They love playing fast (top-50 in adjusted tempo), so there will be a bit of a tug-o-war match with Hodge in trying to dictate the pace of this game. Wake Forest shoots just 32.9 percent from deep on the year, but are otherwise pretty good across the board. They get after the offensive glass, avoid turnovers well, and are decent from inside the arc. Statistically, this is a Jack of all trades, master of none’ sort of offense. They rank outside the top-70 in pretty much everything, but have no clear weaknesses.
DEFENSE
Wake Forest has fielded a good defense in each of the last two seasons, and 2025 is looking no different. The Demon Deacons currently rank No. 40 nationally in adjusted efficiency, and are excellent at creating havoc at the point-of-attack and forcing turnovers (top-30 in steal rate), which is how they like to set up transition opportunities. Teams have also shot just 29 percent from deep against the Deacs this season. The weakness definitely lies in the paint, though, as WF allows opponents to shoot nearly 53 percent from inside the arc on the year (192nd), and they struggle to defend down low without fouling. Their free throw rate (FTA/FGA) of 38.5 ranks 225th. This is a game where Obioha and Lorient need to flex their muscles offensively… The high-low game this WVU attack predicates itself on could expose the weakness of this Wake Forest defense.
PREDICTION
This feels like another 50-50 matchup for WVU. Last time, I called for a close win against Clemson, and the Mountaineers threw it away late. The computer overlords are leaning WVU this time, though, and I think fortune favors the team closer to home. A bounceback game for this West Virginia frontcourt against a weak 5-spot for Wake Forest is the deciding factor.
WVU: 72
Wake Forest: 71
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