Clemson Men’s Basketball open ACC play against Wake Forest

Clemson Men’s Basketball will open their ACC schedule tonight against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons at 7:00 PM at Littlejohn Coliseum.

The Tigers are 6-2 this year and are coming off of a double overtime victory over the Penn State Nittany Lions in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.

Chase Hunter leads Clemson in both points (15.4 per game) and assists (5.2 per game). Hunter Tyson continues to lead the team in rebounds with 8.8 per game. Tyson is coming off a fantastic performance against Penn State, with 24 points and 9 rebounds.

The big story for the Tigers continues to be PJ Hall’s recovery from injury. He played the least of the starters against Penn St with 25 minutes. Fortunately, Ian Schieffelin and Ben Middlebrooks have been contributors off the bench. Both scored 8 points each and had a combined 5 rebounds to fill the gap against Penn St. Their presence allows Clemson to bring Hall along slowly.

Wake Forest is 7-1 this season. They are coming off a road win against Wisconsin in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. Their lone loss came in overtime against Loyola Marymount in the Jamaica Classic.

The Deacons are led in scoring (19.6 per game) and assists (5.5 per game) by Tyree Appleby, a senior guard from Jacksonville, Arkansas. He is a transfer from Florida who started his career with Cleveland State.

Guard Cameron Hildreth leads Wake in rebounds with 6.6 per game. Hildreth is 6′-4″ sophomore and hails from Worthing, England.

Clemson Men’s Basketball is a 3.0 point home favorite against the Demon Deacons

Clemson is favored by 3.0 points over Wake Forest, and the over/under total is set at 143.0 points, which suggests a final score of a 73-70 victory for the Tigers.

Here are our analysts’ takes on whether the Tigers will win and/or cover.

John Chancey (7-1, 3-5 ATS):

I know it was overtime, but it is still surprising to see a Clemson Men’s Basketball team score triple digits. Until the team shows a bit more consistency, I feel they are probably susceptible to the hangover that comes from a hard-fought victory like the last game. Perimeter defense will be key, particularly against Appleby, who is coming off a 32 point performance against Wisconsin.

Marty Coleman (8-0, 4-4 ATS):

I’ve been pleasantly surprised by what I’ve seen out of the Tigers on balance this season, except for one game.  That Penn State game is one they likely lose last season, but the Tigers found a way to win.  Another plus is we saw the contributions from the bench that I’ve been looking for – 8 each from Middlebrooks and Schieffelin and 4 each from Godfrey and Beadle.  Also, the bigger guard strategy certainly paid off with a pair of Beadle blocks that wouldn’t have happened last season. Still, I’ve seen a little bit of Wake and Tyree Appleby is going to be a problem.  Wake is a little taller and shoots a few more free throws, so I like Wake +3 in this one, which I think will go down to the wire. Clemson has shot well, the question is can the Tigers continue to do so against better competition.

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change