Gameday Preview: North Carolina vs Wake Forest – Thurs March 13th 2025

March 13, 2025

Charlotte- Wake Forest faces North Carolina in the 2025 T. Rowe Price ACC Men’s Basketball Tournament on Thursday afternoon, for a 2:30 p.m. tip at the Spectrum Center. 

The Demon Deacons are 13-7 against ACC opponents and 8-3 in non-conference play. Wake Forest ranks fourth in the ACC in team defense, allowing 68.0 points while holding opponents to 40.4% shooting.

The Tar Heels are 14-7 in ACC play. North Carolina averages 10.5 turnovers per game and is 7-4 when committing fewer turnovers than opponents.

Wake Forest is shooting 44.7% from the field this season, 1.4 percentage points higher than the 43.3% North Carolina allows to opponents. North Carolina scores 13.5 more points per game (81.5) than Wake Forest gives up to opponents (68.0).

The teams meet for the second time this season. Wake Forest won 67-66 in the last matchup on Jan. 22. 

TOP PERFORMERS:  Hunter Sallis is  shooting 28.0% from beyond the arc with 1.4 made 3-pointers per game for the Demon Deacons, while averaging 18 points and 5.1 rebounds. Hildreth is shooting 53.2% and averaging 17.1 points over the past 10 games.

RJ Davis is shooting 40.6% and averaging 17.1 points for the Tar Heels. Jae’Lyn Withers is averaging 2.2 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Demon Deacons: 6-4, averaging 72.9 points, 28.8 rebounds, 11.7 assists, 6.8 steals and 2.7 blocks per game while shooting 46.1% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 72.6 points per game.

Tar Heels: 8-2, averaging 82.2 points, 30.8 rebounds, 16.0 assists, 5.1 steals and 3.1 blocks per game while shooting 50.7% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 72.7 points.

The Demon Deacons earned the No. 4 seed in this year’s ACC Tournament by matching the program record with 13 regular season conference victories and achieving the mark for the second time in four years.

CAROLINA-WAKE FOREST

• Carolina is 165-70 all-time vs. the Demon Deacons, including 13-8 in the ACC Tournament.

• Carolina has not played Wake Forest in the ACC Tournament since the 2000 quarterfinals in Charlotte. 

UNC Coach Hubert Davis on facing Wake Forest and message to the NCAA Selection Committee:

“The pitch is we are focused. We were very fortunate to be successful against a really good Notre Dame team. That was a one-point game earlier in the year in South Bend. Our eyes and our preparation is on what is real, and what is real is our preparation in regards to our play tomorrow against a very good Wake Forest team.”

UNC Guard Seth Trimble on game vs Wake Forest being an elimination game: 

“That’s definitely fair. And I’m sure as we, as we talk more about it, starting tonight and starting in a couple hours, slowly we’ll start to view it like that. But I don’t want to put any extra pressure on these guys. We’re out here to play basketball, here to play games and here to play free. We’re playing our best basketball.”