Gameday Preview: Wake Forest vs Stanford – Weds Feb 5th 2025

The Wake Forest Demon Deacons (16-6, 8-3 ACC) begin their California road trip as they take on the Stanford Cardinal (15-7, 7-4 ACC) with a late night tip. 

The Deacons and Cardinal are in a fight to strengthen their NCAA tournament resume. Joe Lunardi has the Demon Deacons on the “Next Four Out” line of his latest bracket predictions, the Cardinal are also not in the field. This is a must win for both programs, a Wake win would give them a coveted Quad 1 win (1-75 away in the NET Rankings) as the Cardinal are ranked 73rd in the NET. A win for the Cardinal gives them a Quad 2 win (31-75 in the NET) with the Deacs coming in at 68. The Cardinal open as a 1.5 point favorite to take care of the Deacs.

Wake Forest goes into Stanford off the heels of a 76-74 win against the Pitt Panthers in another must-win for the Deacs. Ty-Laur Johnson converted 6 straight free throws in the final 22 seconds to end the Deacs two-game skid. The Demon Deacons were led by Cam Hildreth’s 24 points and 5 boards, Hunter Salis added 13 and 5.

The Cardinal come limping into their matchup with the Deacs as their five game win streak was abruptly ended by the SMU Mustangs, 85-61. The Mustangs are winners of 6 of their last seven as they look to solidify their tournament resume. Oziyah Sellers led the Cardinal with 19 points as Maxime Raynaud added  a double double with 18 points and 10 rebounds. 

This is the second matchup between the Deacs and Cardinal on the season. Wake beat Stanford in January, 80-67, with a 30 point performance for Hunter Salis. The Deacs rode a 16-4 run over the last four minutes of the game to secure the victory. Tre’von Spillers added 18 points and Cam Hildreth scored 12. The Cardinal were led by Oziyah Sellers 16 points and Jaylen Blakes 15. Raynaud scored 14 points and 5 boards. 

Key Points

Wake Forest

• Keep up the pressure. The Deacs are in the top 50 of turnover percentage. If the Deacs can force turnovers and get out on the break, they will be able to leave Stanford with the W.
• Find their range. The Deacs are shooting sub 30% from the line. The Cardinal gave up 12 threes against SMU. Wake needs to attack the perimeter weaknesses of the Cardinal. 
• Contain Raynaud. He is the Cardinal’s best player and will get his fill. The Deacs need to focus on shutting down others like Sellers and Blakes (who missed the SMU game) who were the leading scorers in their last game. Limiting the other player inputs will give the Deacs the W.

Stanford

• Fast start. Tip off is at 11pm eastern time meaning the Deacs could be sluggish. If the Cards can make shots early, they can bury the Deacs. 
• Dominate the paint. The Deacs are thin in the interior with a massive drop-off in talent from Efton Reid to Churchill Abass. Feeding Raynaud in the post and getting Reid in foul trouble, Raynaud will eat. 
• Ride the Home Court Advantage. The Cardinal are 12-1 at home this season. The Deacons are historically shaky on the road. The Cardinal should ride the advantage to escape with a W in this must-win game.