Quick, name two of the four frontrunners in the ACC currently that are squaring off on Saturday in a key college basketball contest…if you didn’t say Wake Forest and Virginia, you aren’t alone. These teams were not expected to be where they are now, occup

2010-02-09

Quick, name two of the four frontrunners in the ACC currently that are squaring off on Saturday in a key college basketball contest…if you didn’t say Wake Forest and Virginia, you aren’t alone. These teams were not expected to be where they are now, occupying positions normally reserved for teams like Clemson and North Carolina. That should make for an intriguing showdown then when the Demon Deacons invade Charlottesville. Virginia is expected to win and Wake has a history of struggling on the road against good teams. See all of the rest of the key trends impacting this game on the Sportsbook.com GAME MATCHUPS page.

Coming into this year’s ACC campaign, one of the teams not presumed to compete for the conference crown was Virginia (14-6, 9-6 ATS). Yet past the quarter point of the league schedule, the Cavaliers are right in the mix. How could this be? It starts with new coach Tony Bennett stressing the little things- free throw shooting, assists to turnovers ratio and playing defense out to 25 feet. The older Virginia players have seen the value of this style and like W’s. The Cavs are 38-22 ATS at home vs. teams making 45 or percent of shots past the halfway point of season.

Wake Forest (15-5, 9-8 ATS) lost by 20 points at Duke and showed their resolve in knocking out North Carolina 82-69 at Chapel Hill in the next outing. If senior Ishmael Smith can continue to put up impressive numbers, the Demon Deacons are going to be a tough club the rest of the way. Al-Farouq Aminu’s game is ever-expanding and he’s unstoppable near the bucket. If freshmen C.J. Harris and Ari Stewart can be a touch more consistent shooting, they already know center Chas McFarland will do his job in the paint. Wake has to protect the ball, as they are 25-43 ATS in road games when they commit three to seven more turnovers than opponents.

The head-to-head history finds Virginia as 7-3 and 6-4 ATS at Charlottesville against Demon Deacons. The Cavaliers are expected to be about a 2-point closing line favorite according to the StatFox Power Ratings. The Forecaster calls for them to win by three.

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