Florida vs. Wake Forest: Preview, Prediction, Odds, Where to Watch and More

The Florida Gators will participate in their first true road game of the 2023-24 season on Wednesday as part of the ACC/SEC Challenge against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons.

It is the only game away from the Stephen C. O'Connell Center on Florida's out-of-conference slate that is not a neutral site bout, presenting head coach Todd Golden's group with a valuable opportunity to play in a hostile environment before the Southeastern Conference schedule commences in January.

You can find an in-depth rundown and everything else you need to know about the matchup before tip-off below.

Florida Gators (4-2) vs. Wake Forest Demon Deacons (3-3)

Where: Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Winston-Salem, N.C.

When: Wednesday, Nov. 29 at 7:15 p.m. ET

Watch: ESPNU

Radio: Gator Sports Network from LEARFIELD | The Varsity Network App | SiriusXM 209/192 & SXM App

Odds: Florida is a 4.5-point favorite over Wake Forest, according to SI Sportsbook. The over/under for the contest is set at 156.5 points.

Series history: The Gators are 7-5 against the Demon Deacons all-time. In their most recent meeting, Florida cruised to a victory over Wake Forest, 63-50, in Sunrise, Fla., on Dec. 20, 2014.

Important stories

The Rundown

Florida heads into the ACC/SEC Challenge striving to continue its early-season success against Wake Forest.

Sitting at 4-2, the Gators have competed at an uber-productive level offensively to post convincing victories over the likes of Florida State and Pitt. Their only losses have come against powerhouse programs Virginia and Baylor, both without a key contributor in the mix.

The unit's offensive success — resulting in its standing at No. 17 in adjusted offensive efficiency — is catalyzed by a well-versed and complementary backcourt corps, highlighted by the likes of Zyon Pullin, Walter Clayton Jr., Riley Kugel and Will Richard. The Florida defense, meanwhile, despite being down from its form a season ago, still ranks in the top 70 nationally.

As a result, at full strength, the UF squad looks poised to make a run for the NCAA Tournament and potentially more.

On Wednesday, the Gators get another Power Six test early in the season to set them up for a daunting slate of contests in a competitive SEC in 2023-24.

Wake Forest is led by a quartet of starters who average over 30 minutes and 15 points per contest.

The backcourt carries a bulk of the scoring and overall offensive production, with the starters at the one (Boopie Miller), the two (Cameron Hildreth) and the three (Hunter Sallis), accounting for 17.3, 17.9 and 18.3 points per game, respectively, this season. They've also led the unit to shoot 36% from beyond the arc on the season.

Quality three-point shooting teams have given Florida issues to begin the year, particularly as it pertains to defending ball screens along the perimeter.

The Gators have allowed the four Power Six teams it has played to combine for 36.7% (33/90) from beyond the arc, including Baylor's 56% (14/25) on Friday.

They aim to begin reconciling that issue against the Demon Deacons on Wednesday, likely working over the picks inside of dropping beneath them at a higher volume to ensure they can contest the shots from deep.

"I thought we were really good in the Pitt game in ball-screen coverage after the first four minutes," Golden said in reflection of the NIT Season Tip-Off outings when asked about the lapses in the area, where the issue became notable. "I thought we were a little jumbled early but then I thought we did a really good job on [Carlton] Carrington, forcing him into tough shots. He had a pretty inefficient game, keeping him left a lot.

"Obviously, the Baylor game not very good. But you have to tip your cap, I thought we did a pretty good job against [RayJ] Dennis in the first half, held him to two points, but obviously didn't do a very good job on him in the second half when he had 22 or 24 or whatever it was. They're going to put you in rotations. Baylor is one of the best ball-screen teams in America so they're going to shift the pieces around to try to put you in some rotations and make you execute things. I thought we had moments where we did a good job but over the course of 40, not quite good enough to beat a top-10 team."

Forward Andrew Carr provides glass cleaning and rim protection services, accounting for a team-leading 7.8 rebounds and 2.3 blocks on top of his 15 points per game from his four spot.

He's joined usually by London, England, product Matthew Marsh in the frontcourt.

The Demon Deacons operated without the 7-foot center for three of his six outings this season after he suffered a concussion in the unit's loss to Georgia in game two. He returned in a limited capacity against Charleston Southern, seeing 15 minutes against the Buccaneers.

It's expected he'll move back into the starting lineup on Wednesday against the Gators, presenting a challenge on the boards given his size and length. However, Florida will look to maintain its rejuvenated rebounding production — namely offensively.

The unit could be doing so without 7-footer Micah Handlogten as he rehabilitates an ankle injury suffered in the first minute of the Gators' 15-point over Pitt a week ago. He's considered a game-time decision.

If he cannot go, Golden and Co. will look to SEC Player of the Week Tyrese Samuel to occupy the five while Florida plays small in the starting lineup. He'll be complemented by a duo of true freshman contributors, Alex Condon and Thomas Haugh.

Either way, the Gators will look to combat the Demon Deacons while maintaining their promising play.

Brandon's Prediction: Florida 84, Wake Forest 69

The Gators have proven to be on the rise in the world of college basketball throughout the 2023-24 season, but have yet to post a signature win to officially announce their arrival.

While Wake Forest isn't the program it once was, thus failing to bring the relevance UF seeks with a mere victory over the Demon Deacons, a road victory against an ACC opponent can only aid Florida in its climb to assert itself onto the national stage.

It's an opportunity for growth that I believe the Gators will capitalize on.

With or without Handlogten, I think the talent and depth in Florida's backcourt will outweigh Wake Forest's firepower to present the Gators an opportunity to blow open the contest early in the second half.

The scoring production the unit has seen, largely due to its fluid ball movement and ability to score in transition, remains as the unit posts its fifth straight game — and sixth through seven games — of 80-plus points.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the ball, the Gators close out on shooters along the three-point line better to limit Wake Forest’s opportunity from deep. Samuel makes an impact as a rim protector to total over two blocks on the evening.

Ultimately, Golden's team takes advantage to down the Demon Deacons behind effective showings from the trio of Pullin, Clayton and Kugel to post an important win during its lone true road contest of the out-of-conference schedule.

The Gators leave Winston-Salem as victors, 84-69, and add a tally to the SEC’s win column over the ACC.

Stay tuned to All Gators for continuous coverage of Florida Gators football, basketball and recruiting. Follow along on social media at @AllGatorsOnFN on Twitter and All Gators on FanNation-Sports Illustrated on Facebook.

Get your Gators football, basketball, baseball and other sporting events tickets from SI Tickets here.