Preview: Pitt Enters Crucial Matchup With Wake Forest

PITTSBURGH — The Pitt Panthers are headed to Winston-Salem, N.C. to take on the Wake Forest Demon Deacons after completing consecutive second-half backs against ACC foes.

Pitt broke out of a four-game losing streak with a win last weekend against Syracuse on Jan. 25 and followed it up with a statement win against North Carolina at home on Jan. 28

The latter proved the Panthers have the talent and willpower to compete with other teams on the bubble of receiving an invitation to the NCAA Tournament. As the field is currently ranked, Pitt has four more Quad 1 opponents on the schedule and Wake Forest is one of them.

Pitt only let up 21 second-half points against North Carolina. 20 minutes of basketball revealed several discoveries for head coach Jeff Capel, who was impressed by his frontcourt's perimeter defense and redshirt senior forward Zach Austin's ability to impact the game in all stages.

Preview: Pitt vs Wake Forest

The Demon Deacons are led by fifth year head coach Steve Forbes, who is still looking for his first NCAA Tournament invitation at Wake Forest.

Forbes got the job after five years at East Tennessee State where he achieved two conference and regular season championships. Although Forbes hasn't led the Demon Deacons to the big dance, the drought goes back to before he arrived — Wake Forest's last NCAA Tournament appearance was a first four loss in the 2016-17 season.

This season, Forbes rosters an experienced roster including six seniors, four of whom play large roles.

Wake Forest has faced five ranked opponents but came up short each time. This includes their last two contests, a 63-56 loss at home to No. 2 Duke on Jan. 28 and a 72-59 loss at No. 21 at Louisville on Jan. 28.

Senior guard Hunter Sallis has led the Demon Deacons in scoring in 14 of their 21 games this season and is fourth in the ACC with 18.6 points per game.

Sallis can score from anywhere on the floor, using his 6-foot-5 frame in a variety of ways. He transferred in from Gonzaga ahead of last season and averaged 18 points per game and 40.5% from deep while starting every game.

His three-point efficiency has dropped to 31.2% this season, but his offensive usage and free throw percentage have increased.

Staring in the frontcourt for Wake Forest is senior forward Tre'Von Spillers, who grabs the fourth most rebounds per game in the ACC with 8.5 and is tied for second with 1.6 blocks per game. Spillers also adds 10.2 points in his 33.3 minutes per game.

Spillers was a full-time starter at Appalachian State and led the team with 8.9 rebounds per game. Now at Wake Forest, Spillers's role is all the same — cleaning the glass and playing a large role on offense. Spillers recorded a season-high 18 points and 16 rebounds early in a 57-51 win against Minnesota at home on Nov. 29.

The only other Demon Deacon who averages double figures in scoring is senior guard Cameron Hildreth. Hailing from Worthing in the United Kingdom, Hildreth is in his fourth-straight season at Wake Forest and his third as a full-time starter and leads Wake Forest with three assists per game and adds 13.1 points on ten shots per game.

Senior forward Efton Reid III, who stands seven-foot, bolsters Wake Forest's frontcourt, grabing six rebounds and adding 8.1 points per game.

Reid has served as a full-time starter for the team since transferringin at the start of last season from LSU. Much of his scoring is done close to the hoop, but his stature is a lot for opposing teams to deal with.

Pitt is prone to slow starts and considering they have lost six-straight to Wake Forest at the Lawrence Joel Coliseum, they will have to set the tone early and keep the home crowd out of it.

Similar to what happened against Syracuse, Pitt's guard duo of sophomore Jaland Lowe and senior Ishmael Leggett will have to out-perform Wake Forest's lead guard in Sallis.

Lowe and Leggett are one of two guard duos in the country (along with Rutgers) averaging 16.5 points and four rebounds per game or more.

The duo also excelled the last time they faced Wake Forest in the ACC Tournament quarterfinals, with Leggett dropping a season-high 30 points and Lowe scoring 11 points and dishing five assists.

Similar to Pitt's most recent opponent, North Carolina, Wake Forest is a poor three-point shooting team, ranking 349th in the country at 28.15%.

Their offensive ranking is No. 184, according to the Pomeroy College Basketball. Their 23rd ranked defense keeps Wake Forest inside the top 100 overa

Pitt will need Austin, who is the only player in the NCAA with at least 35 three-pointers and 35 blocks this season and coming off his best performance of the season against UNC, to continue his defensive dominance against Wake Forest.

How to Watch: Pitt vs Wake Forest

Pitt faces Wake Forest at noon on Saturday, Feb. 1 at the Lawrence Joel Coliseum. The game will be broadcast on ESPN2.

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