One Important Key to Wake's Non-Conference Schedule that Everyone is Missing

The Demon Deacons' new scheduling approach may pay dividends come March

Feb 12, 2025; Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA; Wake Forest Demon Deacons head coach Steve Forbes during the second half against the Florida State Seminoles at Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images | Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

Like it or not, the NET rankings play a large role in college basketball today. These rankings help determine which teams make the NCAA tournament and what teams ultimately miss out, and the criteria are becoming more and more of a focus. The rankings are predominantly determined by how a team performs in its non-conference slate, as rankings are not as flexible as the season goes along. That is why teams must schedule the strongest slates possible to boost their rankings.

Now, Wake has added many high-major opponents to their non-conference schedule. They are taking on Texas Tech, Michigan, Oklahoma, and Vanderbilt, all teams that made the NCAA Tournament last year. That does not even include the potential matchup with Purdue in the Baha Mar, a team most consider a top 3 team going into the season. However, Wake also did something different from last year with the buy games they chose to schedule against mid-major opponents.

Last year, most of Wake's buy games were against inferior teams who were near the bottom in the NET rankings. Most of these teams were ranked lower than 300 at the end of the season. For example, Coppin State, USC Upstate, and Western Carolina, three teams Wake played in their non-conference schedule, were ranked lower than 340 in the NET rankings at the end of the season. This is essentially rock bottom.

Playing teams ranked this low is tricky because you have to really blow them out in order not to drop your own ranking. Wake struggled in some of these games and was not able to get much separation, which resulted in a low NET ranking that stayed intact throughout the whole season. This season, however, the strategy appears to be different.

Wake has scheduled their buy games for this season against teams that are relatively higher ranked in the NET rankings. For example, they open up at home versus an American team that won their conference and made the first four of the NCAA tournament a year ago. Despite the fact that Wake will still be heavily favored and should absolutely win this game, playing against teams that are not bottom feeders will give Wake another chance to improve their ranking. Most buy games Wake plays in their non-conference schedule will be against teams ranked in the 200s according to the NET. This includes teams like Campbell, U-Mass Lowell, and Northeastern.

This new scheduling strategy gives Wake a lot more flexibility to get in a groove at the start of the season without feeling pressure to beat an opponent by 50 points or risk dropping in the NET. If the Deacs can beat up on these buy opponents, it should also help them build a nice ranking before getting into conference play, which is key for getting into the NCAA Tournament.