What We Know of Wake Forest Basketball’s Nonconference Schedule So Far
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The Wake Forest Demon Deacons men's basketball team is nearing the dog days of summer. The roster has been almost entirely constructed, and now all that remains is to finalize scheduling for next season, which begins in early November. The full nonconference schedule should be released sometime over the summer, but we already have a few pieces to get excited about.
Here are the confirmed or heavily reported matchups we know will be taking place next season:
November 5: at Vanderbilt
Late November: Battle 4 Atlantis Tournament
Early December: ACC/SEC Challenge
December 6: vs. UMass (Springfield, Massachusetts)
December 19t vs. West Virginia (Greensboro, NC)
You can see four games confirmed to take place later this year, along with Battle 4 Atlantis, which will likely give the Deacs three games. Let's take a deeper dive into some of these matchups.
Battle 4 Atlantis
This well-established multiple-team event (MTE) will take place in the Bahamas, likely the week of Thanksgiving. The Deacs have not officially been confirmed for the field, but it has been widely reported that they will participate. This should give the Deacs at least two games against good competition to try and pick up some marquee wins. The field will be split into two tournaments to avoid overlap among conference opponents. Here is what we know of the field thus far through reports:
Back to the Battle 4 Atlantis news: Nothing's been officially announced, but Memphis coach Penny Hardaway said today Penn State and Wake Forest will be among those in the field. https://t.co/cuOFWv9q4h
— Jason Munz (@munzly) May 8, 2026
Pod One Bracket:
Memphis
Wake Forest
Penn State
Team TBD
Pod Two Bracket:
Virginia
Marquette
Texas A&M
Team TBD
Battling in the Northeast
Mark down a @hoophallu matchup in Massachusetts 💫
— Wake Forest Men's Basketball (@WakeMBB) May 14, 2026
📰: https://t.co/1wQrlV20sb pic.twitter.com/91YaLYFkOk
As part of another event, the Deacs will travel up to Springfield, Massachusetts, to take on the Minutemen of UMass out of the MAC conference. The game will take place at the MassMutual Center and is part of the annual Hall of Fame Classic. The Minutemen have played in the event the last three years and beat Virginia in 2023 and Boston College last year. The other matchup taking place will be between Brown and Central Connecticut.
Complete the Series
Last season, the Deacs started a non-conference series with two opponents that will conclude this season. After falling 98-67 at home this past season, the Deacs will travel to Nashville to play the return game at Vanderbilt. This will be an early-season test, taking place on November 5.
The second game will take place against West Virginia as part of a neutral-site series. Wake defeated West Virginia in game one in Charleston, WV, this past season. Now they will play right around Christmas time in Greensboro, NC, at the Greensboro Coliseum. The last time the Deacs played there was in November 2024 in a thrilling victory over Michigan.
Team Outlook
The team will comprise almost entirely new faces from the transfer portal and high school ranks. The lone returner is guard Isaac Carr. The roster surely has some more size, so we will have to continue to monitor how offseason workouts build this group together.
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Justin is a student at Wake Forest University. He is from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and aspiring finance major interested everything sports. In his freshman year, Justin completed an internship with the Wake Forest Ticketing Department where he gained some valuable insight into the sales and operations aspects of collegiate athletics. Before working with Wake Forest On SI, Justin was a contributing writer for Wake Forest’s student publication The Old Gold and Black. Currently, Justin serves as a student manager on the Wake Forest Men’s Tennis team. In his free time Justin enjoys spending time with his family and friends on the golf course and traveling.