Wake Forest is trying to build momentum before hitting December.
Florida has shown flashes of getting it together, in part by defeating a pair of Atlantic Coast Conference members.
The Gators will go for another conquest of an ACC team when they visit Wake Forest on Wednesday night in Winston-Salem, N.C.
The game is part of the inaugural ACC/SEC Challenge.
The Gators (4-2) had an eight-day stretch that included victories against Florida State and Pitt — both ACC teams — before falling to then-No. 13 Baylor on Friday.
Florida guard Tyrese Samuel is the reigning Player of the Week in the Southeastern Conference. He is coming off an 18-point, six-rebound effort vs. the Bears.
Addressing gaps in defense is something the Gators will work on.
“We need to limit (3-point) attempts better,” Florida coach Todd Golden said.
Wake Forest (3-3) won Friday against Charleston Southern, 71-56, in an outing that had pros and cons to begin a seven-game homestand.
“We gave up seven offensive rebounds in the second half. We still got to clean that up,” Wake Forest coach Steve Forbes said. “We didn’t give up one point in transition — that’s outstanding.
Wake Forest has had at least one player score more than 20 points in all six games this season. Hunter Sallis has 20-plus in three games, while Cameron Hildreth and Kevin Miller have reached that mark twice each.
Wake Forest received a defensive boost off the bench from freshman guard Aaron Clark in his college debut in the Charleston Southern game, so that might be a sign that more depth is developing.
“Defensively, he made some good plays,” Forbes said. “He was physical, made a great play at the rim on the back door.”
The Gators hope to have starting center Micah Handlogten available. He missed most of the past two games with an ankle injury.
“We still have a lot of people in the rotation,” Florida guard Riley Kugel said.
Florida can use multi-guard sets to its advantage. The team used four guards in the starting lineup against Baylor.
–Field Level Media
