Wake Forest has been through a couple of contests that required late-game execution.
Xavier could be next in line for such a challenge when the Demon Deacons visit for Saturday afternoon’s game in Cincinnati.
“We’re still a team that needs to learn to play 40 minutes,” Xavier coach Sean Miller said. “Not peaks and valleys. We can be better for the duration of the game. When you play a team like Wake Forest, that’s what it’s going to require for us to have a chance to win that game.”
Xavier (3-0) is averaging a 20-point margin of victory in each game, including a 94-57 romp past visiting Jackson State on Tuesday.
Wake Forest (4-0) has had two narrow victories in the past week, topping Michigan 72-70 on Sunday at a neutral site and then rallying past visiting South Carolina Upstate 85-80 on Wednesday night.
This will be the Demon Deacons’ first out-of-state game and first true road assignment.
Wake Forest senior guard Hunter Sallis is 21 points away from 1,000 for his college career. Since joining the Demon Deacons last season, the Gonzaga transfer is hitting on 48.5 percent of his attempts from the field in 38 games (all starts).
“Hunter is doing a really good job when we set ball screens,” coach Steve Forbes said. “He’s doing a great job of reading them and scoring or coming off of it, but when he comes off of it, the ball has got to go in the hole.”
Wake Forest was just 7-for-26 on 3s against USC Upstate, with Davin Cosby making five of those.
The Musketeers have been shoddy at times defending perimeter shooters, giving up an average of 12 baskets from 3-point range per outing in the first two games before limiting Jackson State to five 3s.
“We were better guarding the 3-point line,” Miller said.
On the flip side, the Musketeers drained 16 shots from 3-point range Tuesday night, marking their most since a school-record 19 in a December 2020 game against Oklahoma.
For Xavier, this is the fourth of five consecutive home games to begin the season.
This game is called the Skip Prosser Classic in memory of the man who coached for both schools.
–Field Level Media
