No, the directions from Steve Forbes with 68 seconds left in the first half against Rutgers did not involve Efton Reid III taking three 3-pointers before halftime.

“It wasn’t, it wasn’t,” Reid said with a laugh after Wednesday night’s 76-57 win. “But hey, I saw the shot clock, I said, ‘Hey, I’ma shoot it.’”

To be clear: Those are shots the 7-footer can make, his former teammate at Gonzaga and current Wake Forest teammate Hunter Sallis said.

“The thing is, he hits those,” Sallis said, “like, all the time in practice.”

Reid’s 0-for-3 on 3s in his Wake Forest debut was probably the only negative to his night, if you can even land that assertion. His 12-point, 14-rebound performance highlighted how much of a difference maker he can be, and why it was so important to Wake Forest that he won his appeal for eligibility as a two-time transfer.

Now, the Deacons move forward with him firmly entrenched in their plans.

That could begin with his first start in Saturday night’s game against NJIT. Forbes sent Reid to the scorer’s table early in the first half and he checked in at the 16:47 mark; when the second half started, Reid was on the floor — and he played 16 of his 28 minutes in the second half.

“I think the offense will get better, even though it wasn’t bad,” Forbes said of Reid. “We’ll put some more things in to get him the ball, too. We put some things (in) on the fly tonight and he just caught it and dunked it. …

“I think he changes our team, and I think it was pretty apparent tonight.”

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Here’s what to know ahead of Saturday night’s game:

Time: 8 p.m.

Location: Joel Coliseum.

TV: 8 p.m.

Announcers: Doug Sherman (play-by-play) and Malcolm Huckaby (analyst).

Series; last meeting: First meeting.

Records: NJIT 2-6; Wake Forest 5-3.

Stat to watch: 27.3% | 38.1%.

The first number is Wake’s offensive rebound percentage, which is 243rd in the country; the second is the offensive rebound percentage that NJIT allows, which is 352nd in the country (both per KenPom).

That Wake Forest number is awfully misleading.

Wake Forest had 15 offensive rebounds and 21 second-chance points in Wednesday night’s win against Rutgers. The Deacons averaged 6.8 offensive rebounds across the previous five games.

NJIT is one of the worst teams in the country at finishing possessions with a defensive rebound. The Highlanders have allowed an offensive rebound percentage over 30% in six of eight games.

Matchup to watch: NJIT’s frontcourt against Wake’s frontcourt.

No, wait! It’s not just a lazy reiteration of the last few matchups to watch for the Deacons.

Now that Reid is in the mix, Wake Forest has a substantial boost in size and athleticism at its center position. The 7-footer might not have a double-double in every game, but he’s 1-for-1 in that category as a Deacon.

And along with Andrew Carr’s 10 points, six rebounds and two blocks, and Zach Keller’s useful 12 minutes in which he had five points and four rebounds, the Deacons suddenly look formidable inside.

Now they’ll go into a matchup against an NJIT team that often has 6-7, 195-pound freshman Levi Lewal at center and plays two 6-4 guys at the 4-spot.

Highlander to watch: Guard Adam Hess (No. 4).

You’ve got to appreciate a guy who’s 8-for-15 on 3-pointers in the last two games and 0-for-4 from inside the arc.

Hess is every bit of a 3-point specialist, having made 21 of 47 this season. He hoisted 10 of them against Miami in a season-opening 101-60 loss (making three).

The 6-4, 205-pounder does a few other things, too, as he’s second on the team in rebounding (5.6 per game) and leads the Highlanders in minutes.

Deacon to watch: Guard Kevin Miller (No. 0).

What goes here? Kevin or Boopie?

Well, the roster says “Kevin.”

Wednesday night’s 23-point game wasn’t Miller’s season-high because he scored 25 against Towson. But it was, given competition and long-range shooting, probably his best game as a Deacon.

The 6-foot, 175-pounder was under control throughout that game. Miller made 4 of 8 3-pointers, including the pivotal one in the second half after some crisp ball movement that came in the middle of Wake’s 18-0 run to seize control.

That performance came on the heels of Miller sitting on the bench for about 10 minutes during the second half of last week’s win over Florida. That came after he had a couple of shots blocked in the lane.

“He’s doing a better job, I think, of getting into the paint and distributing,” Forbes said on Wednesday night. “He’s just learning, man. He’s just a sophomore. This is his first go-round at this level and he’s made as much of an improvement from the time we scrimmaged Georgetown to now than anyone on the team.”

What’s on deck: This is the first of three home games for the Deacons against teams that — Kenny Pom warning — don’t line up as the stiffest of tests, with Wake Forest favored to win this one by 23 and the next two by 19. Wake Forest has a nine-day break, and then plays Delaware State (Dec. 18) and Presbyterian (Dec. 21) before another nine-day break for Christmas.

NJIT has a week between games and next plays at Niagara.

KenPom prediction: Wake Forest wins 86-63.

Deacons Illustrated prognosis: After notching impressive wins over Florida (B.E.) and Rutgers (A.E.), the schedule shifts into TCOB games.

Whew, probably a little acronym heavy.

This, and Wake’s next two, are take-care-of-business games. The NET formula is awful for rewarding blowouts, so there’s going to be intrigue here if it’s a competitive late in the second half. But these next three games should be cruise-control games for the Deacons compared to what their schedule has been previously.

If not obvious: B.E. is Before Efton, A.E. is after Efton.