Preview: Presbyterian at Wake Forest

WINSTON-SALEM – Figuring out where Wake Forest’s points are going to come from has become a simple task.

For the past month, you can bank on something like 55 points or more from Hunter Sallis, Kevin Miller, Cameron Hildreth and Andrew Carr.

“I don’t see that changing a whole lot,” coach Steve Forbes said after Monday night’s win over Delaware State.

Those four combined for 65 of Wake’s 88 points against the Hornets, with all of them scoring between 14 and 19 points.

It’s nothing new. In each of Wake’s last six games, those four have scored at least 10 points. Every time, you can count on those three guards plus Carr providing the bulk of Wake’s scoring punch.

The key is both how Wake’s offense features them and how diverse their skillsets are.

“They’re unselfish, they kind of play different,” Forbes said. “It’s like four different pitches. Andrew’s really playing solid, he just does so many things. Boopie is probably the most improved of all of them, since I’ve had him from Georgetown to now.

“Cameron’s been pretty dang consistent since last year, his 3-point shot has gotten a lot better. And Hunter is Hunter.”

That last part speaks for itself if you’ve seen a Wake Forest game this season. Sallis has scored in double figures in all 10 games — he had six such performances in 68 games at Gonzaga — and is Wake’s leading scorer (17.8 points per game).

Miller was a proven scorer two seasons ago as a freshman for Central Michigan, but needed to A) adjust to high-major basketball and B) put behind him an injury that cost him all but four games last season. He’s second with 17 points per game.

Hildreth (16.3) and Carr (14.9) are the carryovers from last season, when they were also consistent double-figure scorers. As Forbes noted, though, Hildreth has improved his 3-point shooting (20 of 61 last year, already 13 of 33 this year) and Carr, as the elder statesman of the quartet, has been steady.

Wake Forest is the only team in the country with four players averaging 14.9 points per game.

The usual suspects — can we call them that? — have been joined in double-figure scoring by a couple of different Deacons. Freshman Parker Friedrichsen has scored 19 and 12 points in the last two games, and Efton Reid III had 12 points in his debut against Rutgers.

Damari Monsanto will be a candidate to add scoring punch — though it seems more likely that will be in January than him making his season debut this month.

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Here’s what to know ahead of Thursday’s game:

Time: 3 p.m. (that’s tentative—keep in mind there is a women’s game between Marshall and Wake Forest that starts at noon).

Location: Joel Coliseum.

TV: ACCN Extra.

Series; last meeting: Wake Forest leads 3-1; Wake Forest won 69-48 in November of 2013.

Records: Presbyterian 7-7; Wake Forest 7-3.

Stat to watch: < 1.0 points per possession.

So, I’ll explain.

Wake Forest has given up at least 1.0 points per possession in five games this season, and in the other five games held its opponent under 1.0 points per possession.

Any guesses as to the results of those games? It’s simple.

All five games that Wake Forest has held teams under 1.0 ppp are the last five games, and the Deacons are on a five-game winning streak. The 0.81 clip for Delaware State, as hot of a start as the Hornets got off to on Monday night, was the best defensive efficiency that Wake Forest has had this season.

So, Wake Forest *can* win games — Elon and Towson — when allowing at least 1.0 ppp. But in the games the Deacons hold opponents under that rate, they’re unbeaten.

Blue Hose to watch: Guard Semage Teel (No. 2).

It’s a homecoming of sorts for Teel.

The 6-2, 175-pounder spent the past two seasons at Winston-Salem State, where he averaged 10.8 points per game and helped the Rams to the Division II NCAA tournament last season.

A product of Farmville Central High School in Greenville, N.C., Teel has had a nice start to his Presbyterian career, scoring 12.2 points per game. He’s been efficient from the outside, making 16 of 34 3-pointers.

There’s a little interest in terms of availability: Teel didn’t play in this past weekend’s loss to Kennesaw State, but had eight points in the Blue Hose's 76-61 loss to Furman on Tuesday night.

Deacon to watch: Guard Parker Friedrichsen (No. 20).

Sure, let’s deviate from one of the usual suspects (trying that out).

The freshman guard spent the first eight games of his career shooting with confidence and, well, not making many shots. But Friedrichsen’s overall play kept him on the floor and Forbes gave him consistent minutes.

Now it’s paying off in the form of 31 points, and nine 3-pointers, in Wake’s last two games.

The 6-3, 195-pounder followed up his 19-point game against NJIT with 12 points against Delaware State. After making 8 of his first 26 3-pointers, he’s made 9 of 14 in Wake’s last two games.

The question for this game is whether Friedrichsen stays hot for a third straight game?

What’s on deck: This is all she wrote for Wake’s non-conference slate, at least in the regular season.

The Deacons’ next game is their ACC opener on Dec. 30, a home game against Virginia Tech. That’s the first of 20 ACC games to be played across the next 71 days.

Presbyterian has played four more games than Wake Forest and still has another non-conference game before starting Big South play — ah, the joys of a 16-game league schedule. The Blue Hose plays Johnson & Wales (a USCAA member) on Dec. 30.

KenPom prediction: Wake Forest wins 83-63.

Deacons Illustrated prognosis: Feels fairly straightforward here, does it not?

Wake Forest simply needs a continuation of what it’s done over the last five games. Monday night’s win over Delaware State wasn’t perfect and still wound up as a 29-point win, with little game pressure, and with opportunities to experiment with lineups and combinations.

This is likely going to be the same type of game.