Throw out all of the nuggets about how hard it is to win at Virginia.

Instead of the longest active home winning streak in the country, the Cavaliers have *only* won 23 of the last 24 home games.

That’s the situation Wake Forest goes into with Saturday’s game at Virginia; the Deacons aiming for a Quad-1 win that would become the staple of an NCAA tournament résumé, the Cavaliers looking to bounce back after dropping a home game to Pittsburgh on Tuesday night.

Wake Forest had one such chance earlier this week and fell to Duke on Monday night. In an eight-point loss, the Deacons were 6-for-26 on 3-pointers (23.1%) and 16-for-28 on dunks/layups (57.1%, per StatBroadcast).

“I thought our shot quality was pretty good in the first half,” coach Steve Forbes said on Monday night. “We just missed a lot of open shots and that happens on the road.”

Pitt’s recipe to beat Virginia, which hadn’t lost since a 66-47 defeat in Winston-Salem a month ago, was simple enough; just make shots. Pitt’s 14 3-pointers were the most any team has made against Virginia this season; the Cavaliers had only given up double-digit 3s in four games, and all of those were in a five-game span between December and January.

It’s easier said than done, obviously, against Virginia’s stingy defense and snail’s pace. The last two teams to play Virginia, Miami and Florida State, were a combined 4-for-36 on 3s.

And if the Deacons don’t hit shots in the same way that Pitt did, their percentages closer aligned with the game at Duke?

“Sometimes the ball doesn’t go in the hole. Find other ways to do things,” Forbes said.

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

Time: Noon.

Location: John Paul Jones Arena, Charlottesville, Va.

TV: ESPN2.

Announcers: Jay Alter (play-by-play) and Debbie Antonelli (analyst).

Series; last meeting: Wake Forest leads 72-70; Wake Forest won 66-47 in Winston-Salem about a month ago.

Records: Wake Forest 16-8, 8-5 ACC; Virginia 19-6, 10-4.

Stats to watch: 17 | 21%.

The first number is how many turnovers Wake Forest committed in its win against Virginia; the second is Virginia’s defensive turnover rate, which is 27th in the country (per KenPom).

Look, there’s not much value in using the Jan. 13 meeting between these teams as a predictor of this matchup. Teams change a whole lot across a month, and how listless Virginia looked in that game compared to who the Cavaliers have been since then — despite Tuesday night’s loss — is all the evidence you need.

But we’re going to use it here.

The Deacons turned the ball over 17 times against Virginia that day and still won by 19. How? Well, shooting 50% (25 of 50) and holding the opponent to 28.1% (16 of 57) helps. Holding a 40-27 rebounding advantage does, too.

Maybe those numbers repeat, or come close to it. But considering that was Virginia’s worst shooting performance of the season, and only one other game is in the neighborhood (in a 65-41 loss to Wisconsin), it seems unlikely.

The Deacons have been better in the turnover department of late, so that should be cause for optimism. Since committing 15 of them in the loss at Pitt, Wake Forest has committed 14, 8, 8 and 9 turnovers, and the game with 14 was the 29-point blowout of Syracuse.

Matchup to watch: Wake Forest’s Hunter Sallis (No. 23) vs. Virginia’s Reece Beekman (No. 2).

This is a treat of a guard matchup, even though they might not guard each other all that often because of switches and to protect their foul situations.

Sallis and Beekman are the centerpieces of each teams’ offense and are the best on-ball defenders, too.

Sallis is third in the ACC with 18.7 points per game. He’s also eighth in the league among qualifying players in field goal percentage, at 49.9%, and that’s the best among any guard in the league.

Beekman doesn’t score as much, at 14 points per game. But he leads the ACC in assists, dishing out 6 per game, and has 36 more than the player in second place (Syracuse’s Judah Mintz).

Beekman played 30 minutes in these teams’ first meeting but sat for a chunk of the first half with two fouls, and picked up his third on the second possession of the second half. With him on the court, Virginia was only outscored by five.

Both, by the way, have a season of eligibility remaining after this one. But both have the athleticism and skillset to pursue pro careers, too.

Cavalier to watch: Forward Jake Groves (No. 34).

Should this also be Beekman? Probably. Could this be Ryan Dunn, the 6-8 sophomore forward with NBA teams buzzing about his potential? Again, probably.

We’re going to stretch here, though.

Groves started against the Deacons a month ago and played a forgettable 17 minutes, making a 3-pointer, grabbing four rebounds and committing three fouls. He hasn’t started a game since, but has become much more of a weapon in the weeks since.

The 6-9 forward has averaged 12.2 points over the last six games. Groves has hit a groove from beyond the arc, making 17 of 26 3-pointers (65.4%) in that span. He’s only taken 20 shots from inside the arc in these last six games.

Groves spent his first two seasons at Eastern Washington, and then spent the last two at Oklahoma. He was a 34.9% 3-point shooter in two seasons with the Sooners; he’s at 50% this year.

Deacon to watch: Center Efton Reid III (No. 4).

This is a simple one.

Wake Forest outscored Duke by six when Reid was on the court Monday night. Problem was that only amounted to 15 minutes. As you know, the Deacons lost by eight.

Sometimes, plus-minus numbers are fickle and can be used to fit a narrative. Other times, they highlight a player’s importance and role.

This is the latter.

Reid is Wake’s defensive anchor. Per EvanMiya, his defensive Bayesian performance rating (1.81) is the best on the team. He’s plus-151 in the 17 games he’s played — among ACC centers with the same neighborhood of plus-minus numbers are Miami’s Norchad Omier (plus-147) and Boston College’s Quinten Post (plus-149) and Clemson’s PJ Hall (plus-151).

If you think you were mad about that, you don’t have to imagine how Forbes felt.

What’s on deck: Two home games are on the Deacons’ docket next week, one against the team that just beat Virginia and one against the team that just beat the Deacons.

It’ll be Pitt coming to Joel Coliseum on Tuesday night. The Panthers beat Wake Forest earlier this season, one of the road losses in which Wake Forest lost after leading by 10 at halftime. Last weekend, Wake Forest avenged the first of those losses when it beat N.C. State.

And then comes perhaps the most-important game left on Wake’s schedule from a résumé-building perspective, with Duke coming to Winston-Salem on Saturday.

Virginia has a quick turnaround into a rivalry game on the road, just like Wake Forest just had. The Cavaliers go to Virginia Tech on Monday night.

KenPom prediction: Virginia wins 66-65.

Deacons Illustrated prognosis: This game really can be as simple as: Everything looks better when the ball goes in the basket.

Pitt made shots and beat Virginia earlier this week. For the all of the handwringing about the unlikelihood the Cavaliers drop a second straight game at home, the Deacons have just as good a chance as Pitt of making shots. They might not have a contested-shot-maker to the level of Blake Hinson, but the possibilities exist.

So, it’s another shot for Wake Forest to notch a Quad-1 road win that would boost its résumé. There might not be a better chance, as we approach now-or-never territory.