Charlotte Basketball: Five Games that Decide 49ers' Season

Charlotte Basketball: Five Games that Decide 49ers’ Season

CHARLOTTE, NC - NOVEMBER 12: A Charlotte 49ers cheerleader smiles and watches the video scoreboard following the 49ers game against the Rice Owls at McColl-Richardson Field at Jerry Richardson Stadium on November 12, 2016 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Mike Comer/Getty Images) /

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DAYTON, OH – MARCH 14: Brandon Childress #0 of the Wake Forest Demon Deacons battles for the ball against the Kansas State Wildcats in the first half during the First Four game in the 2017 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at UD Arena on March 14, 2017 in Dayton, Ohio. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) /

Wake Forest – December 5

In a way, the Demon Deacons did last year exactly what the 49ers are hoping to do this year. Year 3 of the Danny Manning regime resulted in a NCAA Tournament bid as Manning’s own recruits took over. The problem was that some of Manning’s own guys did so well that they are not there anymore. John Collins was a First Team All-ACC selection and then a first-round pick in the NBA Draft.

The team also lost Dinos Mitoglou to the Greek professional ranks to take away one of the guys who might have made Collins’ departure tolerable. The Demon Deacons are left with an experienced and talented roster, but one missing its go-to guy underneath and little idea for the rest of us on how to replace him.

That said, this will be a tough nut to crack for the 49ers anyway. The rewards would be tremendous. They are an ACC team that was good as recently as last year so that would be another feather in the cap.

Finally, they get the Deacons at home. That is a rare advantage to host a team like Wake and not play some neutral site game somewhere.