Most power conference teams schedule an easy “buy” game to start off the season. Georgia Southern is anything but a sure bet.
TV Schedule: Friday, Nov. 10, ACC Network Extra, 7:30 pm. ET
Arena: Lawrence Joel Colosseum in Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Wake Forest is in an interesting situation as far as where they stand in the ACC. They lose their top player John Collins to the Atlanta Hawks of the NBA. However, they return some talented players, including Mitchell Wilbekin, Brandon Childress, and Keyshawn Woods. The best player overall on this team is Bryant Crawford, who very well could score 20 a night. In Collins’ absence, he’ll have to become All-ACC to keep the team in bubble contention.
That same bubble talk could very well start opening night, where they take on a dangerous team from the Sun Belt in Georgia Southern. The Eagles last season finished with a record of 18-18. They came on during the final part of the regular season, and return two of the more dynamic guards who people have not heard of.
Ike Smith and Tookie Brown combined for nearly 40 ppg together last year, with both more than capable of going off on any given night. In the Eagles’ first game of last season, Brown had 26 while Smith had 20 against North Carolina State. While it did come in defeat, Wake Forest should be worried about defending the duo.
The matchup on the perimeter will decide the game, with both teams being guard-centric coming into the 2017-18 season. This could be one of the more enjoyable opening night games, with suspensions ruining the games between UCLA-Georgia Tech and West Virginia-Texas A&M.
Next: ACC predictions for 2017-18
There’s always one eye-opening result during the opening weekend of college basketball, and what better upset pick than going with a mid-major squad that has two scoring machines. Wake Forest should still be fine, but will need some time to figure out their new roles. The Eagles will take advantage of it, pulling off the upset in a shootout.
Prediction: Wake Forest 80 – Georgia Southern 85