ACC Basketball power rankings: Dukes falls down, NC State and Pittsburgh moves up

7. Wake Forest Demon Deacons – 17-9 (7-6)

There might not be any real hope for Wake Forest to get an at-large bid for the NCAA Tournament but considering the many losses that occurred on the bubble, there might be some hope after all. But first, they had to take care of business at home.

First up was North Carolina, which was reeling as of late. The Demon Deacons took complete advantage, going up by 20 points at halftime. The Tar Heels scored some late points to make it look more competitive than it actually was but Wake Forest still won, 92-85. Tyree Appleby was just 6/20 from the field but finished with 35 points thanks to an ACC Basketball record, 23/28 from the free throw line himself. He also had 11 assists to back that up.

The game at home against Georgia Tech proved to be much closer than expected, with the Demon Deacons trailing for most of the game. But again, free throws from Appleby saved the day as they avoided the loss for a 71-70 victory. The star guard finished with 16 points and six assists in the game, while Cameron Hildreth led the way with 19 points while making 9/12 from the charity stripe.

Wake Forest is on the road for both games this week but does have a pair of Quad 1 opportunities in front of them in Miami and NC State. If they can find a way to win them both, the Deacons could be back on the bubble.