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Both Deacs Programs in Similar Spot for End of Season Stretch
The two Demon Deacon basketball programs are in a shockingly similar position as we head down the final stretch of the 25-26 regular season. The Deacs are 12-12 overall, 3-8 in conference play, and 14th in the ACC standings. The Lady Deacs are 13-13 overall, 3-11 in conference play, and are 15th in the ACC standings. Both programs have dealt with injuries to key players. Both teams have struggled to find any real consistency in ACC play.
Lady Deacs
The Lady Deacs got off to a blistering hot start, winning their first nine games. The lady Deacs then went 3-3 in their next six games, including two ACC wins over Pitt and Georgia Tech. And then the streak started. The Lady Deacs lost 8 straight games, and have lost ten of their last eleven games. Grace Oliver seems to finally be back to 100 percent, but it may be just a little too late for the Lady Deacs.
Wake Forest is coming off a 86-67 loss to #9 Louisville. Of the four remaining games, two are at home and the other two are on the road. The Lady Deacs will host Notre Dame, and the travel to Boston College and then NC State, before finishing the season at home against Florida State. Wake Forest will be favored in only one of those matchups, against Boston College. As of now, it is difficult to see a path to March Madness for the Lady Deacs, barring a deep run in the ACC tournament.
Demon Deacons
The Deacs are in an equally difficult position. Coach Forbes’ crew hold a 12-12 overall record, 3-8 in conference play, and are sitting 14th in the ACC standings. This means that for now, the Deacs are one spot above the cut line to qualify for the ACC tournament. If the Deacs fall below that line and miss the ACC tournament, the record simply is not good enough for March Madness. Similar to the women’s team, the men’s team has had injury issues on and off all season, especially to superstar player Nate Calmese.
The Deacs have 7 games remaining, with four at home and three on the road. There are two remaining ranked matchups, with games against #20 Clemson and #15 Virginia, with the game against Clemson being at home. So there are still two absolutely massive opportunities for Quad 1 wins for the Demon Deacons. On top of that, every team left on the schedule apart from Boston College is ahead of the Deacs in the ACC standings, so every win will help the Deacs tournament chances.
Now what?
I need to be perfectly clear on this issue. Both the men’s and women’s teams will need strong runs in the ACC tournament to even have a shot of qualifying for the NCAA tournament. In fact, there is a strong chance that both teams may need to win the ACC tournament just to secure a spot in the March Madness field. Both programs have a very difficult road ahead, but I truly believe both of these teams are capable of making it into the NCAA tournament.
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