SMU vs Wake Forest Prediction 2/15/25 College Basketball Picks Today

The Wake Forest Demon Deacons and the SMU Mustangs meet Saturday in college basketball action from SMU Moody Coliseum. Here’s an SMU vs Wake Forest prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best SMU vs Wake Forest pick.

Wake Forest Demon Deacons Betting Preview

The Demon Deacons have been quite the consistent team so far this year. They’ve got just one instance of consecutive losses in the books. Wake forest began on a 9-4 run over their first 13 outings. The losses in that time were versus Xavier, Florida, Texas A&M and Clemson. Otherwise it was wins over Coppin State, North Carolina A&T, Michigan, USC Upstate, Western Carolina, Detroit, Minnesota, Boston College and James Madison in that time. The Deacons would then take out Syracuse, NC State, Miami, Stanford, Virginia Tech and North Carolina in the next six games. Since then it’s been a spotty 3-3 run, though. The losses have come to Duke, Louisville and Florida State in that time. Otherwise it’s been wins over Pittsburgh, Stanford and California for Wake Forest, giving them an 18-7 record through 25 games so far.

In their matchup with Florida State on Wednesday, the Demon Deacons hit a 35-21 advantage in the first half and were looking good. Wake Forest was then outscored 51-35 the rest of the way however, resulting in a rough loss 72-70 in the end. Cameron Hildreth led the team with his 22 points, two rebounds and two assists. Hunter Sallis added 20 points with six boards and three assists, while Efton Reid had 10 rebounds, one assist and eight points. The only bench scoring came from Juke Harris with his seven points and two rebounds in 15 minutes of work.

SMU Mustangs Betting Preview

Over on the SMU side, they’ve been similarly consistent so far this year. The Mustangs have just one instance of consecutive losses as well during a pretty nice campaign. SMU went 11-2 in their first 13 outings with losses to only Butler and Mississippi State. The wins otherwise were over Tarleton State, Florida A&M, UNC Greensboro, Prairie View A&M, Cal Baptist, Washington State, Alabama State, Virginia, LSU, Boston College and Longwood. Following consecutive losses to Duke and North Carolina, the Mustangs beat Georgia Tech, Virginia and Miami in succession before a loss to Louisville. Since then it’s been five straight wins for SMU. Those have come courtesy of NC State, California, Stanford, Virginia Tech and Pittsburgh in succession. That gives the Mustangs a 19-5 record through their first 24 games so far.

Matched up against Pittsburgh on Tuesday, the Mustangs were ahead 43-27 by the break. SMU hit a 40-36 run the rest of the way and took the eventual win 83-63 without too much difficulty. SMU’s leading starter was Samet Yigitoglu with 17 points, 10 rebounds, three assists, one steal and one block for a double-double. Kario Oquendo also scored 17 points off the bench alongside four rebounds in 28 minutes of action. both Matt Cross (five rebounds; two assists) and Boopie Miller (six rebounds; four assists; three steals) added 13 points each.

Why the SMU Mustangs will win

• SMU has won each of its last eight games against non-AP-ranked opponents.
• Wake Forest has lost each of its last five road games following a home loss.
• SMU has won the first half in each of its last 12 games at Moody Coliseum (Dallas) against non-AP-ranked opponents.

Why the Wake Forest Demon Deacons will win

• Wake Forest has won each of its last eight day games against non-AP-ranked opponents.
• Wake Forest has won the first half in each of its last five road games against non-AP-ranked opponents.

SMU vs Wake Forest Prediction

I’ll stay with the Mustangs. This should be a pretty fun matchup regardless, though. SMU is coming off a pretty solid win over a decent Pitt team, bagging a nice 55.8 percent shooting with a 40-35 rebounding edge in the home victory. The Mustangs gave up just 31.8 percent shooting on the other side, but did get a little careless with the ball on 15 turnovers for 12 Panthers points. Still, SMU is looking good during this five-game win streak, and they’ve hit 81 or more points in three straight outings.

As for Wake Forest, they’re scoring well themselves lately with 70 or more in four straight (a 3-1 run). It wouldn’t be surprising to see a high-total finish in this one, but in the end I like SMU a little better cover-wise.