Wake Forest vs Fairfield 11/7/22 College Basketball Picks, Predictions, Odds

The Fairfield Stags and the Wake Forest Demon Deacons meet Monday in college basketball action from LJVM Coliseum. Fairfield managed to go 15-18 last season, landing near the middle of the Metro Atlantic Athletic standings. As for the Deacons, they posted a 25-10 overall record in 2021-22 and finished in fifth place in the ACC. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Sports Chat Place.

Fairfield took a step in the right direction last season, beating 2020-21’s win total by five at 15-18. The Stags managed an 8-12 record in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, which left them in seventh place in the standings at season’s end. 

The Stags suffered a lull in the middle of last season, winning just four games from December 15 to February 27. After a win over Canisius in the first round of the MAAC Tournament, Fairfield fell to Saint Peter’s in the quarterfinals to end their campaign. 

Over on the Wake Forest side, they also took a huge step over the previous season (6-16) last year, going 25-10 overall with a 13-7 mark in the ACC. The Deacons finished in fifth place behind Duke, North Carolina, Notre Dame and Miami. 

Wake Forest stayed pretty consistent last year, losing consecutive games just twice. After a tough loss to Boston College in the ACC Tournament, the Deacons beat Towson and VCU before falling to Texas A&M in the NIT. 

The Stags are 14-6 ATS in their last 20 road games and 2-5 ATS in the last seven Monday games. Wake Forest is 4-1 ATS in their last five at home and the over is 7-2 in their last nine overall. 

PICK: I’m probably staying with Wake Forest here. The Deacons will be without four starters from last year’s team, notably Jake LaRavia and Alondes Williams. Wake will have to rely on Daivien Williamson and a host of transfers in order to find some success this year, but the team looks pretty good on paper. Tyree Appleby comes in from Florida after 10.9 PPG last season, and incoming junior Andrew Carr should help with defense. It may take the team a while to gel with all the new faces, but Wake Forest should be fine at home in this opener.