The La Salle Explorers and the Wake Forest Demon Deacons meet Friday in college basketball action from Montego Bay Convention Centre. La Salle is 2-1 on the year so far following a Tuesday victory over Queens NC. As for Wake Forest, they’re rolling along at 3-0 and coming off a win over Utah Valley. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Sports Chat Place.
La Salle kicked off the season with a tough draw versus Villanova. The Explorers scored just 23 in the first half on the way to an 81-68 loss. The Explorers got their first win of the year versus Wagner in game two. La Salle came away with a 77-69 result in that one.
The Explorers were able to keep it going in Tuesday’s game versus Queens NC. La Salle scored 36 points in each half on the way to a 72-60 victory. Fousseyni Drame led the team on 22 points with eight rebounds.
Over on the Wake Forest side, they kicked off the 2022-23 campaign with a 71-59 win over Fairfield in their opener. The Demon Deacons matched up with Georgia in game two and came away with an 81-71 victory.
The Deacons were able to keep their win streak going with Tuesday’s matchup versus Utah Valley, but it was close. Wake needed OT after a limp effort but escaped 68-65. Tyree Appleby led the way on 23 points, and Andrew Carr added 15 points with 14 boards.
The Explorers are 7-1 ATS in their last eight overall and 1-4 ATS in their last five neutral-site games. La Salle is 1-5 ATS in their last six Friday games.
Meanwhile, the Deacons are 6-1 ATS in their last seven after an ATS loss and 7-18-2 ATS in their last 27 Friday games.
PICK: I’m going to take a stab on La Salle here. At least some of that is due to Wake’s tepid effort against Utah Valley in their last outing. The Demon Deacons shot a cold 32.3 percent from the field (Utah Valley shot 33.3) in the overtime win and got out-rebounded 53-43 (18-11 offensive). Whether or not La Salle has enough scoring to keep pace remains to be seen, but if the Explorers have a good game I think they can stay with it.