Wake Forest vs. Pitt Odds & Pick: Mismatches That Will Define ACC Tournament Opening Round

Wake Forest vs. Pitt Odds

• Odds: Pitt -2
• Over/Under: 137.5
• Time: 4:30 ET
• TV: ACC Network

Odds as of Tuesday morning. In Pennsylvania? Check out DraftKings and get up to a $1,000 sign-up bonus at DraftKings today or see more offers and reviews for the best online sportsbooks.

Pitt lost seven straight games to finish the regular season, falling by an average margin of 13 points, and the Panthers don't exactly have good vibes from their previous meeting with Wake Forest.

The Demon Decans, who closed as 6.5-point underdogs when the two teams met in early January, trailed by 16 nearly halfway through the first half but ended up winning by four.

While Wake finished the regular season with the worst defense in the ACC (107 points allowed per 100 possessions), Pitt might not be able to exploit that weakness too much on Tuesday.

The Panthers are bottom-three offense in the league, finishing ACC play with a dismal 43.5% effective field goal percentage.

Wake Forest 7-footer Olivier Sarr figures to play a big role in Tuesday's game. He's playing his best basketball right now (averaging 14 points and nearly eight rebounds over his past 10 games), ranks 32nd in the country in defensive rebounding rate and will have a clear size advantage no matter who Pitt throws at him.

Two other wild cards to keep in mind:

• Wake Forest, the best team in the ACC at drawing fouls, shot 25 free throws in the first meeting.
• Pitt ability (or inability) to force turnovers will help determine just how close of a game this is. The Panthers were the best team in conference play at turnover percentage. That's a clear way Pitt can get more possessions to make up for their lack of scoring prowess.

Beyond the stats, this game will take place in Greensboro, an hour away from Wake Forest's campus, and the Demon Decans will have both the best guard on the floor (senior PG Brandon Childress) and the best big man (the aforementioned Olivier Sarr).

It's hard to turn down that combination, especially when you're getting a point.

Pick: Wake Forest +1

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