Wake Forest scores massive win to improve NCAA Tournament odds

Wake Forest began the day projected to finish the season outside of the NCAA Tournament. An 83-79 win over Associated Press No. 8 Duke might be enough to get the Demon Deacons into the dance.

In Joe Lunardi's most recent Bracketology published on Friday, Wake Forest (18-9, 10-6 in ACC) was named the first team out.

During halftime of North Carolina-Virginia, ESPN noted that the Demon Deacons moved up to the last four in according to Lunardi's projection.

Despite ranking 21st in KenPom ratings entering Saturday, its weak out-of-conference schedule and 1-5 record in Quad 1 games was a knock against the school.

Wake's best win prior to Saturday was on Nov. 29 against No. 24 Florida (19-8, 9-5 in SEC).

Through Friday's games, Duke was No. 12 in NET rankings, which are the rankings that determine the quadrants. Quad 1, for example, is home games against top 30 teams, neutral site games against top 50 teams and away games against top 75 teams.

The Demon Deacons have two more Quad 1 games (at Virginia Tech, vs. Clemson) on their regular season schedule, which could solidify their resume with wins.

Transfer junior guard Hunter Sallis, who played his first two college seasons at Gonzaga, led Wake with 29 points on 11-of-13 shooting, including 5-of-6 from three against Duke (21-6, 12-4 in ACC). As a team, the Deacons shot 60.4% from the field.

Because of their lights-out shooting, they handed the Blue Devils their first loss when leading at halftime in 2023-24. Per CBS Sports, they were 20-0 when holding a halftime lead this season.