Virginia vs Wake Forest Prediction, Odds & Best Bet for January 21 (Demon Deacons Stay Perfect at Home in ACC Tilt)

Virginia vs Wake Forest Game Info

• 2022-23 NCAA Basketball Regular Season Game
• No. 10 Virginia (14-3, 6-2 ACC) vs. Wake Forest (14-5, 6-2 ACC)
• Date: Saturday, January 21, 2023
• Time: 2:00 PM ET
• Venue: Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum -- Winston-Salem, North Carolina

Saturday, Jan. 21's NCAA college basketball slate features a notable ACC clash between the No. 10 Virginia Cavaliers and Wake Forest Demon Deacons.

Momentum is currently only Virginia's side, extending its winning streak to four games with Wednesday's 78-68 effort against Virginia Tech. Meanwhile, Wake Forest also enters this afternoon's action riding a four-game winning streak, most recently notching an 87-77 win over ranked Clemson behind Tyree Appleby's game-high 24 points.

Can Virginia extend its winning streak on the road? Or will Wake Forest keep its momentum rolling with another strong showing at Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum?

Virginia vs Wake Forest Odds & Spread

• All college basketball betting lines, odds and prop bets are from FanDuel Sportsbook.
• Moneyline: UVA: (-162) | WAKE: (+134)
• Spread: UVA: -3.5 (-106) | WAKE: +3.5 (-114)
• Total: 132.5 -- Over: (-110) | Under: (-110)

Virginia enters this contest as the slim road favorite on the moneyline and spread per FanDuel Sportsbook's odds. This 2 p.m. ET clash also features an over/under of 132.5 points with both sides set at -110.

Virginia vs Wake Forest Betting Trends

• Virginia has six wins in 17 games against the spread this year.
• The Cavaliers are 4-10 as 3.5-point favorites or more.
• Out of 17 Virginia's games so far this year, nine have hit the over.
• Wake Forest's record against the spread is 11-7-0.
• The Demon Deacons' ATS record as 3.5-point underdogs or more is 3-1.
• Out of Wake Forest's 18 games so far this year, 13 have hit the over.

Virginia Rank	Virginia AVG		Wake Forest AVG	Wake Forest Rank
219th	70.0	Points Scored	77.9	52nd
11th	59.9	Points Allowed	72.1	257th
299th	29.5	Rebounds	31.7	206th
326th	6.6	Off. Rebounds	7.4	285th
170th	7.6	3pt Made	9.2	27th
28th	16.1	Assists	13.2	192nd
3rd	8.6	Turnovers	12.2	169th

Virginia vs Wake Forest Prediction & Pick

Virginia might be the favorite here, but I really like how Wake Forest has played lately. The Demon Deacons have averaged 88.0 points in their last four games and are shooting 51.1% from the field in their last three. Furthermore, they're 10-0 this season at Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum, where they own a plus-12.2 scoring margin.

Virginia has one of the best scoring defenses in the country (59.9 PPG, No. 9), but it won't matter if the offense can keep pace with Wake Forest. The Cavaliers only score 70.0 PPG this season (T-No. 182) and have been kept to 67 or fewer in two of their last three games.

Furthermore, Wake Forest has the tools to solve Virginia's defense. The Cavaliers surrender 7.2 threes (T-No. 183) on 34.9% shooting (No. 245). Unfortunately for them, the Demon Deacons average 9.2 three-pointers (No. 22) with a 37.7% success rate (No. 28).

In what should be a close-fought game, I see Wake Forest emerging as the victor.

Final Score Prediction: Wake Forest: 72 | Virginia: 68

Virginia vs Wake Forest Best Bet

Virginia is one of the country's best teams, but that success hasn't translated well when it comes to the spread. The Cavaliers are an abysmal 3-10 ATS in their last 13 games and have failed to cover in four of their last five road contests.

Wake Forest, on the other hand, has been more reliable, going 6-1 ATS in its last seven games. The Demon Deacons have also covered the spread in 12 of their last 18 games against the Cavaliers, as well as in eight of their last 10 home games against Virginia.

With the roll that Wake Forest is on, I'll take Steve Forbes' team covering as the +2.5 underdog.

Bet: Wake Forest +2.5 (+102)

Devon Platana is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Devon Platana also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username PepeSilvia0. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.