Game Thread: Wake Forest Demon Deacons (13-12) vs Clemson (20-6)

Time: 7 PM Wednesday February 18th, 2026

Location: Winston-Salem, NC | LJVM Coliseum, 12,799 capacity

TV: ACC Network

Streaming: ESPN App

Radio: Wake Forest Learfield Sports Network, Demon Deacons App (IOS | Android)

Live Stats: Stat Broadcast

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Twitter: @WakeMBB | @BloggerSoDear | @EssexThayer7 | @Les_Johns | @ConorONeill_DI

Instagram: @WakeBasketball

Spread: Wake +3.5

Over/Under: 139.5

Wake’s Rating: KenPom: 71 | NET: 65

Opponent’s Rating: KenPom: 33 | NET: 31

Quad: 2

Kenpom Prediction: Clemson wins 70-68

Opponent’s Best Win: SMU (35)

Opponent’s Worst Loss: Georgetown (77)

Previous Matchup: Wake 62—Clemson 73 (2025)

Head-to-Head All Time: 87-62

ESPN Matchup Predictor: 39% chance to win

Two streaks come head to head tonight as Wake Forest—winners of their last 2 games—take on the Clemson Tigers, who have dropped 2 in a row after starting the season 10-1 in conference play. This one may turn into a rock fight—the Tigers are not only one of the best defenses teams in the country (15th on KenPom), but they also utilize one of the slowest offensive tempos in the nation (330th). Points are going to be a premium, so the Deacs are going to need Juke Harris and Mekhi Mason to continue their scoring outputs from the past few games. The 3-point line is likely to have a big impact on the winner of this game—after holding every ACC opponent to single digits 3s, the Tigers allowed Virginia Tech and Duke to make 11 and 10 3-pointers respectively in their back-to-back losses. In those 2 games, the Tigers shot just 11-40 ( 28%) from beyond the arc after shooting 35% for the season.

Go Deacs!