Wake Forest seeks rare road victory vs. pesky Georgia Tech

Jan 31, 2024; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Wake Forest Demon Deacons guard Hunter Sallis (23) shoots against the Pittsburgh Panthers during the second half at the Petersen Events Center. Pittsburgh won 77-72.  Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

Wake Forest will try to pick up a much-needed road victory Tuesday when it travels to Atlanta to meet Georgia Tech.

The Demon Deacons (14-7, 6-4 ACC) are only 1-5 in true road games and face a tough task in a Georgia Tech team (10-12, 3-8) that has beaten nationally ranked Duke and North Carolina at McCamish Pavilion this season.

Wake Forest is fresh off a 99-70 win over Syracuse, which improved its home record to 12-0. It also ended a two-game losing streak.

“Everybody’s doom-and-glooming,” coach Steve Forbes said. “But we just went to work and we had a great practice Thursday, had a great practice Friday. I think the games are won by preparation and I could tell by our preparation that we were ready to go.”

The 99 points were the second-most scored against an ACC opponent under Forbes. The 29-point margin of victory was tied for the fifth-largest all time against an ACC foe. The Deacons shot 66 percent from the field (35-for-63), seventh-best all time and second-highest against an ACC opponent.

Wake’s Hunter Sallis had 24 points against Syracuse and has scored in double digits in all 21 games this season. It was his 10th game with 20-plus points.

Georgia Tech is coming off an 82-76 loss at NC State on Saturday, the eighth loss of the season decided by single digits.

Miles Kelly is coming off his third double-double of the season (20 points, 10 rebounds) and has scored 20-plus points six times.

Naithan George has been in double digits in six of the past seven games after his 18-point effort against the Wolfpack. George has 96 assists and could become the program’s 11th freshman to reach 100. The last was Iman Shumpert in 2008-09.

“We’ve got to grow up fast because it’s about to be over,” Georgia Tech coach Damon Stoudamire said. “The reality is it’s a month left, so we’ve got to do a better job. We got to dig a little deeper and guard against your weaknesses.”

–Field Level Media

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