The Wake Forest Demon Deacons may have had something of an argument that they deserved to be in the NCAA Tournament as an at large team. so it was kind of cold comfort that they were given a #1 seed to go to the NIT.

But they hope to make the most of it, and on Sunday, they try to advance to the next round as they play host to the Georgia Bulldogs, in the game that begins at 4 PM Eastern time at the Joel Coliseum in Winston-Salem.

Here are the NIT Tournament betting odds on the game, as they are posted at BetOnline:

Wake Forest Demon Deacons -7
Georgia Bulldogs +7

Over 156.5 points -110
Under 156.5 points -110

Wake Forest comes into this game at 21-13 (18-15-1 ATS) and they have some respectable wins over Florida, Virginia, and NC State, all of which made it into the Big Dance. And on February 24, they registered an 83–79 victory over Duke. But they lost to Pittsburgh in the ACC tournament, which undoubtedly hurt them.

Their first round opponent in the NIT was Appalachian State, and Wake Forest dispatched them by an 87–76 score, riding behind 31 points from Kevin Miller. That was a season high for the Central Michigan transfer, who has averaged 15.6 points and shoots a sizzling 84% from the free-throw line.

Georgia has a record of 18–16 straight up and 19 –14–1 against the points. Their coach, Mike White, formerly headed the program at Florida and also Louisiana Tech. His team got off to an excellent 12–3 start, but later lost nine out of 10 games, which virtually killed any at-large hopes.

The Bulldogs lost to Florida, for the third time this season, in the SEC tournament. But they got an invite into the NIT, and capitalized in the first round with the victory over Xavier, which came by a 78–76 score. They were out-rebounded and outshot in that contest, but they did force 15 turnovers. Freshman Silas Demery had 16 points; he is a freshman with a lot of promise.

Wake Forest has a lot going for it; they are 22nd in the nation in offensive efficiency, and shoot the three-pointer very well, hitting at a 37% rate. They are also outstanding from the free-throw line, ranking fifth in the nation. Hunter Sallis has averaged 18 points per game and is a 40.5% shooter from long range.

Georgia is not as good as shooting team, and the consensus is that White is building with some young components, hoping that they will blossom down the road. He also has some help from transfers. Noah Thomasson, who transferred from Niagara by way of Houston Baptist, is a 34% three-point shooter. Russell Tchewa, a seven footer who is originally from the Cameroon, played for Chris Beard at Texas Tech, and came to Georgia from the University of South Florida.

One key for this team is that Blue Cain, a 6–5 freshman who was highly touted, has worked his way into the lineup. He scored a career high 19 points against Missouri just eleven days ago.

Fundamentally, Wake Forest has advantages, of course. But Georgia did beat them this season, It was back in November. In that game, an 80–77 Bulldog victory, Wake Forest committed 13 turnovers, and shot only 14 of 34 from two point range. That was possibly the best win of the season for Georgia.

What we notice about the Bulldogs is that they are not intimidated by going on the road. In fact, they are 9-1 against the spread as the visitor. This is quite a few points for Wake Forest to lay, but with their ability to shoot from beyond the arc and the free-throw line, they’re going to be pretty tough down the stretch, especially when the team that is behind has to foul.

And on top of that, they are no slouch covering pointspreads in Winston-Salem, going 13– 4–1 in that role. We are very tempted to lay the points.

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