NC State Wolfpack basketball (9-9, 5-8 ACC) continues conference play Saturday afternoon against Wake Forest in Lawerence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum at 2:00 p.m. on RSN.

The Demon Deacons are 6-10 (3-10 ACC) under head coach Steve Forbes in his first season with the program. Wake is coming off of an 84-60 home loss to Duke.

The Pack will look to win its second-straight game for the first time since December after claiming a 74-73 road victory over Pittsburgh on Wednesday.

Saturday will mark the second meeting this season between the two teams. NC State won the first meeting 72-67 in Raleigh on Jan. 27.

Here is the scouting report on Wake Forest:

Wake Forest is in the middle of a rebuilding process under a new head coach after a mass exodus of last season's roster following the firing of former head coach Danny Manning.

The Demon Deacons won all three of their non-conference games against teams ranked No. 250 or lower according to KenPom. They lost multiple games in December after a COVID outbreak within the program made them go over a month without playing a single game.

Wake opened league play with six straight losses against ACC competition but have won three of their last seven entering Saturday's contest.

Wake Forest was projected to finish last in the conference in the preseason ACC media poll.

Wake Forest is currently ranked No. 125 in the NET rankings (NC State is No. 90), which makes Wednesday's contest a quad two game for the Pack.

ESPN’s College Basketball Power Index (BPI) has the Demon Deacons ranked No. 124 (NC State is No. 60), and KenPom.com has Wake ranked No. 124 (NC State is No. 79).

Wake Forest is also ranked No. 220 in the old RPI formula used by the NCAA — according to RealTimeRPI.com.

Wake Forest's strength is perimeter shooting.

The Demon Deacons rank in the top 124 nationally in effective field goal percentage (51.1, 122nd) and three-point shooting percentage (36.1, 64th).

Wake also makes its free throws. The Deacs average 72.7 percent at the line, which ranks 110th among Division I teams.

The battle of strengths will be behind the three-point line. Wake Forest has shot 45.7 percent of its field goal attempts in league play from behind the arc, which ranks second in the ACC.

The Wolfpack has held opponents to just 34.4 percent of field goal attempts from three, which ranks third in the conference defensively.

Advantage: NC State

The Demon Deacons and Wolfpack are both below-average rebounding teams. NC State is stronger on the offensive glass, while Wake is stronger on the defensive end.

Wake Forest averages just 33.8 rebounds per game, which ranks 249th nationally.

The Deacs have been average on the offensive glass in league play. Wake's ACC opponents have averaged an offensive board on 26.0 percent of misses, while WFU claims a second-chance opportunity on 26.8 percent of its misses, which rank fifth and eighth, respectively, in the ACC.

Advantage: Tie

Wake Forest has an adjusted defensive efficiency of 100.5 (points per 100 possessions) according to KenPom, which ranks 131st nationally.

Wake's adjusted defensive efficiency increases to 109.6 (points per 100 possessions) in league play, which ranks last in the ACC.

The Demon Deacons particularly struggle to defend shots inside the arc. Wake's opponents average 51.7 percent on two-point field goal attempts, which ranks 243rd among Division I teams. That defensive two-point field goal average jumps up to 52.9 percent in league play, which ranks 12th in the ACC.

The Deacs' opponents have also averaged 37.0 percent from the perimeter, placing them 295th nationally in defensive three-point field goal percentage.

Advantage: NC State

Wake Forest has 12 players that have averaged 10.3 minutes per game or more this season.

The only problem is keeping them healthy. Of those 12 players, two have played in five games or fewer while only five have played in all 16 of Wake's contests this season.

The Demon Deacons get 39.5 percent of their total minutes played from the bench, which ranks 26th nationally and second only to Florida State in the ACC.

Advantage: Wake Forest

Sophomore guard Daivien Williamson is Wake Forest's second-eading scorer, averaging 12.6 points per game.

He also leads the Demon Deacons in minutes (34.4 minutes per game) and is second in assists (2.7 assists per game).

In the first meeting between Wake and NC State in Raleigh, Williamson led all scorers with 22 points on 9-of-14 shooting, including a 4-of-7 mark from three.

Williamson is shooting 45.5 percent from the field this season and 36.5 percent from three.

The 6-2, 170-pounder also averages 1.4 steals per game but also averages 2.3 turnovers per contest.

8-0 Is NC State's record this season when the Wolfpack produces 19 or more points off of turnovers. When the Pack is only able to create 18 or fewer points off of takeaways, it's 1-9.

20 Wake Forest turnovers NC State forced in the first meeting. The Wolfpack committed 17 of its own but was able to produce 24 points off of those takeaways.

6-1 Is head coach Kevin Keatts' record against Wake Forest during his time with the Wolfpack. The Pack won the last meeting between the two in a 72--67 victory over Wake in PNC Arena on Jan. 27 earlier this season.

NC State

G — 3 Cam Hayes (6-3, 175, Fr., 6.4 ppg, 1.8 rpg, 3.4 apg)

G — 10 Braxton Beverly (6-0, 180, Sr., 6.4 ppg, 2.5 apg, 1.2 spg)

F — 4 Jericole Hellems (6-7, 205, Jr., 13.2 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 1.5 apg)

F — 0 DJ Funderburk (6-10, 225, 5th-Sr., 12.2 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 2.4 orpg)

C — 15 Manny Bates (6-11, 230, R-So., 9.6 ppg, 6.1 rpg, 2.8 bpg)

Wake Forest

G – 4 Daivien Williamson (6-2, 170, Jr., 12.6 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 2.7 apg)

G – 11 Ian Dubose (6-4, 225, Sr., 13.4 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 3.6 apg)

G – 20 Jonah Antonio (6-5, 195, Sr. 7.4 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 0.9 apg)

F – 1 Isaiah Mucius (6-8, 220, Jr., 10.1 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 0.5 apg)

C – 33 Ody Oguama (6-9, 225, So., 9.6 ppg, 5.9 rpg, 0.6 apg)

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