Wake Forest has won three of its last four games, but still have work to do to secure a spot in the NCAA Tournament.

The Demon Deacons are fresh off a 96-87 loss at Miami (Fla.) on Saturday, which dropped their record to 17-10 overall and 9-7 in the ACC. WFU plays at NC State, home vs. Notre Dame and Boston College and at Syracuse to close out the regular season.

NC State won the first meeting 79-77 on Jan. 28 in Winston-Salem, N.C., thanks to 31 points from redshirt junior center D.J. Burns.

The Wake Forest at NC State game is at 9 p.m. tonight on RSN.

Wake Forest senior point guard Tyree Appleby has proven to be the straw that stirs the drink for the Demon Deacons.

The former Cleveland State and Florida guard leads the squad with 18.5 points and 6.3 assists per game, but he has gotten help this season. Former East Tennessee State junior wing Damari Monsanto has proven to be an explosive perimeter shooter, and sophomore shooting guard Cameron Hildreth is one of the most improved players in the ACC.

Power forward Andrew Carr, a Delaware transfer, and 7-foot-1, 250-pound sophomore center Matthew Marsh anchor the frontcourt. Marsh is from Crowie, England, and Hildreth is from Worthing, England.

Rankings

Wake Forest is No. 80 in the NET rankings, and NC State is No. 37.

ESPN’s College Basketball Power Index (BPI) has the Demon Deacons ranked No. 74 overall, and the Wolfpack are No. 36.

KenPom.com has Wake Forest at No. 79, and NCSU is at No. 43.

RealtimeRPI.com has Wake Forest ranked No. 54 in the country, and NC State is No. 33.

Shooting

Wake Forest is averaging 78.0 points per game, and are shooting 46.7 percent from the field, 36.9 percent on three-pointers and 75.3 percent at the free-throw line.

Reserve freshman post player Bobi Klintman leads the squad at 40.4 percent on three-pointers, and Monsanto (39.8 percent) and backup senior guard Daivien Williamson (39.6 percent) are right behind.

Rebounding

The Demon Deacons are averaging 34.3 rebounds per game and are minus-0.3 in rebounding margin.

Carr leads the squad with 5.9 rebounds per game, and Hildreth is right behind at 5.6. Carr also has a team-high 43 offensive rebounds.

Defense

WFU is allowing 73.9 points per game, with opposing teams shooting 44.3 percent from the field and 34.7 percent on three-pointers.

Carr leads the Demon Deacons with 25 blocks, and Appleby has 43 steals.

Depth

The aforementioned Williamson and Klintman were the lone two guys that came off the bench against Miami (Fla.). Backup center Davion Bradford has also played in 25 games this season.

Williamson has battled nagging injuries this season, but he’s averaging 7.8 points in 25.1 minutes per game. The 6-10, 225-pound Klintman is averaging 4.6 points and 3.7 rebounds in 18.4 minutes a contest. He had eight points and 12 rebounds in the loss at Miami.

Senior point guard Tyree Appleby has proven to be one of the top players in the ACC.

Appleby had 18 points and seven assists in the first meeting against NC State on Jan. 28. He has proven to be explosive offensively, and had 35 points, 11 assists and seven rebounds in a 92-85 win over North Carolina on Feb. 7. He also had 32 points and four three-pointers in a 78-75 win at Wisconsin.

The 6-foot-1, 165-pounder from Jacksonville, Ark., leads the Demon Deacons with 18.5 points, 3.4 rebounds and 6.3 assists per game this season. He has reached double figures in points in every game but two this season. Appleby also has dished out at least six assists in 18 contests.

Appleby started off at Cleveland State and he averaged 17.2 points and 5.6 assists per game his sophomore year in 2018-19. He made the move to Florida and sat out a year. Appleby played two years under coach Mike White, and he averaged 10.9 points and 3.7 assists per game last year. White took off to become the new coach at Georgia, and Appleby made the move to Wake Forest.

Appleby picked Cleveland State over offers from Mississippi Valley State, Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Missouri State, Troy and Abilene Christian. His brother Raheem Appleby was a standout at Louisiana Tech.

NC State

PG — 1 Jarkel Joiner (6-1, 180, R-Sr., 16.6 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 3.6 apg, 1.3 spg)

SG — 0 Terquavion Smith (6-4, 165, Soph., 18.1 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 4.5 apg, 1.6 spg)

G — 14 Casey Morsell (6-3, 200, R-Jr., 12.8 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 1.0 apg, 1.3 spg)

PF — 23 Greg Gantt (6-8, 215, R-Jr., 1.7 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 0.3 apg)

C — 30 D.J. Burns (6-9, 275, R-Jr., 12.5 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 1.6 apg)

Wake Forest

PG — 1 Tyree Appleby (6-1, 165, Sr., 18.5 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 6.3 apg, 1.6 spg)

SG — 2 Cameron Hildreth (6-4, 195, Soph., 12.9 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 2.9 apg, 1.4 spg)

SF — 30 Damari Monsanto (6-6, 225, Jr., 13.4 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 0.6 apg, 1.0 spg)

PF — 11 Andrew Carr (6-10, 220, Jr. 11.3 ppg, 5.9 rpg, 1.3 apg, 1.0 spg)

C — 33 Matthew Marsh (7-1, 250, Soph., 6.5 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 0.3 apg)

36.9 Senior point guard Tyree Appleby’s field-goal percentage through 16 ACC games. He was 55 percent in non-conference games and is 43.3 percent on the season.

24 Wins for Wake Forest in games at NC State, going 24-56 all-time in the series.

51 Combined points by Miami guards Isaiah Wong (27) and Nijel Pack (24) in the Hurricanes’ win over Wake Forest on Saturday.

Junior small forward Damari Monsanto has proven to not have any filter on his shot selection when he’s rolling.

Monsanto is more of a jumbo perimeter player at 6-6 and 225 pounds, but he’s gone 84 of 221 from three-point land for 39.8 percent this season He is averaging 13.4 points and 3.7 rebounds in 24.4 minutes per game.

Monsanto started his college career at East Tennessee State, where he was recruited by current coach Steve Forbes. Monsanto averaged 11.8 points and 7.3 rebounds per game at ETSU. He made the move to WFU but had to sit out half the season.

Monsanto got hot against NC State in the first meeting with 22 points and three three-pointers. He has topped 20 points in seven games this season, including a game-high 28 points and went 8 of 13 from three-point land at Notre Dame on Feb. 4. He also torched Virginia for 25 points and 7 of 15 on three-pointers in a 76-67 loss vs. Virginia on Jan. 21.

The 6-3, 200-pound Casey Morsell will be one of the defenders against Monsanto. Morsell is averaging 12.8 points and 4.6 rebounds per game, and he’s shooting 42.7 percent on three-pointers this season. He had seven points and went 1 of 6 from beyond the arc in the first meeting at WFU.

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