GAME NOTES: The Wake Forest Demon Deacons hope to snap a two-game losing streak on Saturday when they square off with the Clemson Tigers in an ACC affair at Littlejohn Coliseum.

Coach Danny Manning's Demon Deacons suffered a heartbreaking, 86-83, overtime loss at Syracuse last weekend before being defeated by North Carolina in an 87-71 final at home on Wednesday. Wake Forest led the Tar Heels late in the opening period and went into intermission trailing by six points before UNC used a 12-4 run early in the second period to take control. The loss dropped Wake Forest to 9-10 overall, which includes a 1-5 mark in conference. The Demon Deacons rank 17th nationally in rebounding (39.8 rpg) and 21st in rebounding margin (+7.3). They are also averaging the fourth-most free-throw attempts per game with 26.

In the loss to UNC, junior guard Codi Miller-McIntyre scored 20 points to reach the 20-point plateau for the second straight game and the fourth time this season, while also adding six rebounds and six assists. Junior forward Devin Thomas registered his conference-leading eighth double-double of the campaign with 12 points and 12 boards. Thomas' double-double was his third straight and fourth in the past five games. Mitchell Wilbekin finished with 10 points, and Konstantinos Mitoglou netted all 10 of his points in the second half. Miller-McIntyre is the only ACC player to rank in the top-20 in scoring (16.3 ppg), rebounding (6.5 rpg) and assists (4.3 apg). Thomas and Duke's Jahlil Okafor are the only two players to rank in the top-5 in the ACC in scoring and rebounding in league play.

Wake Forest leads the all-time series versus Clemson, 99-57. The teams split last year's season series with each winning at home.

The Tigers are coming off of a 59-55 home loss to Florida State. Clemson is one game ahead of Wake Forest in the ACC standings with a 2-4 record and has gone 7-4 at Littlejohn Coliseum this season. Coach Brad Brownell's team ranks in the top-100 of several NCAA statistical categories, including fewest fouls per game (27th), three-point percentage defense (54th), blocks per game (69th), scoring defense (69th), field goal percentage defense (77th) and rebound margin (92nd). The Tigers have knocked down 42.1 percent of their 3- point tries in their ACC wins, but just 21-of-81 (.259) in their four losses.

Clemson not only struggled from distance, hitting just 5-of-19 tries from 3- point range versus FSU, it also converted only 16-of-31 at the free-throw line in the loss. Rod Hall led the Tigers with 12 points, Donte Grantham added 11 points and Jaron Blossomgame accompanied his team-high eight boards with 10 points. Blossomgame has reached double figures in 14 of Clemson's last 15 games, and is the Tigers' top scorer (13.6 ppg) and rebounder (8.4 rpg). Hall is one of the ACC's most experienced point guards with 93 career starts. He chips in with 9.6 points and 3.5 assists per tilt. Damarcus Harrison is the third-leading scorer for the Tigers at 9.8 ppg, and the senior guard has been held to single digits in four straight games, hitting just 7-of-28 shots from the floor over that span.

Wake Forest could steal one on the road if Miller-McIntyre and Thomas continue their stellar play. Clemson's homecourt advantage is not making as big of an impact this season as it usually does. Manning's team has had a difficult time since the start of ACC play. The Tigers could struggle from 3-point range against the Demon Deacons' elite perimeter defense.