ESPN’s BPI Reveals West Virginia’s Odds to Beat Wake Forest in Critical Non-Con Game

Every game is considered a “must-win” when you really think about it, but in some instances, certain games feel a little more important than others.

Even after a slow start, there was no worry whatsoever that West Virginia would lose to Coppin State on Wednesday night. Getting out to a slow start in tonight’s matchup against Wake Forest could be troublesome, and it’s a game that the Mountaineers absolutely need to have.

The season is still young, but West Virginia enters tonight’s game ranked 95th in the NCAA’s NET Rankings, and if you drop this one, you’re really digging yourself quite a hole before Big 12 Conference play even begins.

According to the ESPN Basketball Power Index (BPI), the Mountaineers have a 61.6% chance to take care of business, while Wake Forest has a 38.4% chance to spoil the fun for WVU fans from the southern part of the state.

West Virginia’s recent games

After going a disappointing 0-2 in the Charleston Classic, the Mountaineers have bounced back, as expected, beating Mercyhurst by 32 and Coppin State by 42. For the first time, really this season, the Mountaineers opened the game a little flat, even falling behind to Coppin State in the first handful of minutes of the game. They eventually turned things around and held them to just 17 second half points en route to a dominant victory.

Wake Forest’s recent games

The Demon Deacons saw their three-game winning streak come to an end earlier this week with a blowout loss to Oklahoma. Their two other losses came by a single point each, falling to No. 6 Michigan in overtime and No. 15 Texas Tech. Of their six wins, American is the only team they’ve beaten with a winning record. Although they played extremely well against two top-15 teams, they were unable to reach the finish line, so this one is just as important for them.

West Virginia and Wake Forest are slated to get the action started at 6 p.m. ET on ESPN2.

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