How to watch Memphis vs. Wake Forest

After losing to Purdue on the opening night of the Baha Mar Championship, Memphis will take on Wake Forest in the consolation game Friday night. Despite trailing by double digits early in the game, the Demon Deacons played much better in the second half but lost by one against Texas Tech

While the game ended as a one-point deficit, Texas Tech led by six points with eight seconds left in the game before Wake Forest knocked down back-to-back threes and the Red Raiders split a pair of free throws. Only two Demon Deacons finished in double figures, but sophomore Juke Harris led all scorers with 26 points and 10 rebounds.

Wake Forest will enter Friday’s game with a 3-2 record, with both losses coming by one point against ranked opponents. Texas Tech entered the game as the No. 15 team in the country, and a little more than a week ago, the Demon Deacons lost to Michigan, which sat at No. 6 at the time.

Harris leads the team in scoring and rebounding, and he enters the game averaging 21.8 points and seven rebounds per game. 6-foot-7 forward Tre’Von Spillers has also played well to start the season, but he was held in check against the Red Raiders and finished with only four points in 16 minutes.

Here’s a look at how to watch Memphis’ game against Wake Forest:

TV: CBS Sports Network

Stream: Paramount+

Radio: 98.9 The Roar

Line: Wake Forest -3.5

Time: 6:00 p.m. CT

What to expect from Memphis:

The Tigers looked like a completely different team against Purdue. They set the tempo early and played with a ton of energy, which felt like the exact opposite of what they showed against UNLV. 

The biggest question now will be if that continues Friday night when Penny Hardaway’s team isn’t playing the No. 1 team in the country. Wake Forest was picked to finish No. 11 in the ACC, but they’ve played much better than that to start the season.

Hardaway will look for his team to get off to another fast start Friday night, and it’ll be interesting to see if he sticks with the same starting lineup. Memphis started three players that didn’t start against UNLV, and all five starters played a role in the energetic start.

Zach Davis was one of the new starters, and he played his best game of the season against Purdue. The South Carolina transfer finished with 11 points, two rebounds, three assists and a block, and he played extremely well on the defensive end of the court.

 Hardaway put Davis on Braden Smith, and the preseason All-American finished the first half shooting 2-for-8 with only one assist. 

As a team, the Tigers played extremely well on the defensive end of the court, especially in the first half. Memphis held a high-powered Purdue offense to 42.4 percent from the field and 28.6 percent from three, and the Boilermakers only recorded five assists in the first 20 minutes.

Memphis has struggled defending without fouling through the first three games, but the Tigers finished the game with only 13 fouls, which resulted in only 11 free throws for Purdue. While Memphis has shown flashes on the defensive end of the court, it has struggled to find consistency as a unit, and Hardaway’s group will look to build off Thursday night’s first half.