Time Set for Deacs Big-Time Face off at the Joel with the Oklahoma Sooners

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Feb 26, 2025; Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA; Wake Forest Demon Deacons forward Tre'Von Spillers (25) handles the ball defended by Virginia Cavaliers forward Elijah Saunders (2) during the first half at Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images / Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

Basketball season is quickly approaching, and the Deacs will host a big-time non-conference game at the Joel when they square off with Oklahoma in the ACC/SEC Challenge. The game will take place on Tuesday, December 2, at 7 pm and will be televised on the ACC Network.

This marks the first matchup between the Deacs and the Sooners. Oklahoma is coming off a season in which it made the NCAA Tournament, narrowly losing to UCONN in the Round of 64. They are bringing in a highly-regarded transfer class and should be right in the mix for the NCAA Tournament again, so this will certainly be a good test for the Deacs.

Last season, the Deacs squared off in College Station against Texas A&M in the ACC/SEC Challenge, falling 57-44. This loss exposed some critical offensive flaws within the team that plagued the Deacs for the rest of the season. The year prior, the Deacs welcomed Florida to the Joel and came out victorious with an 82-71 victory.

As for Oklahoma, they cruised to a 76-61 point victory in the challenge a year ago over ACC opponent Georgia Tech. They were led by their star freshman Jeremiah Fears, who was recently drafted by the New Orleans Pelicans with the seventh overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft.

Last season was a rough one in the challenge for the ACC, to say the least, as the SEC won 14 of the 16 games contested. This is the same SEC that got a record-breaking 14 teams in the 2025 NCAA Tournament. They had two final four teams and the national champion in the Florida Gators. However, the ACC should be much improved this season with new coaches and a plethora of transfer talent flooding into the conference.

As for this game, it is hard to make any sort of prediction or outlook at the moment due to the turnover both teams experienced this offseason. Wake brought in five transfers and three freshmen this offseason, and Oklahoma brought in four transfers and a few freshmen. The beginning part of the season will be crucial for both of these teams to find their footing and adjust to the new rosters.

The Deacs will certainly need to show some fire out of the gates this season in non-conference play, and picking up a marquee win against an SEC opponent would be a great momentum-builder. This will definitely be a game that Steve Forbes and the entire Wake squad will have circled on the calendar.