# 2019–20 Wake Forest Demon Deacons men's basketball team

The 2019–20 Wake Forest Demon Deacons men's basketball team represented Wake Forest University during the 2019–20 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Demon Deacons were led by sixth-year head coach Danny Manning and played their home games at the Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Winston-Salem, North Carolina as members of the Atlantic Coast Conference.
The Demon Deacons finished the season 13–17, and 6–14 in ACC play. They lost to Pittsburgh in the first round of the ACC tournament. The tournament was cancelled before the Quarterfinals due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The NCAA tournament and NIT were also cancelled due to the pandemic.

## Previous season

The Demon Deacons finished 2018–19 season 11–20, 4–14 in ACC play to finish in 13th place. They lost in the first round of the ACC tournament to Miami.

## Offseason
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for departure |
| Jaylen Hoard | 10 | F | 6'8" | 215 | Freshman | Carnon, France | Declared for 2019 NBA draft |
| Melo Eggleston | 11 | G/F | 6'8" | 200 | Sophomore | Suitland, MD | Transferred to Arkansas State |
| Jamie Lewis | 25 | G | 6'3" | 190 | Freshman | Atlanta, GA | Transferred to Kennesaw State |
| Ikenna Smart | 35 | F | 6'10" | 240 | RS Senior | Greensboro, NC | Graduated |
| Anthony Bilas | 40 | G | 6'2' | 160 | Senior | Charlotte, NC | Walk-on; graduated |
| Aaron Spivey | 41 | G | 6'2" | 175 | Senior | Rocky Mount, NC | Walk-on; graduated |

### 2019 recruiting class

On September 24, 2018, four-star forward Ismael Massoud committed to Wake Forest. On October 29, 2018, 3-star center Ody Oguama committed to the Demon Deacons. On November 15, 2018, three-star guard Jacobi Neath committed to WFU. On April 13, 2019, three-star power forward Tariq Ingraham committed to Wake Forest.
US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Ismael Massoud SF | Bronx, NY | The MacDuffie School | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | 195 lb (88 kg) | Sep 24, 2018 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ||||||
| Ody Oguama C | Raleigh, NC | Woodstock Academy | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) | 185 lb (84 kg) | Oct 29, 2018 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: N/A ||||||
| Jahcobi Neath SG | Toronto, ON | Crestwood Secondary | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | 170 lb (77 kg) | Nov 15, 2018 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: N/A ||||||
| Tariq Ingraham SF | Upper Darby, PA | Monsignor Bonner High School | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) | 210 lb (95 kg) | Apr 13, 2019 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: N/A ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: ||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2019 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. ||||||

### 2020 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for 2020 recruits :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Marcus Watson Jr. PG | Chicago, IL | Morgan Park High School | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | 155 lb (70 kg) | Aug 20, 2019 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: N/A |||||||
| Jaylon Gibson PF | Raleigh, NC | Grace Academy | 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) | 190 lb (86 kg) | Aug 2, 2019 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: N/A |||||||
| Djimon Bailey SG | Raleigh, NC | Grace Academy | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 170 lb (77 kg) | May 6, 2019 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: N/A |||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: |||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2020 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. |||||||

## Schedule and results

Source:
| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Regular season |||||||||
| November 6, 2019 6:00 pm, ESPNU | | at Boston College | L 70–77 | 0–1 (0–1) | 24 – Childress | 12 – Brown | 7 – Childress | Conte Forum (4,815) Chestnut Hill, MA |
| November 10, 2019* 2:00 pm, ACCNX | | Columbia | W 65–63 | 1–1 | 20 – Brown | 9 – Brown | 3 – Neath | LJVM Coliseum (4,451) Winston-Salem, NC |
| November 13, 2019* 7:00 pm, ACCNX | | UNC Asheville | W 98–79 | 2–1 | 23 – Brown | 11 – Brown | 9 – Childress | LJVM Coliseum (4,187) Winston-Salem, NC |
| November 17, 2019* 6:00 pm, ESPNU | | at Charlotte | L 65–67 | 2–2 | 19 – Childress | 13 – Sarr | 4 – Childress | Dale F. Halton Arena (4,819) Charlotte, NC |
| November 22, 2019* 7:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | vs. Davidson | W 82–70 | 3–2 | 18 – Childress | 12 – Sarr | 7 – Childress | Spectrum Center (4,200) Charlotte, NC |
| November 28, 2019* 4:30 pm, ESPNews | | vs. Charleston Wooden Legacy quarterfinals | W 65–56 | 4–2 | 14 – Sarr | 14 – Sarr | 6 – Childress | Anaheim Arena Anaheim, CA |
| November 29, 2019* 2:00 pm, ESPN2 | | vs. Long Beach State Wooden Legacy semifinals | W 88–75 | 5–2 | 17 – Childress | 8 – Sarr | 4 – Tied | Anaheim Arena Anaheim, CA |
| December 1, 2019* 8:00 pm, ESPN | | vs. No. 14 Arizona Wooden Legacy championship | L 66–73 | 5–3 | 21 – Sarr | 13 – Sarr | 4 – Tied | Anaheim Arena (2,185) Anaheim, CA |
| December 4, 2019* 9:15 pm, ESPNU | | at Penn State ACC–Big Ten Challenge | L 54–76 | 5–4 | 14 – Sarr | 10 – Sarr | 2 – 2 tied | Bryce Jordan Center (6,476) University Park, PA |
| December 7, 2019 2:00 pm, ACCN | | NC State Rivalry | L 82–91 | 5–5 (0–2) | 30 – Childress | 9 – Sarr | 4 – Childress | LJVM Coliseum (6,118) Winston-Salem, NC |
| December 14, 2019* 4:00 pm, ACCN | | No. 23 Xavier Skip Prosser Classic | W 80–78 | 6–5 | 26 – Brown | 6 – 3 tied | 3 – 3 tied | LJVM Coliseum (5,847) Winston-Salem, NC |
| December 21, 2019* 12:00 pm, ACCN | | North Carolina A&T | W 76–64 | 7–5 | 25 – Brown | 10 – Tied | 4 – Tied | LJVM Coliseum (5,156) Winston-Salem, NC |
| January 4, 2020 12:00 pm, ACCNX | | at Pittsburgh | W 69–65 | 8–5 (1–2) | 14 – Massoud | 7 – Tied | 6 – Childress | Peterson Events Center (10,155) Pittsburgh, PA |
| January 8, 2020 7:30 pm, ACCRSN | | No. 10 Florida State | L 68–78 | 8–6 (1–3) | 20 – Childress | 7 – Sarr | 5 – Johnson | LJVM Coliseum (5,277) Winston-Salem, NC |
| January 11, 2020 8:00 pm, ACCN | | at No. 2 Duke | L 59–90 | 8–7 (1–4) | 13 – Tied | 9 – Sarr | 4 – Childress | Cameron Indoor Stadium (9,314) Durham, NC |
| January 14, 2020 9:00 pm, ACCN | | Virginia Tech | L 70–80 | 8–8 (1–5) | 18 – Sarr | 9 – Sarr | 2 – 3 tied | LJVM Coliseum (4,873) Winston-Salem, NC |
| January 19, 2020 6:00 pm, ACCN | | Boston College | W 80–62 | 9–8 (2–5) | 20 – Childress | 13 – Sarr | 7 – Childress | LJVM Coliseum (6,872) Winston-Salem, NC |
| January 21, 2020 8:00 pm, ACCN | | at Clemson | L 68–71 | 9–9 (2–6) | 22 – White | 12 – Sarr | 6 – Childress | Littlejohn Coliseum (6,951) Clemson, SC |
| January 26, 2020 12:00 pm, ACCN | | Virginia | L 63–65 $^{OT}$ | 9–10 (2–7) | 21 – White | 10 – Tied | 3 – Sarr | LJVM Coliseum (7,752) Winston-Salem, NC |
| January 29, 2020 7:00 pm, ACCN | | at Notre Dame | L 80–90 | 9–11 (2–8) | 24 – Childress | 6 – Tied | 5 – Childress | Edmund P. Joyce Center (6,402) South Bend, IN |
| February 1, 2020 8:00 pm, ACCN | | Clemson | W 56–44 | 10–11 (3–8) | 17 – White | 13 – Sarr | 5 – Childress | LJVM Coliseum (7,113) Winston-Salem, NC |
| February 5, 2020 9:00 pm, ESPN2 | | at No. 5 Louisville | L 76–86 | 10–12 (3–9) | 17 – White | 7 – Mucius | 6 – Johnson | KFC Yum! Center (15,270) Louisville, KY |
| February 8, 2020 8:00 pm, ACCN | | at Syracuse | L 73–75 | 10–13 (3–10) | 15 – Sarr | 9 – Sarr | 5 – Neath | Carrier Dome (21,824) Syracuse, NY |
| February 11, 2020 8:00 pm, ACCN | | North Carolina | W 74–57 | 11–13 (4–10) | 15 – White | 8 – Oguama | 10 – Childress | LJVM Coliseum (10,894) Winston-Salem, NC |
| February 15, 2020 2:00 pm, ACCRSN | | at Miami (FL) | L 54–71 | 11–14 (4–11) | 15 – Childress | 6 – Tied | 6 – Neath | Watsco Center (5,360) Coral Gables, FL |
| February 19, 2020 7:00 pm, ACCRSN | | Georgia Tech | L 79–86 | 11–15 (4–12) | 16 – Tied | 7 – Brown | 3 – Neath | LJVM Coliseum (7,562) Winston-Salem, NC |
| February 25, 2020 7:00 pm, ACCN | | No. 7 Duke | W 113–101 $^{2OT}$ | 12–15 (5–12) | 25 – Sarr | 8 – Brown | 5 – Childress | LJVM Coliseum (11,681) Winston-Salem, NC |
| February 29, 2020 4:00 pm, ACCRSN | | Notre Dame | W 84–73 | 13–15 (6–12) | 30 – Sarr | 17 – Sarr | 6 – Childress | LJVM Coliseum (8,870) Winston-Salem, NC |
| March 3, 2020 7:00 pm, ACCN | | at North Carolina | L 83–93 | 13–16 (6–13) | 24 – Childress | 11 – Sarr | 9 – Childress | Dean Smith Center (21,280) Durham, NC |
| March 6, 2020 7:00 pm, ACCN | | at NC State Rivalry | L 64–84 | 13–17 (6–14) | 19 – Childress | 9 – Brown | 5 – Neath | PNC Arena (15,824) Raleigh, NC |
| ACC tournament |||||||||
| March 10, 2020 4:30 pm, ACCN | (12) | vs. (13) Pittsburgh First round | L 72–81 | 13–18 | 20 – Sarr | 13 – Sarr | 6 – Neath | Greensboro Coliseum (13,310) Greensboro, NC |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time. |||||||||