Rebounding will be the top priority for Wake Forest when it plays Charleston Southern on Tuesday night in Winston-Salem, N.C.
The Demon Deacons (1-1) have been outrebounded in both of their games this season, including by a 48-33 margin Thursday in a 74-51 road loss to then-No. 24 Vanderbilt.
Against Charleston Southern (1-1), of the Big South Conference, Wake Forest is eager to end the trend.
“They were manhandling us on the glass,” Demon Deacons coach Steve Forbes said after the defeat to Vanderbilt.
Lackluster work on the boards quietly has become an issue for Wake Forest. In each of the previous two seasons, the Demon Deacons have ranked 15th in the 18-team Atlantic Coast Conference in rebounding margin.
Last season, the Demon Deacons were outrebounded by an average of 1.6 per game. In 2024-25, it was 2.2.
Wake Forest starts two 6-foot-11 players — Gavin Placide, who averages 15 points and 7.5 rebounds per game, and Xander Pintelon (2.5 ppg, 4.5 rpg). Kevair Kennedy leads the Demon Deacons in scoring (17 ppg) and is their second-leading rebounder (7 per game).
“We need to go home, watch this film and learn from it,” Forbes said after the Vanderbilt game.
Charleston Southern last played on Thursday, taking down NAIA school Columbia International 86-49 as Anthony Ruffolo collected 31 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists.
Despite getting 14 points and 16 rebounds from 6-foot-11 Lase Olalere, Buccaneers coach Saah Nimley — like Forbes — is looking for better work on the glass.
“We gave up too many offensive rebounds,” Nimley said. “That’s something as a team and a program we’re going through right now.”
In a preseason poll, coaches in the Big South predicted a seventh-place finish for Charleston Southern in the nine-team league.