Wake Forest’s 2026-27 men’s basketball schedule now has most of its tipoff times and TV windows locked in, and the next big date for fans is Thursday, Oct. 8 at 11 a.m., when single-game tickets hit the market.
That matters in Winston-Salem because LJVM Coliseum has been a tough place for visitors to survive. The Demon Deacons are 74-17 there since the start of the 2021-22 season, and this year’s home slate brings 17 games inside the building.
Fans can buy single-game tickets online starting Thursday at 11 a.m. or by calling the ticket office at 336-758-3322. Wake Forest Athletics says it is continuing to provide the Best Fan Experience in North Carolina, and the school is urging fans to get in early for the marquee dates.
Two of the biggest home games are already in a different category. Tickets for Duke on Jan. 20 and North Carolina on Feb. 20 are not available yet, but there are still two ways to get in the door: season tickets, which remain on sale online, and the Three-Game Pack, which begins at $140 and goes on sale Tuesday, Oct. 13 at 10 a.m.
That package lets buyers choose either Duke or North Carolina plus two other home games. Those individual tickets are set to go on sale to the general public in December.
The calendar is loaded from opening night through the stretch run. Wake Forest opens Nov. 2 against Maryland Eastern Shore at 8 p.m. on ACCNX, then heads to Vanderbilt on Nov. 5 for a 6 p.m.
ESPN2 matchup. Other nonconference home games include Charleston Southern on Nov.
10, Monmouth on Nov. 17, Hampton on Dec.
8, Gardner-Webb on Dec. 15 and Presbyterian on Dec. 22.
There are also several notable neutral-site and road dates mixed in. The Deacs face Mississippi State on Nov. 25 in Battle 4 Atlantis on ESPN2, then play Memphis or Penn State on Nov. 27 on ACC Network.
The ACC/SEC Challenge sends Wake Forest to LSU on Dec. 1 at 9 p.m. on SEC Network, while the Hall of Fame Classic brings UMass to the schedule on Dec. 6 at 1 p.m. on ESPNU. West Virginia visits for Holiday Hoopfest on Dec. 19 at 3:30 p.m. on ESPN2.
Once league play begins, the spotlight only gets brighter. Wake Forest opens ACC play at home against Virginia Tech on Jan. 2, then travels to SMU, Clemson, NC State and Miami in a stretch that includes multiple nationally televised windows. The home conference slate also features Notre Dame, Florida State, Duke, Boston College, NC State, Pittsburgh and Georgia Tech.
The full stretch includes late-night road trips to Stanford on Feb. 24 at 11 p.m. on ESPNU and California on Feb. 27 at 4:30 p.m. on ACC Network, before Wake Forest closes the regular season at Syracuse on March 6 at 5:30 p.m. on The CW.
The roster going into 2026-27 is built to give those home dates some punch. Sophomore Isaac Carr returns after appearing in 26 games last season, and Wake Forest added MAAC Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year Kevair Kennedy, Kansas transfer Jamari McDowell and sharpshooter Justin Ray. The Deacs also brought in size with Ring Nyeri, Antonio Dorn, Xander Pintelon and Justin Abson.
The newcomers don’t stop there. Wake Forest added top-100 freshman twins Gallagher and Gavin Placide, along with Lukas Bojovic, who helped lead Slovenia to the 2026 U18 European Championship.
In Other News...
NC State Faces A Real Test Against Wake Forest's Hottest Threat
Wake Forest heads into a rivalry meeting with North Carolina State with Gio Lopez giving the offense a steady edge. The quarterback has been one of the ACCs most efficient playmakers so far, piling up 1,377 passing yards and 15 total touchdowns against only one interception in five games, and that kind of form has made the Deacons a tougher read for opponents who have had to chase them early and often.
Now the challenge gets sharper with NC State bringing its own recent momentum into a game that still carries the usual edge of a border rivalry. Both staffs have spent the week talking through expectations and matchups, and the Wolfpacks defensive issues only add to the intrigue of how Wake Forest will try to attack. For a team looking to keep building on what Lopez has started, this is the kind of test that can tell you a lot about where the offense really stands. [Read more 🡒]
NC State Faces A Rivalry Test That Will Show If This Offense Is Real
Wake Forest has spent its first month reminding the ACC that it can be a tough out, backing that up with wins over Louisville and Stanford. Now comes a different kind of measuring stick with NC State on the schedule, a rivalry game that tends to sharpen whatever is already brewing and can expose the soft spots a team would rather keep hidden.
The Wolfpack arrive at 3-2 with an offense that has started to look dangerous, especially with quarterback CJ Bailey fresh off a career-high 373 passing yards. For Wake Forest, the meeting matters beyond the usual bragging rights, because this series has been going since 1910 and ranks as the second-longest continuously played rivalry in the FBS. It is the sort of stage where early-season momentum either turns into something real or gets re-examined in a hurry. [Read more 🡒]
Wake Forest Just Got A Tough ACC Stretch Into Sharper Focus
The ACCs latest round of kickoff announcements gave Wake Forest a clearer view of what October looks like, and it starts with a quick turnaround into a tricky road date. The Demon Deacons will host NC State on October 10 at noon on The CW, then head into a short week before another conference game that could demand plenty from their travel legs and preparation.
Later that month, the schedule gets even less forgiving as the Deacons are set for a late-night trip out west, a reminder of how uneven the league slate can be. California is waiting at Memorial Stadium, and the broadcast window should give the matchup a national stage, even if Wake Forest will be working deep into the night to handle it. [Read more 🡒]