If you were to glance at the picture currently adorning ESPN The Magazine you would understand why Illinois’ match-up with Wake Forest is getting so much hype.

Demon Deacon guard Chris Paul is the new poster child for college basketball, a title a couple of Illini guards are looking to nominate themselves for Wednesday.

At 6 p.m. at Assembly Hall, Dee Brown and Deron Williams will meet Wake Forest’s Justin Gray and Chris Paul – a match-up that has sparked eBay ticket prices to soar as high as $800 dollars a pair. This has left many fans wondering which guard duo can lead its team to the win.

“I think in both cases you have an ideal combination of talent as well as experience,” Wake Forest head coach Skip Prosser said. “They are very, very talented. Their assist-turnover ratio right now of the three kids, Brown, Williams and (Luther) Head, is phenomenal. That is one specific difference.

“Ours is not of that caliber. Both teams have good guards, both teams have talented guards and both teams have experienced guards.”

Gray and Paul are the two leading scorers on Wake. The two guards have averaged 16.6 and 14.2 points per game, respectively. The two are about 40 percent from the 3-point line. Gray averages 2.2 assists per game while Paul dishes out an average of 5.2 per contest.

The duo of Williams and Brown continue to lead the Illini. The two average 15 points a game and dish out 6.5 and 4.8 assists per game respectively.

“It’s Illinois versus Wake Forest,” Brown said. “Whoever comes to play the hardest, it’s a team effort.”

While all the attention concerning the Illini backcourt has been on Brown and Williams, Head is starting to show that his name belongs with the other two.

Head, who has been regarded by many as one of the most underrated players in the nation, leads the Illini in scoring with 17.5 points per game. He also leads the team in assists at 7.3 per game and steals (2.8). Head is coming off a big game against Gonzaga on Saturday where the senior scored 20 points and dealt out nine assists.

“I’m going to try to play as good as I can,” Head said. “I’m going to try to compete and play my hardest. It’s the biggest game of the year so far.”

For Wake Forest, its odd man out is Jamaal Levy, 6-foot-9 forward who has been a match-up nightmare early on.

“I think Levy might be the key for their team,” Weber said. “He’s very versatile. He’s a three at times and a four at times. It will be difficult.”

Levy is averaging 9.2 points a game along with 1.6 assists. While Levy isn’t the team’s leading scorer, he is averaging a team-best 9.4 rebounds a game. He also leads the team in steals (13) and blocked shots (8), and is considered one of the nation’s best defenders.

Prosser agrees with Weber that it may not be the guards that determine the outcome of Wednesday’s game.

“Lots of times in games like this, someone who doesn’t get all the pre-game notoriety (steps up),” Prosser said. “It’s a team game obviously, but it would not surprise me if that did happen. We tried to recruit Luther Head. He’s a very talented young man, a very talented kid, and he’s really playing well.”