NC State Ranks Among Most Popular March Madness Upset Picks

It's every sports fan's favorite time of the year. March Madness is upon us and what seemed impossible only a week ago happened: the NC State Wolfpack is in the NCAA Tournament.

After five straight improbable wins in the ACC tournament, NC State earned themselves an automatic berth to the Big Dance. They will face the sixth-seeded Texas Tech on Thursday night in one of the most highly-anticipated matchups of the first round.

One of the main reasons for anticipation among national fans is NC State's underdog status on sportsbooks. The Wolfpack, currently 4.5-point underdogs against the Red Raiders, are the second-most bet underdogs in the first round, according to BetMGM data.

NC State Among Most Popular NCAA Tournament Upset Picks

Texas Tech is -210 favorite against NC State, who had an up-and-down regular season. If the two sides were meeting a week ago, the Red Raiders would have been even bigger favorites.

But now, NC State is playing its best basketball of the season, the momentum is behind them, and Texas Tech is dealing with two injuries to starters. Both Warren Washington and Darrion Williams are day-to-day for the first-round matchup.

All of this was enough to convince bettors to trust the Wolfpack to keep their Cinderella story going. Tenth-seeded Virginia is the most trusted underdog, according to BetMGM. Let's see which of these ACC rivals pull off the upset.

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Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.