NC State vs. Oakland Best Bet and Prediction for 3/23 March Madness Game
Only one of these two teams can continue their Cinderella story. Can it be the NC State Wolfpack?
By Cem Yolbulan
The North Carolina State Wolfpack are continuing their incredible run as they pulled off another impressive 80-67 upset against higher-seeded Texas Tech on Thursday night.
The Wolfpack, who looked dead in the water only a few weeks ago, now have a great shot at making the Sweet 16 because the bracket couldn't have broken in a better way for them. Instead of facing Kentucky in the round of 32, they now have to face the 14-seeded Oakland Golden Grizzlies, who shocked the basketball world with their improbable first-round win.
Now, two of the best stories in the tournament so far are facing off. Who will continue their journey and who has to go home?
NC State vs. Oakland Odds, Spread, and Total
NC State vs. Oakland Best Bet and Prediction
Oakland just had their first Division I NCAA Tournament win in program history behind sharpshooter Jack Gohlke's 10 threes. They were on fire from beyond the arc all game, hitting 15/31 from three.
This helped them build a narrow first-half lead and they managed to hold onto it with solid execution in the second half. If they had hit better than 13/23 on their free throws, they could have had an even more comfortable win against Kentucky.
However, they will have a mountain to climb against the red-hot NC State.
The Wolfpack, on the other hand, completely dominated the paint against Texas Tech, only attempting 13 threes and making five. Instead, they pounded the ball inside over and over and got to the free-throw line 26 times. Backup big man Ben Middlebrooks played the best game of his career, hitting 6/8 from the field and finishing with 21 points in 23 minutes.
NC State's advantage is the fact that they don't have to rely on hot shooting. They have solid interior play between DJ Burns, Mohamed Diarra, and Middlebrooks while having a consistent, dynamic perimeter scorer in DJ Horne.
It's hard to see how Oakland wins a game without unsustainably hot shooting. They are a nice story, but it will likely end against NC State.
My pick: NC State -5.5
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Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.