NC State vs. Texas Tech Best Bet and Prediction for 3/21 March Madness Game
By Cem Yolbulan
March Madness is here and, against all odds, the NC State Wolfpack is in the NCAA Tournament.
After pulling off an upset for the ages by winning five straight games to win the ACC Tournament, NC State was rewarded with the 11th seed. Whether that is a fair seeding for the Wolfpack aside (it's not), it's time to shift the focus to the game at hand, a Thursday night battle against the Texas Tech Red Raiders.
NC State vs. Texas Tech Odds, Spread, and Total
NC State vs. Texas Tech Best Bet and Prediction
NC State is quite possibly the hottest team in the country. They most recently downed Duke and North Carolina in the ACC Tournament and they will have all the momentum in the world heading into Thursday.
Texas Tech, on the other hand, has had a much better regular season than NC State but has been dealing with injuries. Starting center Warren Washington missed each of the last five games and fellow starter Darrion Williams sustained an injury in the Big 12 quarterfinals that kept him out of the semifinals.
In turn, the short-handed Red Raiders suffered the biggest loss of the season against Houston, falling 82-59.
If Texas Tech is short-handed again, the Wolfpack will have a significant advantage. Both Williams and Washington are listed as day-to-day for the first-round matchup.
The Red Raiders performed admirably in the Big 12 all season, registering a 6-5 record against ranked opponents. Their starting backcourt of Pop Isaacs and Joe Toussaint will certainly cause all sorts of problems for the Wolfpack defense.
Texas Tech is favored by 4.5 points on sportsbooks but it's hard to trust them due to their injury status. Since both teams are more offense-first teams than defensive-minded groups, I will go with the points total instead.
My final pick: Over 145.5
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Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.