NC State vs. Texas Tech Prediction, Odds and Key Players for NCAA Tournament First Round
NC State is one of the handful of teams that played their way into the NCAA Tournament by getting hot at the right time and winning their conference tournament in upset fashion. The Wolfpack were slotted in as a No. 11 seed and will face No. 6 Texas Tech in the Round of 32.
Can they keep their momentum going or will the Red Raiders make some noise? I'm going to attempt to answer that question while breaking down everything you need to know to bet on this game.
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NC State vs. Texas Tech odds, spread, and total for Round of 64
NC State vs. Texas Tech betting trends
- NC State is 4-1 ATS in its last five games
- The OVER is 9-4 in NC State's last 13 games
- NC State is 0-6 straight up in its last six games vs. Big 12 opponents
- Texas Tech is 4-1 ATS in its last five games
- The UNDER is 4-1 in Texas Tech's last five games
- Texas Tech is 3-9 ATS in its last 12 games vs. ACC opponents
NC State vs. Texas Tech how to watch
- Date: Thursday, March 21
- Game Time: 9:40 PM EST
- Venue: PPG Paints Arena
- How to Watch (TV): CBS
- NC State Record: 22-14
- Texas Tech Record: 23-10
NC State vs. Texas Tech key players to watch
NC State
DJ Horne: NC State's guard, DJ Horne, almost single-handedly upset UNC in the ACC Championship Game, putting up 29 points while shooting 60% from the field. He has proven he can take over a game and if he gets hot again against Texas Tech, their momentum will continue into the NCAA Tournament.
Texas Tech
Joe Toussaint: Texas Tech doesn't have one clear player that's better than the rest. The Red Raiders have five different players averaging double-digit points along with a sixth that's averaging 9.9. That means the most key player is the one who dishes the rock, who is primarily Joe Toussaint, who leads the team with 4.3 assists per game. Toussaint also plays a big role on defense, averaging 1.4 steals per game. If Texas Tech goes on a deep on run in the playoffs, it'll be due to the leadership of Toussaint.
NC State vs. Texas Tech prediction and pick
Try not to look too deeply into NC State's ACC Tournament run. They got hot at the right time and ran into a couple of teams who didn't bring their "A" game against them. At the end of the day, we have to look at a full season of sample size and nothing NC State does is impressive, especially considering the ACC is in a down year.
The Wolfpack rank just 171st in the country in effective field goal percentage and 187th in opponent effective field goal percentage. The Red Raiders rank inside the top 100 in both of those stats while playing in the best conference in the nation in the Big 12.
Texas Tech also has the stylistic advantage in this game. The Red Raiders rank 80th in 3-point rate with 41.1% of their shots coming from beyond the arc. Now they get to face a Wolfpack team that ranks 243rd in opponent 3-point field goal percentage, allowing teams to shoot 34.8% from beyond the arc.
I'll lay the points with Texas Tech in this one.
Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.
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