North Carolina State Wolfpack vs Creighton Bluejays Prediction, 3/17/2023 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: NC State Wolfpack vs Creighton Bluejays

Date: Friday, March 17, 2023

Location: Ball Arena in Denver, CO

TV: TNT

Odds/Point Spread: North Carolina State (+6)

The NC State Wolfpack (23-10) are headed to Ball Arena on Friday where they will compete against the Creighton Bluejays (21-12). North Carolina State is 6-point underdogs. The over/under has been set at 148.

The NC State Wolfpack stepped onto the hardwood against Clemson and walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 80-54 in their last contest. North Carolina State ended the game having earned a 35.0% field goal percentage (21 of 60) and converted 5 out of their 20 3-point attempts. At the charity stripe, the Wolfpack knocked down 7 of 9 shots for a rate of 77.8%. In reference to grabbing boards, they collected a total of 27 with 6 of them being on the offensive end. They also doled out 8 assists for the matchup as well as forcing 12 turnovers and earning 7 steals. When discussing the defense, North Carolina State allowed 50.0% from the field on 28 out of 56 shooting. Clemson doled out 16 assists and had 6 steals for the matchup. Moreover, Clemson snagged 37 boards (7 offensive, 30 defensive), but didn't notch a block. Clemson shot 81.3% from the free throw line by making 13 of 16 shots. They made 11 of their 24 tries from long range. Concerning fouls, the Wolfpack ended up with 16 while Clemson recorded 12 fouls.

D.J. Burns is a guy who was a contributor for the matchup. He went 54.5% from the floor and earned 1 assist. He played for 23 minutes and also totaled 2 boards. He racked up 12 points on 6 of 11 shooting.

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North Carolina State will play this game with a mark of 23-10 this year. They turn the ball over 9.5 times per contest and as a team are committing 17.4 personal fouls every game. As a unit, North Carolina State is grabbing 36.6 boards per contest and has accumulated 431 assists on the season, which is 156th in college basketball in terms of passing the ball. The Wolfpack are connecting on 34.9% on shots from beyond the arc (278 of 796) and 72.0% from the charity stripe. They are averaging 78.2 pts per game (35th in college hoops) while hitting 45.3% from the field.

When they are on defense, the Wolfpack are able to force 13.4 turnovers every game while drawing 15.8 personal fouls. They are giving up 32.2% on 3-point shots while they are 201st in the nation in points per game from their opponents (70.8). The Wolfpack defense is allowing a FG percentage of 44.4% (833 of 1,875) and they concede 34.9 boards per game as a team. They are 101st in college basketball in allowing assists to their opponents with 378 surrendered for the campaign.

The last time they took the court, the Creighton Bluejays took a loss by a final score of 82-60 when they played Xavier. When talking about attacking the glass, Creighton permitted Xavier to snag 39 in total (11 on the offensive glass). They shot 41.2% from beyond the arc by connecting on 7 of 17 and walked away from this one shooting 9 of 11 from the charity stripe (81.8%). The Bluejays allowed Xavier to convert 33 of their 70 tries from the field which left them with a shooting percentage of 47.1% in the matchup. Overall, the Bluejays shot 21 out of 56 from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 37.5%. When talking about shooting from 3-point land, Creighton made 7 of their 23 tries (30.4%). They were able to make 11 of the free throw attempts for a percentage of 91.7%. Xavier committed 9 fouls in this contest which got the Bluejays to the charity stripe for a total of 12 shots. They turned the ball over 13 times, while recording 7 steals in the game. The Bluejays snagged 20 defensive rebounds and 6 offensive rebounds totaling 26 in this game.

Ryan Kalkbrenner ended up having an impact for the Bluejays in this contest. He made 7 of 7 in the game for a rate of 100.0%, and added 3 rebounds. He racked up 18 points in his 32 minutes on the court and had 1 assist in this game.

Creighton has a win-loss mark of 21-12 this year. The Bluejays commit 13.2 fouls per contest and they connect on 76.7% from the charity stripe. They are earning an assist 15.9 times per contest (23rd in D-1) and they lose possession by turning the ball over 11.6 times per game. Creighton has accumulated 2,529 pts so far this season (76.6 per contest) and they collect 37.2 rebounds per game. As an offensive team, the Bluejays are shooting 46.7% from the field, which is ranked 58th in the nation.

The Bluejays on defense are ranked 130th in D-1 in PPG allowed with 68.5. They are forcing 10.0 TO's per game and have allowed teams to shoot 42.2% from the field (89th in Division 1). The Creighton defense concedes 34.1% on shots from distance (211 of 618) and their opponents are making 72.9% of their free throw shots. They have relinquished 12.5 dimes and 33.4 total boards per game, which has them ranked 165th and 133rd in Division 1.

Who will win tonight's NCAA basketball game against the spread?

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take North Carolina State (+6)

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