North Carolina State Wolfpack vs Texas Tech Red Raiders Prediction, 3/21/2024 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: NC State Wolfpack vs Texas Tech Red Raiders

Date: Thursday, March 21, 2024

Location: PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, PA

TV: CBS

Odds/Point Spread: North Carolina State (+4)

PPG Paints Arena is where the Texas Tech Red Raiders (23-10) will try to defeat the NC State Wolfpack (22-14) on Thursday in the NCAA Tournament. Texas Tech opens as 4-point favorites. The betting total is set at 145.5.

The NC State Wolfpack played North Carolina and earned the victory with a final of 84-76 in their last game. North Carolina State wrapped up the game with a 54.9% field goal percentage (28 out of 51) and converted 6 out of their 14 shots from 3-point land. At the free throw line, the Wolfpack buried 22 of 29 shots for a percentage of 75.9%. With regard to grabbing boards, they compiled 31 with 1 of them being offensive. They also doled out 13 assists for the game while forcing the other team into 8 turnovers and having 6 steals. In reference to defense, North Carolina State allowed their opponent to shoot 37.3% from the field on 25 of 67 shooting. North Carolina dished out 17 assists and had 6 steals in the matchup. Additionally, North Carolina collected 33 boards (8 offensive, 25 defensive), but wrapped up the game with no rejections. North Carolina finished the game at 78.3% at the free throw line by converting 18 of 23 attempts. They also converted 8 of 30 attempts from downtown. In reference to fouls, the Wolfpack finished with 18 while North Carolina accounted for 19 fouls.

DJ Horne is one player who had an impact for the contest. He ended up finishing with 29 points on 9 of 15 shooting. He was on the court for 32 minutes and grabbed 4 boards. He finished the game shooting 60.0% from the field and also totaled 1 assist.

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North Carolina State comes into this matchup with a record of 22-14 this year. They are averaging 76.4 pts per game (98th in D-1) while hitting 45.0% from the field. The Wolfpack are hitting 34.7% on 3-pointers (254 of 733) and 73.4% from the free throw line. As a team, North Carolina State is collecting 35.0 rebounds per game and has accounted for 462 dimes on the season, which has them ranked 110th in Division 1 in terms of passing. They cough up possession 9.6 times per contest and as a squad they are committing 16.4 personal fouls per contest.

When they are on defense, the Wolfpack have forced 12.5 turnovers on a nightly basis while drawing 16.2 personal fouls. They are surrendering 34.8% on shots from distance and they are ranked 209th in college basketball in points per game allowed (72.7). The Wolfpack are giving up an opponent FG percentage of 44.3% (933 of 2,104) and they surrender 36.1 rebounds per game as a team. They rank 306th in college basketball in allowing assists to the opposition with 467 relinquished this year.

In their last game, the Texas Tech Red Raiders went home defeated by a final of 82-59 when they faced Houston. In the matter of rebounding, Texas Tech allowed Houston to grab 29 in total (10 on the offensive side). They finished shooting 42.9% from 3-point land by going 12 of 28 and ended up shooting 12 out of 14 from the free throw line (85.7%). The Red Raiders permitted Houston to bury 29 out of 59 attempts from the field which left them shooting 49.2% for the matchup. Overall, the Red Raiders finished 15 out of 45 from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 33.3%. Concerning 3-point shots, Texas Tech converted 7 out of their 22 attempts (31.8%). They were able to make 22 of the free throw tries for a percentage of 91.7%. Houston earned 18 fouls in this matchup which took the Red Raiders to the free throw line for 24 tries. They also gave up possession of the ball 16 times, while recording 4 steals for the contest. The Red Raiders were able to snag 20 defensive boards and 8 offensive rebounds for a total of 28 for the contest.

Chance McMillian ended up having an impact for the Red Raiders in this contest. He accumulated 15 points in his 37 minutes of playing time and accumulated 2 assists in the game. He buried 5 out of 8 for this contest for a field goal rate of 62.5%, and had 5 rebounds.

Texas Tech has a record of 23-10 for the season. The Red Raiders are committing 14.8 personal fouls per game and they go 77.8% from the free throw line. Their rate of assisting teammates is at 14.7 times per game (87th in college basketball) and they lose possession by turning the ball over 11.2 times per game. Texas Tech has totaled 2,494 points for the year (75.6 per game) and they snag 35.0 rebounds per game. On the offensive side of the court, the Red Raiders are connecting on 45.3% from the floor, which ranks 136th in the nation.

The Texas Tech defense gives up 32.1% from downtown (245 of 763) and their opponents are connecting on 71.0% of their foul shots. They have surrendered 11.9 dimes and 33.8 rebounds every game, which ranks 95th and 131st in college hoops. The Red Raiders on defense are ranked 100th in college hoops in points allowed per contest with 69.3. They are forcing 11.5 TO's every game and have let teams shoot 42.8% from the floor (129th in D-1).

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Texas Tech (-4)

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