North Carolina State Wolfpack vs Virginia Cavaliers Prediction, 12/31/2024 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: NC State Wolfpack vs Virginia Cavaliers

Date: Tuesday, December 31, 2024

Location: John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville, VA

TV: ESPN+

The Virginia Cavaliers (7-5) welcome the NC State Wolfpack (8-4) at John Paul Jones Arena on Tuesday.

The NC State Wolfpack faced off with Rider and earned the victory with a final of 89-63 in their last game. When talking about fouls, the Wolfpack ended up with 14 and Rider recorded 20 fouls. They converted 4 out of their 16 attempts from distance. Rider shot 68.8% at the free throw line by making 11 of 16 tries. In addition, Rider totaled 34 rebounds (15 offensive, 19 defensive), but wasn't able to record a rejection. Rider dished out 9 dimes and had 3 steals in this matchup. In the matter of defense, North Carolina State allowed their opponent to shoot 39.3% from the floor on 24 out of 61 shooting. They also recorded 21 assists in the matchup as well as forcing the other team into 13 turnovers and getting 8 steals. In terms of hauling in rebounds, they earned a total of 32 with 8 of them being of the offensive variety. From the charity stripe, the Wolfpack converted 24 of 34 tries for a rate of 70.6%. North Carolina State ended the game with a 55.8% field goal percentage (29 of 52) and buried 7 out of their 20 three-point shots.

Ben Middlebrooks is one player who was a factor in the matchup. He walked away with 12 points on 4 of 5 shooting. He saw the court for 20 mins and also pulled down 3 rebounds. He walked away from this one shooting 80.0% from the field but didn't record an assist.

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North Carolina State will take the court with a win-loss mark of 8-4 on the season. They cough up possession 9.7 times per contest and as a unit they commit 17.4 fouls on a nightly basis. As a team, North Carolina State is snagging 33.5 boards per game and has totaled 164 dimes so far this year, which ranks 263rd in the nation in terms of passing. The Wolfpack are shooting 32.0% on shots beyond the perimeter (70 of 219) and 69.1% from the charity stripe. They average 74.7 points per outing (210th in college) while going 46.5% from the field.

On defense, the Wolfpack are forcing 14.5 turnovers per contest while drawing 18.8 fouls. They are 49th in college in allowing assists to the opposition with 136 relinquished for the season. The Wolfpack defense is allowing a FG percentage of 42.2% (283 of 671) and they relinquish 36.2 rebounds per contest as a squad. They are relinquishing 28.4% from beyond the arc while they are 59th in college in PPG allowed (66.0).

The last time they took the court, the Virginia Cavaliers walked away with a victory by a final of 63-58 against American. Regarding how they attacked the glass, Virginia allowed American to grab 24 in total (2 offensive). They finished the game shooting 35.5% from distance by hitting 11 of 31 and walked away from this one shooting 9 of 9 at the charity stripe (100.0%). The Cavaliers allowed American to make 19 of their 50 tries from the floor which had them shooting 38.0% in the matchup. Overall, the Cavaliers went 23 for 50 from the field which gave them a percentage of 46.0%. In terms of shooting from downtown, Virginia converted 8 of 19 tries (42.1%). They were able to bury 9 of those for a percentage of 64.3%. American was called for 14 personal fouls in the game which got the Cavaliers to the charity stripe for a total of 14 tries. They coughed up the ball 6 times, while earning 4 steals in this matchup. The Cavaliers snagged 24 defensive boards and 6 offensive boards totaling 30 in the matchup.

Elijah Saunders pitched in for the Cavaliers in the game. He racked up 21 points in his 36 minutes on the court and tallied 2 dimes for this game. He made 7 of 9 for this contest for a rate of 77.8%, and had 8 rebounds.

Virginia has a mark of 7-5 so far this season. The Cavaliers commit 13.6 fouls per contest while shooting 72.7% from the free throw line. Their rate of earning assists is at 14.3 times per game (179th in the country) and they turn it over 11.8 times per game. Virginia has accounted for 739 pts this season (61.6 per contest) and they collect 32.4 boards per contest. On the offensive side of the ball, the Cavaliers are connecting on 43.6% from the floor, which is 255th in the country.

The Cavaliers defensively are ranked 11th in D-1 in PPG allowed with 60.3. They have forced 9.7 TO's per game and allow teams to shoot 39.3% from the field (42nd in the nation). The Virginia defense gives up 32.0% on shots from 3-point land (96 of 300) and opponents are connecting on 72.5% of their foul shots. They have allowed 11.3 assists and 32.2 rebounds per game, which has them ranked 79th and 77th in those categories on the defensive end.

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take North Carolina State

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