The Louisville Cardinals secured their fourth-straight Sweet 16 appearance, as they zoomed right past the Northern Iowa Panthers in the Round of 32. Up next for the Cards is a rematch with their previous tormentors in the form of the North Carolina State Wolfpack. NC State continued its run as a dark horse in the tourney after a stunning victory over the Villanova Wildcats.
Read on below for a full preview of this game. You can also click here for our preview of No. 1 Kentucky vs. No. 5 West Virginia
[sc:MarchMadness ]March Madness No. 4 Louisville Cardinals vs No. 8 North Carolina State Wolfpack Preview
Where: Carrier Dome, Syracuse
When: Friday, March 27, 7:37 PM ET
Line: Louisville Cardinals vs. North Carolina State Wolfpack– view all NCAA Basketball lines
Betting on the Louisville Cardinals
Rick Pitino and his Louisville Cardinals are still dancing after taking down the Northern Iowa Panthers on Sunday, 66-53. With the victory, Louisville not only reached the Sweet 16 round, but it also got a chance to avenge its 74-65 loss to NC State on February 14.
[sc:NCAAB240banner ]In that game, Louisville was led by Chris Jones, who scored 20 points. Jones, however, won’t be around this time to help the Cards, as he has been dismissed by the program. With Jones gone, expect Terry Rozier to carry the bulk of Louisville’s offense against NC State. Rozier scored just seven points against the Wolfpack in the first meeting, but based on his 25-point explosion against Northern Iowa, the sophomore guard looks ready to face NC State’s challenge. Rozier leads the team in scoring with 17.0 points per game.
Rozier should also get some help from big man Montrezl Harrell, who averages 15.5 points and 9.3 rebounds per game. Harrell bounced back nicely from a poor performance (8 points, 4 rebounds) in the Round of 64 against UC Irvine, as he scored 14 points, hauled down six boards, and blocked two shots versus the Panthers.
The victory over Northern Iowa marks only the third time Louisville has covered the spread over its last 10 games. Louisville entered the Northern Iowa game as a 2.5-point underdog.
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Betting on the North Carolina Wolfpack
The Wolfpack are coming over to Syracuse. After sending shockwaves across the nation by beating top-seeded Villanova 71-68 on Saturday, NC State will bring its game to Carrier Dome for a Sweet 16 showdown with Louisville. NC State is 7-3 ATS in its last 10 games overall.
Behind a balanced scoring from its starting lineup, NC State was able to outgun Villanova, which entered the contest averaging 76.3 points per game. Trevor Lacey led the team with 17 points, Abdul-Malik Abu and Anthony Barber scored 13 points apiece, while Lennard Freeman had 11 markers.
Ralston Turner, meanwhile, only had four points, a far cry from his season average of 12.8 points per game. Turner will have to rediscover his shooting touch against Louisville’s defense that allows just 59.4 points per game. Turner, along with Barber and Lacey, had a field day in the team’s win over Louisville back in conference play, as the trio combined for 45 points.
NC State also reaped huge rewards from going aggressive inside the paint in the Villanova game, outscoring the Wildcats in the shaded area, 34-14. Most of those points came off the Wolfpack’s 13 offensive rebounds. Offensive rebounding will be key for NC State against Louisville, especially when it comes to softening Montrezl Harrell’s impact. NC State gets 17.7 percent of its points from putbacks. Freeman, Abu, and Beejay Anya have each made at least 24 putbacks thus far this season.
Writer’s Prediction
NC State wins, 69-65.
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