Another big ACC Tournament battle is set as NC State and Virginia meet this Thursday AM in the Spectrum Center at Charlotte, North Carolina. The No.2 ranked Cavaliers are on an eight game winning streak heading into this one, while NC State is coming off of a Saturday win against Boston College, and a narrow escape against Clemson on Wednesday to advance them into the conference tournament against Virginia. Going into the game, Virginia is priced at +500 to win the 2019 National Championship while NC State is further down the line at +15,000 to pull off a small miracle. The Cavaliers a re clear favorites in this matchup, but it’s March – anything can happen. Will it?
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Betting Preview for the NC State Wolfpack vs. Virginia Cavaliers College Basketball Game on March 14, 2019
Where: Spectrum Center at Charlotte, North Carolina
When: Thursday, March 14, 2019, 12:30 PM ET
Line: NC State Wolfpack (odds) vs. Virginia Cavaliers (odds) – view all NCAA Basketball lines
TV Broadcast: ESPN
Betting on the NC State Wolfpack (22-10 Overall / 9-9 Conference)
At first, it looked like Clemson was going to meet the Cavaliers in this ACC meeting. NC State went down 42-26 in the first half against the Tigers on Wednesday, but bounced back 33-16 in the second half to barely make it out alive in a 59-58 win, thanks solely (and we mean solely) to Markell Johnson who scored 23-points. The next highest performer for the Wolfpack? Guard Torin Dorn who only added 8-points, albeit with a helpful 12 rebounds. The rest of the team was barely there and if they have a chance against Virginia they will need to fire on all cylinders. When the Wolfpack last met the Cavaliers on January 29, Virginia was the one that barely made it out with a 66-65 win. In that one NC State had four players in double digits, led once again by Markell Johnson with 14 points. NC State will need to spread the points around again if they expect a win here, but Johnson will need to crack over 20 points while his team needs to contribute.
NC State is 20-12 against the spread (ATS) in ACC games this season, and leads the conference with a 15-6 ATS record after a win, covering 74.1% of the time.
Betting on the Virginia Cavaliers (28-2 Overall / 16-2 Conference)
No.2 Virginia believes they should be the talk of the town when it comes to being the odds on favorite to win the 2019 National Championship, and not the No.5 ranked Duke who still sits atop of NCAAB Futures. At least the Cavs are tied with No.1 Gonzaga as the next best shot to take the title, right? But first, they must get through NC State who gave them trouble well over a month ago. In the too close for comfort 66-65 win, Virginia offense struggled against Wolfpack defense, with the highest scorer (guard DeAndre Hunter) delivering just 15-points. UVA did well enough to win however, shooting 46.2% from the field, 40% from the 3-point line, and out-rebounding NC State 39-35. They need to watch their careless turnovers though, as they gave up 16 to NC State in that game. That won’t fly in the tournament, and Virginia knows this.
Virginia has the best overall ATS record in the ACC this season, going 28-8, and is 19-8 ATS after a win, covering 70.4% of the time, second behind only NC State in the conference with that stat.
Writer’s Prediction
Virginia wins, 78-72.
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