Entering the second day of many major conference basketball tournaments, the ACC Tournament Quarterfinals will see the Virginia Cavaliers take on the NC State Wolfpack. The game is scheduled for a 2:00 p.m. start time and it will be televised nationally on ESPN. Currently the odds for the game has NC State favored by just a single possession.
NC State opened the season ranked in the Top 10 but has since fallen on harder times. Yet, they still have a chance to make some noise in the upcoming NCAA Tournament. It's pretty clear that the Wolfpack have done enough to qualify for the Big Dance but if they keep on winning, there will be no doubt that the Wolfpack will be a decent seed.
The Wolfpack also have the benefit of playing a game on Thursday, something a lot of coaches like. It allows them to get into a bit of a rhythm while the team that has the bye has spent nearly a full week without seeing any game action. This NC State team has 23 wins, two more than their counterpart Cavaliers. And the Wolfpack have one less loss than Virginia does as well.
Against Virginia Tech in the first round of the conference tournament, Richard Howell scored 22 points and added 12 rebounds in the team's big win. C.J. Leslie scored 15 points as well. The Wolfpack shot 53 percent from the floor in Thursday's win but connected on just five of their 13 triples. Shooting the ball is something NC State has done well all season, connecting for 49 percent of their shots this year, ranking fourth best in the country.
Virginia won the only previous meeting between these teams this season, 58-55.
Joe Harris leads the Cavs with 17 points per game and he connects on better than 44 percent of his shots from downtown. Akil Mitchell will no doubt matchup with Howell inside on the blocks in what should be a fun battle to watch. The team that wins that battle should have a definite advantage in this game.
The team that does not turn it over will win. Virginia turned it over just eight times in their win over then-No. 19 NC State in January. The Cavaliers also rode a huge wave of offense in the second half, scoring 34 points in the final 20 minutes compared to just 24 for the Wolfpack.
Yet, we like Scott Wood and Lorenzo Brown to make big plays on defense in this one. Look for NC State to win this one by a pretty slim margin in a well-played game.
Free Pick: NC State 72, Virginia 68
Reading The March Madness Betting Market
As we head into the month of March, Vegas Runner and RJ Bell will take a look at reading the betting market for this years March Madness.