College Basketball on Saturday and we will see the North Carolina Tar Heels travel to Raleigh, North Carolina to take on the NC State Wolfpack. The game is scheduled for a 7:00 pm (Eastern) start time and will be televised on ESPN. Currently the odds for the game have NC State favored by 5 points while the total sits at 157.5. Check out Sportsbook Spy to see who the Public is taking on all of today's games.
Free Analysis: Roy Williams' Tar Heels aren't considered a real threat to win the national title this season, but the team has kept itself within striking distance in the ACC standings, with wins in each of the last three games. UNC is now 13-5 overall and 3-2 in league play, and enters this contest off an impressive 79-63 win over Georgia Tech this week. The Tar Heels won't be at full strength in this game, as guard Leslie McDonald (8.4 ppg) is serving a three-game suspension. However, with a squad that is averaging 78.7 ppg (15th nationally), there is certainly enough firepower to assuage the loss. While McAdoo was touted as an All-American candidate coming in and has not really found that kind of consistency yet, the 6-foot-9 sophomore is leading the team in both scoring (14.7 ppg) and rebounding (8.3 rpg) this season. Bullock (14.3 ppg) is a close second in the scoring column, while Hairston (11.9 ppg) has done most of his damage off the bench. Dexter Strickland (7.9 ppg) and Marcus Paige (6.7 ppg) aren't prolific scorers, but they are both solid distributors, combining for 147 assists thus far.
Mark Gottfried's Wolfpack came into the season with much more hype and for the most part have lived up to it, including knocking off Duke a couple of weeks ago. However, NC State has hit a wall of sorts recently, with losses in two of their last three games. Monday's 86-84 setback to Wake Forest dropped the Wolfpack to 15-4 overall and 4-2 in-conference. NC State is a perfect 11-0 in Raleigh this season. It certainly wasn't a lack of scoring that did in the Wolfpack this week in Winston-Salem. NC State just let one slip away after taking a 12-point lead into halftime. After shooting 55.6 percent from the floor over the first 20 minutes, NC State lost its touch in the second half (41.2 percent). The shooting woes in the second half were a bit of an anomaly for a team that ranks third nationally in field-goal percentage (.510). The Wolfpack are averaging just under 80 points per game and boast of five players averaging double digits, led by Leslie's 15.3 ppg. Brown is an All-American candidate at the point, with the ability to both score (12.8 ppg) and distribute (6.9 apg) at high rates. Howell (12.6 ppg, 10.6 rpg) is the perfect low post complement, ranking second in the ACC and 12th nationally in rebounding. Warren (12.2 ppg) and Scott (11.7 ppg) provide even more options.
Free Pick: The Heels are starting to play much better as they have won 3 in a row, and are trying to fight their way back into the top 25. On the other side NC State seems to be headed the other way. After they beat Duke they have gone 1-2, which includes a 1 points loss at Maryland, a 4 point home win over Clemson and a shocking 2 point road to Wake Forest. This is not a team playing all that well right now and facing a team you've lost 13 in a row outright to may not be the best medicine for them to get back on track. The Road team is 7-3 ATS the last 10 and I will glad take the points with the more desperate team that is playing better at the moment. Look for an outright Heels win here.
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College Basketball Free Picks: Maryland at Duke Betting
What college basketball bettors need to know about Maryland Terrapins at Duke Blue Devils on Saturday (1/26/13) - a free pick from Pregame.com's, Vegas Runner, with host Scott Spreitzer.