College Basketball Picks: NC State vs. San Diego State

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The first day of March Madness is in the books and Friday’s card is loaded with more NCAA betting options, starting with the NC State Wolfpack vs. San Diego State


The Wolfpack had a 4.2-point scoring advantage away from home this season

 

NC State is the 11th seed in a somewhat soft Midwest region but online sportsbooks opened the Wolfpack at -1.5 and they slowly crept to -2 and then -2.5. 64-percent of the sports betting crowd still support the favorite at this price and one book suggested the moneyline (NC State -140) has become a highly popular play.

 

The Wolfpack slumped during the back-half of February before going on a four-game win streak that ended vs. North Carolina in the ACC semi-finals. It was their 13th consecutive loss to the Tar Heels and NC State actually led 34-31 at the half but Tyler Zeller was too much to contain.

 

CJ Leslie put up 22 points vs. North Carolina and he’s upped the stakes with a 17.0 point per game (PPG) average since Feb. 18. Leslie has five double-doubles during that eight-game span and he could cause big problems for the Aztecs.

 

Jamaal Franklin is a beast for San Diego but a lack of depth could pose problems in a loser goes home type of battle. NC State is 12-3 ATS away from home this season and 5-1 ATS in neutral court games, outscoring opponents 72.5 to 69.2.

 

NCAA PICKS
When a higher seed (numerically) is favored, they are 8-3-1 ATS since 2010 and although the bus is getting full, we think the Wolfpack have the tools to win this game by at least a three-point margin.
Pick: Take NC State

 

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