After rushing the field for a stunning ACC Tournament title, NC State earned an automatic bid to March Madness. The No. 11 Wolfpack earned a first-round matchup against No. 6 Texas Tech in Pittsburgh in the Midwest Regional. Tipoff for the first-round game will be 9:40 p.m. ET on Thursday, with multiple streaming options available to view.
We’re taking a look at the first-round odds and lines for this March Madness showdown, including player and team props, spreads, totals, and key storylines below.
NC State looking to stay hot in March Madness
The Wolfpack entered the ACC Tournament as the No. 10 seed and beat Louisville, Syracuse, Duke, Virginia, and UNC to win the program’s first conference crown since 1987. NC State became the first double-digit seed to win the ACC Tournament and the first team to win five games in five days since UConn won the Big East Tournament in 2011, before going on to win the NCAA title. This version of the Wolfpack has DJ Horne, Michael O’Connell, and Mohamed Diarra in starring roles, and 6-foot-9 center DJ Burns Jr. is a force in the middle. In addition to Horne, NC State has a pair of sharpshooters in Casey Morsell and Jayden Taylor.
What to expect from Texas Tech
The Raiders of Texas Tech are also hot coming into the tournament, as their four-game winning streak ended with a loss to Houston in the Big 12 Tournament. Texas Tech won the rebound battle in victories over Baylor, BYU, and the loss to Houston. The Raiders are competing on the glass despite losing multiple rotation players to season-ending injuries, and starting center Warren Washington (foot) is dealing with a foot injury. Texas Tech’s defense will likely have to be strong at the point of attack to negate NC State’s elite guards.
NC State defense facing some strong shooters
Texas Tech’s Darrion Williams is hitting 46.7% of his 3-point attempts this season and appears likely to return after sitting out the Big 12 championship game with ankle soreness. Chance McMillian is also around 40% from deep, and sophomore Pop Isaacs got hot with multiple 3-pointers in five straight outings before the loss to Houston. The Raiders often play lineups with four guards and may try to compromise the Pack’s defense with speed and shooting.
NC State vs. Texas Tech basketball odds and betting lines
[metabet_core_odds_board query=”561025″ site_id=”legalsportsreport”]
NC State futures odds
- Odds to win the National Championship: [metabet_core_dynamic_odds market=”bkc/ncaab_winner” query=”bkc/nc_state” site_id=”legalsportsreport”]
- Odds to win the South region: [metabet_core_dynamic_odds market=”bkc/ncaab_winner_region_south” query=”bkc/nc_state” site_id=”legalsportsreport”]
- Odds to reach the final 4: [metabet_core_dynamic_odds market=”bkc/ncaab_make_the_final_four” query=”bkc/nc_state” site_id=”legalsportsreport”]
- Odds to reach the sweet 16: [metabet_core_dynamic_odds market=”bkc/ncaab_make_the_sweet_sixteen” query=”bkc/nc_state” site_id=”legalsportsreport”]
NC State vs. Texas Tech injury report: Who’s out, who’s questionable
Texas Tech lost Devan Cambridge to a season-ending knee injury in December. The Raiders have been without 7-footer Warren Washington for most of the past month due to a foot injury. Star sophomore Darrion Williams hurt his ankle in the Big 12 semifinals against BYU and sat during the conference championship game for precautionary reasons.
For NC State, freshman Dennis Parker Jr. has been dealing with an illness, and sophomore LJ Thomas is out with an undisclosed injury and has now officially entered the transfer portal.