Virginia Tech vs. North Carolina State: Betting Preview and Pick

Virginia Tech Hokies (19-13 SU, 13-19 ATS) vs. North Carolina State Wolf Pack (22-9, 15-14), 3/8/23 When: 9:30 pm ET Wednesday, March 8 Where: Greensboro Coliseum TV: ESPN2 CBB Betting Line: VT +2.5/NC State -2.5 Over/Under: 150
North Carolina State and Virginia Tech conclude the second day of action at the ACC tournament when they meet for second-round match-up Wednesday night in Greensboro. The Hokies needed to come from behind to beat Notre Dame in an opening-round bout Tuesday night while the Wolf Pack are working off a week’s worth of rest. Who do we like here for our free college basketball betting pick?

College Basketball Betting Odds

Wednesday’s betting market opened North Carolina State at -2.5 over V Tech, with an over/under of right around 150. Both figures were holding steady in the early betting action. According to Sagarin’s CBB ratings at USAToday.com, NC State should be favored by two points for this match-up.

Virginia Tech-North Carolina State College Basketball Betting Preview

The Hokies reached the quarterfinals of this ACC tournament by outlasting Notre Dame Tuesday night 67-64. Virginia Tech, favored by six points, scored the first seven points of the game, led by 12 midway through the first half but only took a 33-32 advantage into the locker room. The Hokies later fell down to the Irish by five with five minutes left, still trailed by a point with under a minute to go but scored the final four points of the game to steal the victory. However, V-Tech came up short ATS against the second-worst team in the confer-ence. The Hokies shot 48 percent from the floor Tuesday and held Notre Dame to 43 percent shooting. Not long ago, Virginia Tech struggled through a 3-5 stretch, but it’s now won three straight, albeit against the second division of the ACC. At 8-12 in conference play, the Hokies finished in 11th place in the ACC. And at 19-13 overall they’ll have to win this conference tournament to make the Big Dance.

Meanwhile, the Wolf Pack are only 3-4 SU, although 4-3 ATS, over their last seven games after losing their regular-season finale last Wednesday at Duke 71-67. North Carolina State only trailed the Blue Devils 33-29 at the half but later trailed by a dozen with two minutes left. But much to their financial backers delight, NC State battled back to within a couple of buckets late, then canned a meaningless 3-pointer in the final seconds to cover the spread as six-point dogs. The Wolf Pack only shot 38 percent from the floor last Wednesday, got out-rebounded 44-35, and got outscored from the free-throw line 23-7. Two games ago, North Carolina State got blown out by Clemson 96-71. But prior to that, they won back-to-back games against Wake Forest and North Carolina. At 12-8 in conference play, the Wolf Pack finished in sixth place in the ACC this season, three games out of first place. And at 22-9 overall NC State looks like a pretty good bet to make the NCAA tournament. Virginia Tech-NC State Recent History The Hokies beat the Wolf Pack four out of five meetings through last season, but NC State took the only meeting between the teams this season back in January 73-69. The Pack led that entire game and by 11 with a minute to go. V Tech then scored 15 points over the last 63 seconds to make the final score close. Also, that game just sneaked under a total of 143.

College Basketball Betting Trends

The underdogs played 2-1 ATS in the opening round of this ACC tournament.

Totals Report

The Overs are 18-13 in Hokies games this season, which are averaging 143 total points. The Totals are split 15-15 in Wolf Pack games this season, which are averaging 148 points. The Unders are 8-1 over the last nine meetings between these two teams.

Free College Basketball Betting Pick

NC State’s the better team in this match-up; not by a whole lot, but they get our checkmarks on defense and on the boards. Also, V Tech just had to come from behind to beat a poor Notre Dame team, while the Wolf Pack should be well-rested, last playing one week ago. And State beat Tech somewhat soundly earlier this season. We’re betting the Wolf Pack Wednesday night.”