4:33 pm
February 17

NC State @ Pittsburgh

Who will WIN this matchup?

North Carolina State Wolfpack (8-9)

@ Pittsburgh Panthers (9-7)

 

Current odds:

North Carolina State Wolfpack: (+160)

Pittsburgh Panthers: (-180)

 

• The line for this game is Pittsburgh by 4 points.

• North Carolina State or Pittsburgh at least should show signs of getting back on track Wednesday before their seasons slide off the rails completely. The teams meet in Pittsburgh with the goal of reversing trends that are going in the wrong direction.

• Pittsburgh (9-7, 5-6 ACC) has lost five of its past six games. Four of those setbacks have come by 10 points or less, including a 71-65 loss Sunday at Georgia Tech. NC State (8-9, 4-8) has dropped four of its past five games.

Pitt’s Ithiel Horton has scored in double digits in four of the past five games. That has offered another offensive source for Pitt alongside ACC scoring leader Justin Champagnie (18.7 points per game). Teammate Au’Diese Toney is 15th in the league in scoring at 14.2, while NC State doesn’t have an active player averaging more than Jericole Hellems’ 13 points per game.

• There could be good battles in the lane. NC State’s Manny Bates tops the ACC in blocked shots with 2.9 per game. Champagnie is the conference’s top offensive rebounder at 3.3 per outing. He’s also the overall rebounding leader with 11.6 per game, though he had a season-low six rebounds in the Georgia Tech game.

• NC State’s 2-for-10 shooting on 3-pointers in Saturday’s 69-53 home loss to Duke was partly responsible for the Wolfpack’s season-low point total.

• One of NC State’s top perimeter threats normally would be Braxton Beverly, who is averaging only 6.1 points per game. He’s 20-for-52 on 3-pointers. Beverly missed time in the Duke game because of back and hip ailments.

• This is the first of three straight scheduled road games for the Wolfpack.

5/10
Confidence
StreakSmarter Pick
Pittsburgh Panthers
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