Louisville Cardinals vs. NC State Wolfpack

March 12, 2024

Following the Georgia Tech vs Notre Dame game in the ACC Tournament will be the 15^th seed Louisville Cardinals face the North Carolina State Wolfpack with the tournament taking place in Washington, District of Columbia at the Capital One Arena and tip-off for this matchup scheduled for 4:30 PM ET on Tuesday evening and will air on the ACC Network.

Louisville Cardinals Team Preview

The Louisville Cardinals finished in last place in the ACC Conference, winning only three games in conference play and finishing with a record of 3-17 in the ACC. The Cardinals are having one of the worst stretches in the history of the program with only four wins last season and eight wins this year fans are calling for Kenny Payne’s job and I expect the AD to fire Payne after this season’s struggles and compiling a record of 12-51 in his first two seasons entering the ACC tournament.

The Cardinals have been one of the worst teams defensively this season as they are allowing an average of 78.58 points per game which ranks 334^th nationally. The Cardinals were ice cold over to end the regular season as well losing eight of their final nine games and enter this game on a seven-game losing streak following Saturday’s 61-67 loss at home against the Boston College Eagles, however, in the only other meeting this season against the Wolfpack this season the Cardinals kept the game close at home but still lost the game 83-89.

The Louisville Cardinals will look to avenge the loss against the North Carolina State Wolfpack earlier this season when they square off against the Wolfpack in the 1^st round of the ACC tournament.

North Carolina State Wolfpack Team Preview

The North Carolina State Wolfpack are likely to miss the NCAA tournament this season after making an appearance last season after finishing the regular season with a record of 17-14 and finishing in 10^th place in the ACC with a conference record of 9-11. North Carolina State struggled down the stretch of the regular season losing five of their final six games and enters this game on a four-game losing streak following Saturday’s 73-81 loss on the road against the Pittsburgh Panthers.

The Wolfpack lost their final four games this season by an average margin of 9.75 points per game but won the matchup earlier in the season against the Louisville Cardinals on the road by a score of 89-83. The Wolfpack were one of the better teams offensively this season as they ranked 124^th nationally in scoring with an average of 75.52 points per game and will face a team that was one of the worst teams defensively nationally in the Louisville Cardinals that ranked 334^th in points allowed per game this season with an average of 78.58 points.

The North Carolina State Wolfpack will look to advance to the 2^nd round of the ACC Tournament with a win against the Louisville Cardinals in the 1^st round on Tuesday afternoon.

Odds and Series Trends

BookMaker has the North Carolina State Wolfpack listed as 9.5-point favorites against the Louisville Cardinals in the 1^st round of the ACC tournament on Tuesday afternoon. North Carolina State has won the last three games in the series against Louisville which includes an 89-83 win this season on the road, however, Louisville covered the spread in two of the three losses and has covered the spread in seven of the last ten games in the series.

Game Pick

Louisville has failed to cover the spread in their last seven games and NC State hasn’t fared much better as they have only covered the spread in two of their last six games. NC State has won the last three games in the series against the Cardinals, however, the Cardinals have covered the spread in two of the three losses including covering the spread in the game earlier this season as a 7.5-point home underdog. The Wolfpack will get the win here but I expect the game to be closer than the line indicates which is why I am buying the .5 point and taking the points with the Cardinals in the 1^st round of the ACC tournament.

Spooky Express Pick: Louisville Cardinals +10

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