The No. 1 Colorado State Rams take on the No. 3 North Carolina State Wolfpack in the quarterfinals of the NIT Tournament at the Comerica Center in Frisco, Texas Thursday.
North Carolina State remains one of the hottest teams in all of college basketball betting, having lost just once in its last seven games going back to February 17, including an opening-round 14-point win over Davidson. Top-seeded Colorado State edged Buffalo by two points in Round 1 action, pushing with the 2-point spread.
Here are our free NIT Tournament picks and predictions for NC State vs. Colorado State on March 25.
Colorado State vs NC State odds
Sharp money and line movement report
By Patrick EversonTwinSpires opened this NIT quarterfinal at pick 'em and is at North Carolina State -1.5 as of 5 p.m. ET, with the Wolfpack attracting 70 percent of bets and 74 percent of money on the spread. The total is down a point to 146, with the Over getting 54 percent of bets/62 percent of cash.
Check out the full line movement for this gameColorado State Rams at NC State Wolfpack betting preview
Injuries
Colorado State: No injuries to report.
NC State: Thomas Allen G (Out)
Find our latest NCAA basketball injury reports.
Betting trend to know
The Under is 7-2 in Rams’ last nine games overall. Find more NCAA betting trends for Colorado State vs. NC State.
Against the spread (ATS) pick
North Carolina State finished the ACC schedule on a five-game winning run and after a one-sided loss to Syracuse in the conference tournament (which doesn’t look so bad now), Kevin Keats’ kids picked up where they left off with a big win over Davidson in the NIT opener.
Outside of the ACC Tournament blemish to the Orange (89 points allowed), the Wolfpack’s late-season surge has been based on defense. North Carolina State has limited opponents to just under 65 points per game in those six victories, granted they did come against some poor offensive opponents, and CSU doesn’t fit that mold.
The Rams are very efficient on offense, firing at over 48 percent from the field and averaging close to 80 points per game on the season. Colorado State had to pump the brakes versus Buffalo in the NIT opener, not wanting to run with the Bulls, and showed a lot of character in that victory after being set up for a letdown after their NCAA Tournament snub.
Rams head coach Niko Medved made some great adjustments and good decisions in that win over Buffalo, and we’re going to lay the 1-point with CSU Thursday in Texas.
PREDICTION: Colorado State -1 (-110)
Over/Under Pick
Colorado played some defense on offense in its NIT opener versus up-tempo Buffalo, slowing the pace to 67 possessions and limiting the Bulls to 63 field goal attempts – just enough for the 2-point victory. The Rams also battled hard on the boards against a very active Buffalo squad, an effort that should help against a bigger NC State lineup.
As mentioned, the Wolfpack have done well on defense in their recent outings and are great at stretching opponents’ possessions deep into the shot clock. North Carolina State forces foes to chew up 18.2 seconds per set – 24th-highest in the country.
Colorado State tossed different looks at the Bulls in the opening game of the NIT, including a full-court trap that didn’t allow Buffalo to set the pace and a zone that forced UB out of its regular half-court sets. That defensive prowess kept the final score below the total and has the Under hitting in all three of the Rams’ postseason games.
PREDICTION: Under 146 (-110)
Colorado State vs NC State betting card
- Colorado State -1 (-110)
- Under 146 (-110)
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