North Carolina State vs Xavier in First Four Showdown
The Xavier Musketeers play the North Carolina State Wolfpack in Tuesday’s First Four in Dayton, Ohio to open the NCAA Tournament.
Xavier has played many games against the Dayton Flyers in the arena, which could give them a slight edge in the matchup.
This will be the first time these two teams have ever played, but there is a close connection in the game. NC State’s T.J. Warren the top scorer and player of the year in the ACC was the roommate of Xavier’s Semaj Christon when the two were teammates at Brewster Academy.
Warren has been nearly unstoppable for the Wolfpack of late. Over his past 5 games, he is averaging over 31 points per game and has scored 40 points on two occasions in those five games.
A key in this game will be the health of Matt Stainbrook for Xavier. He sprained his MCL earlier in the month and played only 15 minutes during the Musketeers win versus Marquette and only 9 minutes in Xavier’s loss against the Creighton.
With a record of 18-2-1 ATS in their past 21 games in tournaments, Xavier will attempt to be a great pay out on Tuesday night in their game against the Wolfpack. Xavier has been profitable for bettors during March madness.
North Carolina State is on a run of 10-2 against the number over their past 12 games during the regular season.
The winner of this matchup will be slotted into the No. 12 seed for the Midwest region. The winner will play the Saint Louis Billikens.
The line opened with Xavier as 1-point chalk, but by late Monday, the line had been bet up to 2.5 points.
This season Xavier’s games were 15 OVER and 16 UNDER in point totals, while North Carolinas State was 18 OVER and 13 UNDER.
The game is close on paper, but the teams play on a hardwood floor. However, the two teams are very well matched against one another.
North Carolina State lost its last game played 75-67 against Duke on the road. However, the Wolfpack covered as 9.5-points dogs. T.J. Warren scored 21 for NC State in the loss.
Xavier also lost its last game 86-78 against Creighton. The Musketeers were 6.5-point dogs but failed to cover losing by eight.
North Carolina State has covered the spread in each of its previous 5 games played. North Carolina State is also 4-1 SU over its past 5 games.
Over the past 9 games North Carolina State has played, the OVER is 8-1.
Xavier has covered the spread in 6 of its past 7 games played on Tuesday. However, the Musketeers have covered just 2 of their past 7 games versus opponents from the Atlantic Coast Conference.
The Wolfpack has covered just 1 of its past 6 games against opponents in that are non-conference.
The current line has Xavier favored by 2 points.
Pick: The Wolfpack has played well, winning four of five. I like the Wolfpack to win against the spread and straight up.
