NC State vs Oakland Round 2 College Basketball Tourney Picks

Game Information

• Game: Oakland (24-11) vs NC State (23-14)
• Location: PPG Paints Arena, Pittsburgh, PA
• Day/Time: Saturday, March 23, 7:10 p.m. ET
• Oakland vs NC State Live Stream: TBS.com

With both teams pulling off upsets in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, March Madness odds could be split. Both teams immediately proved they could compete at this level. However, NC State might have been the hottest team coming into the tournament, so picks might side with them.

Oakland vs NC State Odds and Spreads

Betting Trends

• Wolfpack are 6-0 ATS in their last 6 neutral site games as an underdog.
• Wolfpack are 6-0 ATS in their last 6 games as an underdog of 7.0-12.5.
• Wolfpack are 5-0 ATS in their last 5 neutral site games.
• Wolfpack are 5-0 ATS in their last 5 games overall.
• Over is 5-0 in Golden Grizzlies last 5 neutral site games as a favorite.
• Over is 5-0 in Golden Grizzlies last 5 games as a favorite of 13.0 or greater.
• Over is 10-1-1 in Wolfpack last 12 games as a favorite of 7.0-12.5.
• Over is 4-1 in Wolfpack last 5 games as an underdog of 13.0 or greater.

ATS Prediction: NC State -6

Something about NC State’s run feels inevitable. While Oakland beat the higher seed, it also had a player who averaged 12.8 points and 3.7 3-pointers this season in Gohlke, who had a spectacular game. The sportsbook will not back up something that was so out of the ordinary, with low chances of it happening again.

For that reason, it makes sense to back NC State in college basketball picks. The Wolfpack won the ACC tournament by winning five games in five days, beating arguably the best three teams in the conference in the final three games – Duke, Virginia and North Carolina.

D.J. Burns SWEET hook shot 😮‍💨 pic.twitter.com/72i2Err7pe

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) March 22, 2024

NC State is more reliable, especially given how easily it beat Texas Tech. The Wolfpack got help from an unlikely source with Ben Middlebrooks scoring 21 points off the bench – well above his season average of 5.9. A big reason is that D.J. Burns only played 16 minutes, scoring 16 points. This is after the ACC tournament in which he averaged 15.2 points, staying hot against Texas Tech despite being unable to play big minutes due to foul trouble.

This is taking nothing from Oakland’s win over Kentucky, but that seemed more about the right team getting hot at the right time. NC State has been that team for over six straight wins and should be able to keep that going.

Over/Under Pick: Over 144½

With how both teams play, the over is an excellent option for college basketball predictions. In each program’s upset win in the first round, they scored 80 points, which is the number the teams could get close to again.

Oakland proved that its high-paced offense, which takes a lot of threes, can go toe-to-toe with anyone – as it did in the win over Kentucky. Over this run, NC State has repeatedly proved that whatever it needs to do offensively to win, it will get it done. This could be a close game, which will only run up the score, leading to the over likely being hit.

Player Prop Pick: D.J. Burns Over 13.5 points (-109)

In the ACC tournament, Burns was the backbone of NC State’s run to winning the conference. It looked like the Wolfpack would try to rely on him again in the game against Texas Tech, but foul trouble kept him off the court. However, he still ended up with 16 points. There is a good chance that NC State will again try to rely on Burns in this game, and if he doesn’t get into foul trouble, he will likely have a big game.

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Score Prediction

NC State 78, Oakland 72

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