Virginia at NC State Lines, Free Pick & TV Info

What is wrong with No. 18 Virginia? The Wahoos are in their biggest tailspin in years. They will make the NCAA Tournament, but they are sliding down the ACC standings and could be looking at an unpleasant seed for the Big Dance. NC State is simply playing out the string under fired coach Mark Gottfried. The Wolfpack will be NCAAB lines underdogs on Saturday.

Virginia at NC State Lines, Free Pick & TV Info

When: Saturday, Feb. 25, Noon ET Where: PNC Arena, Raleigh, NC TV: ESPN Stream: WatchESPN Radio: Virginia / NC State Opening NCAAB Lines: Virginia favored by TBA

Why Bet On Virginia?

The Cavs have stunningly lost four straight and six of eight – they were a Top-10 team not long ago and a potential ACC champion. On Monday, UVA was upset at home by Miami, 54-48 in overtime. Devon Hall scored 15 points to lead Virginia (18-9, 8-7), which has lost four in a row for the first time since Tony Bennett’s first season as coach in 2009-10. Isaiah Wilkins added 10 points and 10 rebounds, including two free throws with four seconds left in regulation to tie it. Virginia’s lone senior and top scorer, London Perrantes, had his fourth forgettable game in a row, scoring just four points. During the Cavaliers’ losing streak, he’s made 16 of 58 attempts, just 27.6 percent, and just 5 of 28 3-point tries. Moreover, with 11:08 left in the second half and the Cavaliers leading by eight, Perrantes missed the front end of a one-and- one. “It was just one of those games,” Bennett said. “He wasn’t sharp for us. He is getting matched pretty hard, they’re guarding him, and he's not getting a lot of clean looks. But you just keep plugging. That’s all you can do.” Virginia’s 19 first-half points matched the fewest in any half this year (19 in second half at UNC). UVA had a season-low seven assists. Virginia made only 16 of 51 shots (31.4) percent from the floor. And on a night when the `Canes were 20 of 22 from the line, UVA was 13 of 20. Among those seven missed free throws were the front ends of three one-and- ones in the second half — all coming after a 12-0 run positioned the `Hoos to take control of the game. “We struggled to score,” Bennett said. “We’re not shooting well. London [Perrantes] obviously didn’t have a strong game. There are a lot of things we’re trying to overcome, and we need everyone playing at a fairly solid level for us to be able to be successful in this conference.”

Why Bet On NC State?

This will be the final home game for Gottfried, who asked to stay on even though he has been fired. It will also be the finale for Wolfpack star point guard Dennis Smith Jr., who is having a spectacular freshman season and will be a likely Top-5 pick in this year’s draft. The Wolfpack ended a seven-game losing streak with a 71-69 win at Georgia Tech on Tuesday. NC State led 63-50 with 2:20 to play and still led by nine, 68-59, with 36 seconds to go, but the Yellow Jackets mounted one final rally, closing to within 70-69 on a three-pointer with four seconds to play. Smith Jr., connected on one free throw to put the Pack up two and NC State secured the win as Georgia Tech’s last second three-pointer bounced off the rim. North Carolina State played one of its best defensive games of the year. Tech center Ben Lammers, who entered the game averaging 15 points and had 23 against Syracuse on Sunday, scored only one point in the first half and finished with six. He was 1-for- 9 from the floor and didn’t get his first basket until 43 seconds left in the game. The Wolfpack (15-14, 4-12 ACC) got 21 points from Terry Henderson and 18 points from Smith Jr. Abdul-Malik Abu had 10 rebounds for the Pack in just 17 minutes as he was limited most of the game in foul trouble. Smith leads ACC freshmen in six statistical categories: points (18.9), assists (6.61), assist-to-turnover ratio (2.01), steals (1.96), field goal percentage (46.8) and minutes played/game (34.5). Two stats that are a good predictor of the result for NC State — rebounding and opponent field goal percentage. The Pack are 9-4 this season when it outrebounds their opponent, but just 5-10 when the opponent wins the battle on the boards. This season when NC State holds its opponent to 45 percent shooting or worse from the field, the Pack is 10-1. NC State is 4-13 if its opponent shoots over 45 percent from the field.

Virginia at NC State Free Pick:

I don’t think the Wolfpack win this game, but they will stay close enough to cover.