The North Carolina State Wolfpack (20-15) basketball team travels to the “Wild and Wonderful” state of West Virginia for the second time this season, to play their second game against the University of West Virginia Mountaineers (24-9) in the quarterfinal round of the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) tonight at the WVU Coliseum in Morgantown, WV with tip-off at 9 p.m. ET. The winner will advance to the semifinals to be played in New York City’s Madison Square Garden.
To get to the quarterfinals, the Wolfpack defeated Drexel on the road (63-56) as a +6.0 point underdog. NC State then defeated Marist (69-62) as a 7.5 point favorite at home in Raleigh, N.C. on March 16.
Earlier this season (Dec. 6), N.C. State played West Virginia without senior point guard Engin Atsur who was nursing a hamstring injury. Atusr is averaging 11.1 points, 2.9 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game. West Virginia used a strong second half to beat the Wolfpack 70-61 in Charleston, WV. The Mountaineers made 8-of-14 second half 3-point shots to overcome a 28-all tie at halftime.
With the game tied at 40, West Virginia nailed four straight 3-point baskets during a five-minute stretch to take a 53-47 lead with 9:25 left. State used only 6 players in the game. Four played the entire 40 minutes. Courtney Fells led State with 17 points.
West Virginia’s 3-point shooting (13-28) and 17 points from 17 Wolfpack turnovers were major factors. State shot 46 percent for the game, but was only 3-of-16 from the arc.
West Virginia got to the NIT quarterfinals with home victories over Delaware State and Massachusetts. Senior forward Frank Young scored a career-high 31 points in last Thursday’s victory over UMass and also tied the school single-season 3-point field goal record with his 101st 3 against the Minutemen. Young is averaging a team-best 14.7 points per game.
The Mountaineers are favored in tonight’s quarterfinal game by a -6.5 point chalk with a 139 point total at most offshore sportsbooks. The Mountaineers have covered four out of their last games ATS while the OVER has cashed on the total in five straight.
The Wolfpack have been on a hot streak covering for backers ATS by cashing in six of their last eight games. The OVER has also cashed in the last four of six games.
Point-Spreads.com pick: Wolfpack +6.5.
