Oakland vs. NC State odds: Win probability, final score prediction in NCAA Tournament
No. 11 seed NC State and No. 14 seed Oakland both played their way into the Round of 32 of the NCAA Tournament with upset efforts on Thursday evening. Although, the latter’s ousting of No. 3 seed Kentucky was a bit more noteworthy.
Both squads have been hot in the postseason, winning their respective conference tournaments in the ACC and Horizon League. For both teams, it was necessary to get a bid into the tournament in the first place.
And now both teams are a win away from continuing rather improbable runs to this point.
Odds for NC State vs. Oakland
Vegas likes the Wolfpack, but not dominantly so. NC State sits as a 6.5-point favorite as of Friday afternoon, according to FanDuel. The over/under is set at 144.5 total points.
On the money line, the underdog Grizzlies are at +215 while NC State is sitting at -260.
Final score predictions for NC State vs. Oakland
BPI predicted winner: NC State
BPI predicted point differential: 8
BPI win probability: 79.7%
BPI matchup quality: 68.8
The BPI is pretty confident in the Wolfpack moving on into the Sweet 16. But it was also confident that Kentucky would move on against Oakland in the first round.
Either way, it’s not expected to be among the more competitive matchups of the day, with the lowest matchup quality for Saturday in the NCAA Tournament, per the BPI.
KenPom Predicted final score: 77-70, NC State
KenPom win probability: 73%
KenPom is a bit more tempered on the matchup than the BPI, but still favors the ACC Tournament champions to keep their magical March run going. It is pretty close with the BPI in terms of the projected margin of victory for the Wolfpack, though.
But as the Golden Grizzlies showed on Thursday, the projections can quickly go out the window.
How to watch NC State vs. Oakland
Time: 7:10 p.m. EST, Saturday, March 23
Channel: TBS , Prime Video (streaming)
Location: PPG Paints Arena — Pittsburgh, PA
Oakland and sharpshooter Jack Gohlke captivated the nation with an upset over Kentucky on Thursday evening in primetime. In that win, Gohlke made 10 3-pointers and didn’t attempt a shot inside the arc, finishing 10-of-20 from the field for 32 points — the two coming on a pair of free throws.
NC State is powered mainly by big man DJ Burns and veteran guard DJ Horne. And while those two finished in double figures against Texas Tech (each had 16) in a double-figure win for the Wolfpack, backup bigs Mohamed Diarra and Ben Middlebrooks led the way with 17 and 21 points, respectively.