Pittsburgh Panthers vs North Carolina State Wolfpack Prediction, 2/28/2021 College Basketball Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Pittsburgh Panthers vs NC State Wolfpack

Date: Sunday, February 28, 2021

Location: PNC Arena in Raleigh, NC

TV: ACCN

Odds/Point Spread: Pittsburgh (+6.5)

The NC State Wolfpack (11-9) play the Pittsburgh Panthers (9-9) at PNC Arena on Sunday. The odds on this contest have North Carolina State as 6.5-point favorites. The over/under opens at 138.5.

Pittsburgh comes into this contest with a win-loss mark of 9-9 for the season. They average 72.2 pts per contest (160th in the country) while hitting 43.2% from the floor. The Panthers are connecting on 32.4% on three-point shots (116 of 358) and 67.3% from the charity stripe. As a team, Pittsburgh is pulling down 38.6 boards per contest and has 278 dimes for the season, which ranks 153rd in college basketball in terms of passing the rock. They are turning it over 12.3 times per game and as a group they are committing 17.3 fouls per game. When they are on defense, the Panthers are forcing 12.7 turnovers per game and they draw 18.1 fouls. They give up 31.6% on 3-pointers and they rank 188th in college basketball in opponents points per game (70.3). The Panthers defensively are giving up a shooting percentage of 43.4% (451 of 1,038) and they concede 34.1 boards per game as a team. They rank 238th in the nation in giving up assists to their opponents with 287 conceded this year.

The Pittsburgh Panthers faced the Florida State Seminoles and took a loss by a score of 79-72 in their last contest. Pittsburgh walked away from the contest having earned a 38.2% field goal percentage (26 out of 68) and knocked down 4 of 17 shots from beyond the perimeter. From the free throw line, the Panthers buried 16 of 22 attempts for a rate of 72.7%. In reference to hauling in rebounds, they earned 32 with 11 of them being offensive. They also dished out 12 assists for the matchup as well as forcing 11 turnovers and earning 6 steals. When it comes to defending, Pittsburgh allowed the other team to go 44.8% from the field on 26 out of 58 shooting. Florida State doled out 14 assists and had 3 steals for this contest. In addition, Florida State grabbed 42 rebounds (11 offensive, 31 defensive) and got 6 blocks. Florida State finished shooting 79.3% at the free throw line by making 23 of 29 attempts. They converted 4 out of their 0 attempts from distance.

Justin Champagnie is one player who was a major factor in the matchup. He scored 21 points on 7 of 17 shooting. He saw the court for 40 minutes played and grabbed 10 rebounds. Champagnie ended up going 41.2% from the floor and totaled 2 assists. An additional guy that was a major contributor in this matchup for the Panthers was Xavier Johnson. He pulled down 4 rebounds in his 32 min played on the night. He shot 46.2% from the floor for this game by connecting on 6-of-13 (15 points). When the final whistle was blown, Johnson had 3 assists.

North Carolina State has a win-loss mark of 11-9 for the campaign. North Carolina State has scored 1,471 pts on the year (73.6 per game) and they grab 32.4 boards per game. The Wolfpack commit 16.3 fouls every game and they go 70.1% from the charity stripe. In terms of offensive execution, the Wolfpack are connecting on 47.3% from the floor, which is ranked 49th in the country. They are dishing out assists 13.1 times per game (190th in college basketball) and they turn it over 13.3 times per contest. The Wolfpack on the defensive side of the court are 169th in D-1 in points given up per game with 69.8. They surrender 12.8 dimes and 33.4 boards per contest, which has them ranked 157th and 111th in college hoops. The North Carolina State defense gives up 34.8% on shots from 3-point land (133 of 382) and their opponents are knocking down 72.8% of their foul shots. They have forced 15.7 TO's per game and allow teams to shoot 45.8% from the floor (283rd in college basketball).

When they last stepped on the court, the NC State Wolfpack got the win with a final of 68-61 when they faced the Virginia Cavaliers. The Wolfpack collected 25 defensive rebounds and 3 offensive boards totaling 28 in this game. They turned the ball over 9 times, while getting 6 steals for the game. The Cavaliers were called for 19 fouls in this contest which took the Wolfpack to the charity stripe for a total of 28 tries. They were able to make 23 of the free throws for a clip of 82.1%. Pertaining to shooting from 3-point land, North Carolina State buried 5 of their 12 tries (41.7%). When the final whistle blew, the Wolfpack ended up going 20 out of 44 from the floor which had them at 45.5%. The Wolfpack permitted the Cavaliers to make 20 out of 54 tries from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 37.0% for this game. They went 28.0% from beyond the perimeter by connecting on 7 of 25 and finished the game at 14 of 14 at the free throw line (100.0%). With respect to how they cleaned up the glass, North Carolina State allowed Virginia to pull down 24 in total (7 offensive).

Cam Hayes pitched in for the Wolfpack for the matchup. He knocked down 3 of 5 in this game giving him a field goal percentage of 60.0%, and tallied 3 rebounds. Hayes totaled 16 points in his 30 minutes of playing time, but finished this game without an assist. Someone else that ended up playing a role for North Carolina State was D.J. Funderburk. He came away with 1 assist in 31 mins played, and he knocked down 5 out of 10 from the floor. Funderburk wrapped this one up going 50.0% from the floor and also contributing 14 points and 6 total rebounds.

Who will win tonight's college basketball game against the spread?

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take North Carolina State (-6.5)

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