Duke Blue Devils vs North Carolina State Wolfpack Prediction, 3/2/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Duke Blue Devils vs NC State Wolfpack

Date: Monday, March 2, 2026

Location: Lenovo Center in Raleigh, NC

TV: ESPN

The Duke Blue Devils (26-2) are traveling to Lenovo Center on Monday where they will go up against the NC State Wolfpack (19-9).

The Duke Blue Devils faced off with Notre Dame and earned the victory with a final of 100-56 in their last game. Duke wrapped up the game having earned a 45.8% field goal percentage (27 out of 59) and knocked down 12 out of their 33 shots from downtown. When they shot from the charity stripe, the Blue Devils knocked down 34 of their 38 attempts for a rate of 89.5%. Regarding grabbing rebounds, they compiled a total of 47 with 14 of them being offensive. They also distributed 20 dimes for the game as well as forcing the other team into 14 turnovers and getting 11 steals. With regard to defense, Duke allowed their opponent to shoot 36.5% from the field on 19 of 52 shooting. Notre Dame doled out 9 dimes and had 1 steal in the matchup. Moreover, Notre Dame snagged 26 rebounds (5 offensive, 21 defensive), but wasn't able to put a block in the stat sheet. Notre Dame finished the game at 57.9% when shooting free throws by knocking down 11 of 19 shots. They also converted 7 of their 26 attempts from downtown. When talking about personal fouls, the Blue Devils ended up walking away with 20 and Notre Dame finished the game with 21 personal fouls.

Cameron Boozer is someone who played a role in this contest. He scored 24 points on 5 of 8 shooting. He was on the court for 24 mins and also snagged 13 boards. He ended up shooting 62.5% from the floor and earned 2 dimes.

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Duke comes into this matchup with a win-loss record of 26-2 so far this year. They average 83.0 points per game (43rd in D-1) on 49.8% from the floor. The Blue Devils are connecting on 34.9% on shots from 3-point land (249 of 714) and 72.5% from the free throw line. As a unit, Duke is pulling in 40.0 rebounds per game and has accounted for 479 assists on the year, which has them ranked 47th in the nation in terms of passing. They turn it over 10.7 times per game and as a team are committing 15.7 personal fouls per contest.

On the defensive end of the court, the Blue Devils have forced 12.8 turnovers per contest while drawing 18.3 fouls. They surrender 30.6% from beyond the arc and they are 3rd in college hoops in PPG allowed (62.9). The Blue Devils defensively are allowing a field goal percentage of 39.2% (637 of 1,627) and they relinquish 29.6 boards per contest as a squad. They currently rank 50th in D-1 in giving up assists to the opposition with 331 relinquished for the campaign.

In their last game, the NC State Wolfpack walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 90-61 when they faced Virginia. The Wolfpack were able to corral 18 defensive boards and 12 offensive rebounds for a total of 30 in this matchup. They also gave up possession 10 times, while recording 8 steals for the matchup. Virginia earned 15 personal fouls for the contest which took the Wolfpack to the free throw line for a total of 15 attempts. They were able to knock down 12 of the free throw tries for a rate of 80.0%. With respect to shots from beyond the perimeter, North Carolina State knocked down 9 out of their 33 attempts (27.3%). When the final whistle blew, the Wolfpack finished the game shooting 20 out of 68 from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 29.4%. The Wolfpack permitted Virginia to convert 31 of their 58 tries from the floor which left them with a rate of 53.4% for this game. They finished 46.2% from three-point range by connecting on 12 of 26 and ended up going 16 of 18 at the charity stripe (88.9%). Regarding rebounding, North Carolina State permitted Virginia to snag 37 in total (6 on the offensive side).

Paul McNeil Jr. ended up having an impact for the Wolfpack in this matchup. He had 22 points in his 29 minutes on the hardwood and added 1 assist in the matchup. He made 6 out of 16 in this contest for a field goal percentage of 37.5%, and had 6 rebounds.

North Carolina State has a record of 19-9 so far this season. The Wolfpack are committing 18.1 personal fouls every game and they connect on 76.3% from the free throw line. They are earning an assist 16.1 times per contest (60th in college) and they are giving up possession 9.5 times per game. North Carolina State has tallied 2,352 pts for the season (84.0 per game) and they average 35.3 boards per contest. When it comes to offensive execution, the Wolfpack are connecting on 47.1% from the floor, which ranks them 72nd in college.

The Wolfpack on the defensive side of the court are 205th in college hoops in points given up per game with 74.4. They have forced 13.4 TO's per game and have let teams shoot 43.7% from the field (158th in college). The North Carolina State defense gives up 34.2% on shots from 3-point land (252 of 736) and their opponents are connecting on 68.8% of their free throw attempts. They have relinquished 12.4 assists and 35.5 boards every game, ranking them 94th and 249th in Division 1.

Who will win tonight's NCAA game against the spread?

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Duke

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