North Carolina State Wolfpack vs Notre Dame Fighting Irish Prediction, 2/28/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: NC State Wolfpack vs Notre Dame Fighting Irish

Date: Saturday, February 28, 2026

Location: Purcell Pavilion in South Bend, IN

TV: ESPN+

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish (12-16) will try to defeat the NC State Wolfpack (19-9) at Purcell Pavilion on Saturday.

The NC State Wolfpack faced off with Virginia and took a loss by a final of 90-61 in their last game. Regarding personal fouls, the Wolfpack walked away with 14 and Virginia finished the game with 15 personal fouls. They also buried 12 out of their 26 tries from three-point range. Virginia ended up going 88.9% at the free throw line by knocking down 16 of their 18 attempts. On top of that, Virginia grabbed 37 boards (6 offensive, 31 defensive), but wasn't able to record a block. Virginia earned 17 dimes and had 7 steals in this matchup. With respect to defending, North Carolina State allowed their opponent to shoot 53.4% from the field on 31 out of 58 shooting. They also doled out 14 assists in the matchup as well as forcing the other team into 10 turnovers and earning 8 steals. Regarding grabbing rebounds, they earned a total of 30 with 12 of them being on the offensive end. From the free throw line, the Wolfpack made 12 of 15 tries for a rate of 80.0%. North Carolina State wrapped up the game with a 29.4% field goal percentage (20 out of 68) and converted 9 out of their 33 shots from beyond the arc.

Paul McNeil Jr. is a guy who played a role in the matchup. He ended up finishing with 22 points on 6 out of 16 shooting. He played for 29 mins played and also pulled down 6 rebounds. He finished 37.5% from the field and earned 1 assist.

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North Carolina State enters this matchup with a mark of 19-9 so far this season. They turn it over 9.5 times per game and as a squad they commit 18.1 fouls per contest. As a unit, North Carolina State is grabbing 35.3 rebounds per game and has 452 dimes on the campaign, which has them ranked 76th in college hoops in terms of passing the rock. The Wolfpack are hitting 39.0% on shots from distance (294 of 753) and 76.3% from the free throw line. They have an average of 84.0 pts per game (27th in the country) while connecting on 47.1% from the field.

On the defensive end of the court, the Wolfpack are able to force 13.4 turnovers every game while drawing 16.9 fouls. They rank 80th in D-1 in giving up assists with 346 surrendered on the campaign. The Wolfpack defense is allowing an opponent shooting percentage of 43.7% (710 of 1,623) and they surrender 35.5 rebounds per game as a unit. They are giving up 34.2% on 3-point shots while they are 206th in the country in points per game allowed (74.4).

When they last stepped on the hardwood, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish took a defeat with a final score of 100-56 against Duke. Regarding rebounding, Notre Dame permitted Duke to snag 47 in total (14 offensive). They finished 36.4% from 3-point land by connecting on 12 out of 33 and finished the contest at 34 out of 38 from the free throw line (89.5%). The Fighting Irish permitted Duke to make 27 of their 59 tries from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 45.8% for this contest. When the game finished, the Fighting Irish finished shooting 19 out of 52 from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 36.5%. Concerning shooting from downtown, Notre Dame converted 7 out of 26 tries (26.9%). They were able to bury 11 of those for a clip of 57.9%. Duke committed 20 personal fouls in the game which got the Fighting Irish to the charity stripe for 19 attempts. They also turned the ball over 14 times, while earning 1 steal in this matchup. The Fighting Irish were able to snag 21 defensive boards and 5 offensive rebounds for a total of 26 in this matchup.

Brady Koehler pitched in for the Fighting Irish for this game. He made 5 out of 9 for this game for a rate of 55.6%, and added 5 rebounds. He tallied 14 points in his 27 minutes on the court and had 1 assist in this matchup.

Notre Dame has a record of 12-16 this year. In terms of offensive execution, the Fighting Irish are shooting 44.6% from the field, which is ranked 220th in Division 1. Notre Dame has totaled 2,065 pts on the year (73.8 per game) and they pull down 36.6 boards per contest. They are earning an assist 12.3 times per game (298th in college) and they are giving up possession 11.6 times per game. The Fighting Irish are committing 17.5 personal fouls per game while shooting 68.3% from the charity stripe.

The Fighting Irish defensively are ranked 206th in the country in points given up per game with 74.4. They are able to force 9.7 turnovers per game and allow teams to shoot 43.6% from the field (152nd in D-1). The Notre Dame defense allows 33.2% on shots from distance (253 of 761) and their opposition makes 75.3% of their free throw shots. They have given up 14.2 dimes and 33.5 rebounds per contest, which ranks 248th and 128th in those categories.

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take North Carolina State

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