North Carolina State Wolfpack vs SMU Mustangs Prediction, 2/3/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: NC State Wolfpack vs SMU Mustangs

Date: Tuesday, February 3, 2026

Location: Moody Coliseum in Dallas, TX

TV: ESPN+

Moody Coliseum is where the SMU Mustangs (15-5) will meet the NC State Wolfpack (15-6) on Tuesday.

The NC State Wolfpack faced off with Wake Forest and notched a win by a score of 96-78 in their last contest. North Carolina State ended with a 54.1% FG percentage (33 of 61) and made 16 of their 28 3-pointers. At the free throw line, the Wolfpack knocked down 14 of 18 shots for a percentage of 77.8%. Pertaining to rebounding, they earned a total of 26 with 6 of them being on the offensive end. They also distributed 19 assists in this matchup while forcing 8 turnovers and getting 6 steals. In the matter of defense, North Carolina State let their opponent shoot 47.2% from the floor on 25 out of 53 shooting. Wake Forest doled out 8 assists and had 5 steals in this contest. Moreover, Wake Forest snagged 26 rebounds (5 offensive, 21 defensive), but wrapped up the game with no rejections. Wake Forest ended up going 87.5% from the charity stripe by burying 21 of 24 tries. They also buried 7 of 20 attempts from distance. In reference to personal fouls, the Wolfpack finished with 17 and Wake Forest accumulated 14 personal fouls.

Paul McNeil Jr. is one player who was a major factor for the matchup. He left the arena with 28 points on 8 of 12 shooting. He was on the court for 36 minutes played and pulled down 3 rebounds. He ended up going 66.7% from the floor and also dished out 2 dimes.

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North Carolina State enters this matchup with a win-loss mark of 15-6 for the campaign. They average 85.4 pts per game (31st in Division 1) on 47.8% from the floor. The Wolfpack are shooting 39.0% on shots from 3-point land (222 of 569) and 76.5% from the charity stripe. As a team, North Carolina State is collecting 36.3 rebounds per contest and is sitting with 351 dimes for the campaign, which ranks 57th in the country in terms of passing the rock. They are giving up possession 9.8 times per game and as a unit they commit 19.0 fouls per game.

On defense, the Wolfpack have forced 14.1 turnovers per contest while drawing 17.5 personal fouls. They surrender 33.4% on shots from distance and they rank 130th in the nation in points per game allowed (71.7). The Wolfpack are giving up an opponent shooting percentage of 42.4% (505 of 1,190) and they surrender 34.8 boards per game as a group. They currently rank 67th in the nation in giving up assists to the opposition with 252 relinquished on the campaign.

In their last game, the SMU Mustangs went home defeated by a final of 88-74 when they played Louisville. The Mustangs were able to snag 25 defensive boards and 9 offensive boards totaling 34 in this matchup. They also coughed it up 16 times, while recording 8 steals in this contest. Louisville was called for 14 personal fouls in this game which took the Mustangs to the charity stripe for 9 attempts. They were able to convert 6 of the free throw attempts for a clip of 66.7%. When talking about shooting from beyond the arc, SMU converted 8 out of 25 tries (32.0%). When the game finished, the Mustangs shot 30 out of 62 from the floor which had them shooting 48.4%. The Mustangs permitted Louisville to knock down 31 out of their 63 attempts from the field which had them shooting 49.2% in this matchup. They wrapped up this game 28.6% from downtown by hitting 10 out of 35 and ended up shooting 16 of 23 from the free throw line (69.6%). Concerning how they rebounded, SMU allowed Louisville to get 35 overall (9 on the offensive side).

Kevin Miller ended up being a factor for the Mustangs in the matchup. He totaled 20 points in his 38 minutes on the hardwood and accounted for 4 assists in the game. He knocked down 8 out of 14 in this game giving him a field goal percentage of 57.1%, and added 2 rebounds.

SMU has a win-loss record of 15-5 for the campaign. When it comes to offensive execution, the Mustangs are connecting on 49.4% from the field, which is 27th in college. SMU has accounted for 1,745 pts on the year (87.3 per game) and they grab 38.4 rebounds per game. Their rate of earning assists is at 17.8 times per contest (22nd in college) and they are losing possession via turnover 11.6 times per contest. The Mustangs are responsible for committing 17.2 fouls per contest and they go 76.9% from the free throw line.

The SMU defense gives up 32.1% on shots from beyond the arc (180 of 561) and opponents are making 71.7% of their free throw shots. They give up 16.2 dimes and 34.6 boards per contest, which ranks 332nd and 186th in Division 1. The Mustangs defensively are ranked 275th in college in points allowed per contest with 77.0. They are forcing 13.2 TO's per game and have allowed teams to shoot 42.8% from the field (131st in college).

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take SMU

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