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When the Louisville Cardinals meet the North Carolina State Wolfpack on Thursday night, both teams will be looking for their first ACC victory of the season.
Louisville dropped their first two conference matchups against Florida State and Miami (FL), dropping their overall record to 0-9 at the time. NC State had gotten off to a much better start at 7-1, but lost to Pitt and Miami (FL) to also begin 0-1 in their conference.
The Wolfpack's other loss was to Kansas, nothing to be ashamed about. NC State seems to be building something promising, while Louisville desperately needs to get on track. Let's see if that trend continues tonight.
Louisville vs. North Carolina State Betting Odds
Odds are courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook
Louisville vs. North Carolina State Match Details
Fixture: Louisville Cardinals @ North Carolina State Wolfpack
Date and Time: Thursday, December 22, 7:00 p.m. EDT
Venue: PNC Arena
Louisville vs. North Carolina State Key Stats
As their records hint, NC State's numbers are much better than Louisville's. Let's start with scoring, where NC State averages 81.0 points per game, and hits 46.8% of their shots. Meanwhile, Louisville only averages 61.2 points per game and shoots 39.3% as a team.
The rebounding margin isn't much better. NC State usually outrebounds their opponents by 4.5 boards per game. Louisville's average rebound margin is -2.5. NC State also averages 4.4 more steals per game and 1.7 more blocks per game than Louisville.
The Wolfpack should dominate the turnover battle. They turn the ball over 11.5 times per game but have an average turnover margin of +3.3 per game. Louisville commits 16.5 turnovers per game and has an average turnover margin of -3.8 per game.
Louisville vs. North Carolina State Betting Prediction
Lousiville's season has been a nightmare. Their two conference games so far weren't competitive. They lost one by 17 and the other by 22.
Despite losing their first two ACC tilts, NC State has at least been competitive in them and handily won most of their out-of-conference games. The Wolfpack should run away with this game tonight and cover a lofty spread.
Prediction: North Carolina State -17.5 (-110)
