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The NCAA Tournament is finally set to get underway on Thursday with a full slate of games.
The ACC will have 2 teams in action on Thursday: North Carolina and NC State. Duke and Clemson will join the party on Friday in their first-round matchups. Virginia rounded out the ACC’s 5 NCAA Tournament bids, but was eliminated by Colorado State on Tuesday night in Dayton.
Here’s a look at the ACC’s slate for Day 1:
1 North Carolina vs. 16 Wagner | 2:45 p.m. ET | CBS | Charlotte, North Carolina
North Carolina is a huge favorite over Wagner, who had to pull off 4 straight upsets — including in a First Four game over Howard on Tuesday night — to even make it to this matchup. The Tar Heels are the significantly more-talented team and figure to have matchup advantages all over the court against the Seahawks on Thursday afternoon.
Spread: North Carolina -24.5 (via ESPN Bet)
Total: 133.5 points (via ESPN Bet)
6 Texas Tech vs. 11 NC State | 9:40 p.m. ET | CBS | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
NC State needed a miracle run in the ACC Tournament to reach the round of 64. The Wolfpack are playing their best basketball of the season, but may be running on fumes after winning 5 games in 5 days last week. Texas Tech enters this matchup after another solid season in the Big 12. The Red Raiders only lost 2 games all season to teams ranked outside of KenPom’s top 50. NC State is No. 56 in KenPom as of publication.
Spread: Texas Tech -4.5 (via ESPN Bet)
Total: 145.5 points (via ESPN Bet)
NORTH CAROLINA Must be 21+. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER.
2 picks
NC State +175 (via ESPN Bet)
I think there’s a little bit of value on the Wolfpack to win this game outright against Texas Tech. NC State’s defense looks to be legitimately improved after its last stretch of games at the ACC Tournament, and its offense has been consistently good for weeks now. The Red Raiders should definitely be favored, but I think this game is a lot closer to a coin flip than the implied odds (36.4%) would indicate.
Wagner +24.5 (-105 on ESPN Bet)
Don’t get me wrong, I don’t expect this to be a competitive game. But I think this is too many points given the circumstances. UNC has its sights set on bigger goals in this Tournament and could ease off the gas if it gets a comfortable second-half lead. No. 1 seeds went just 1-3 against the spread (with one outright loss) in the first round last season. Additionally, computer models such as KenPom, BartTorvik and EvanMiya are projecting margins between 20 and 21 points — leaving plenty of value on the Seahawks plus the points.
NORTH CAROLINA Must be 21+. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER.
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Spenser is a news editor for Saturday Down South and covers college football across all Saturday Football brands.
