#22 NC State Wolfpack at #8 Virginia Cavaliers Betting Preview
The #8 Virginia Cavaliers (17-4, 9-3 ACC) battle the #22 NC State Wolfpack (19-5, 9-4 ACC) in a top-25 showdown in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Tuesday’s contest will be the 154th meeting between the two programs, with the Wolfpack owning an 85-68 advantage in the series. Virginia does sport a 41-25 mark in games played in Charlottesville.
The conference contest tips off at 9 p.m. EST inside John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville, Virginia. Virginia is a seven-point favorite, and the over/under total is 136 points.
What to Know – #22 NC State Wolfpack
NC State has won four in a row and eight of their last nine to land inside the Top 25 for the first time this season and first time since 2019. The Wolfpack’s run has vaulted NC State up the ACC standings, and now sit one game outside the top spot.
The Wolfpack offense is the high-scoring in the league, pouring in 79.6 points per game while hitting 45.1% of their shots from the floor and 35.2% from the 3-point line. NC State’s defense holds opponents to 69.5 ppg, 43.8% shooting from the field, and 30.9% shooting from three.
Leading the ACC’s top-scoring offense is the league’s leading scorer, sophomore guard Terquavion Smith. Smith is averaging 18.5 ppg and will look to rebound after tallying just five points in Saturday’s victory over Georgia Tech, his lowest output of the season.
The Wolfpack are 11-11-2 against the spread and 3-3 ATS on the road. NC State owns a 4-1-1 record ATS over its last six contests against Virginia.
What to Know – #8 Virginia Cavaliers
The Cavaliers will try to bounce back after a rare loss on the road to in-state rival Virginia Tech over the weekend. A win on Tuesday puts Virginia in a tie atop the conference standings with the Clemson Tigers.
On offense, Virginia is 11th in the ACC, scoring 70.3 ppg, connecting on 45.7% of its attempts from the field and 38.2% from beyond the arc. The Cavaliers have the strongest scoring defense in the conference, limiting opponents to 60.9 ppg, 41.6% shooting from the floor, and 34.3% shooting from deep.
The Cavaliers have four players scoring between 12.7 and 10.0 points per game. The leader of the group is senior guard Armaan Franklin, averaging 12.7 ppg. Fellow senior guard Kihei Clark is second on the roster providing 11.6 ppg.
Virginia is 8-12-1 ATS with a 4-7 mark ATS inside John Paul Jones Arena. Over the last four games the Cavaliers are 0-3-1 ATS following a straight-up loss.
The Pick is In
Tuesday night’s showdown features the high-scoring Wolfpack offense against the lockdown defense of the Cavaliers. Virginia has to be upset after its performance against the Hokies, and a home crowd will add to it. Expect Virginia to get back into the win column, but we like the Wolfpack to cover the spread.
The Pick: #22 NC State Wolfpack +7
