Norfolk State vs North Carolina Central College Basketball Picks, Odds, Predictions 3/11/21

NorThe NC Central Eagles and the Norfolk State Spartans meet in a MEAC conference tournament quarter-final matchup in college basketball action from the Norfolk Scope on Thursday night.

The NC Central Eagles come into this one as the #3 seed in the south division after a 3-5 mark in conference play as part of their 5-8 overall record this season. C.J. Keyser leads the Eagles in scoring with 16.4 PPG as the lone double-digit scorer for the Eagles up to this point in the season while Justin Whatley has a team-high 4.8 RPG and Jordan Perkins also has a team-high 4.4 APG this season. Devon Palmer and Javon Moultrie each have 9.5+ PPG for the Eagles as well this season. As a team, NC Central is averaging 68 PPG on 43% shooting from the field and 34.7% from three while allowing 70.5 PPG on 44.9% shooting from the field and 32.5% from three this season.

The Norfolk State Spartans come into this one as the #2 seed in the north division after an 8-4 mark as part of their 14-7 overall record this season. Devante Carter leads the Spartans in scoring and assists with 15.9 PPG and 3.8 APG along with 5 RPG while Joe Bryant Jr. has 10.2 PPG and 4.4 RPG as the only other double-digit scorer for Norfolk State up to this point in the season. Jalen Hawkins has 9.6 PPG and J.J. Matthews also has 8.9 PPG with 5.2 RPG to lead the Spartans in rebounding this season. As a team, Norfolk State is averaging 74.9 PPG on 43.5% shooting from the field and 36.4% from three while allowing 70 PPG on 40.9% shooting from the field and 32.3% from three this season.

NC Central is 1-7 ATS in their last 8 games overall and 21-7-1 ATS in their last 29 neutral site games while the under is 4-1 in their last 5 games against a tea with a winning record. Norfolk State is 5-1 ATS in their last 6 games overall and 3-1-1 ATS in their last 5 neutral site games while the under is 4-0 in their last 4 games overall. The favorite is 4-1-1 ATS in the last 6 meetings between these two teams.

The points with the Eagles are tempting, but fans or not this is a home game for Norfolk State which is a clear and definite advantage, especially in a tournament with only 6 teams where two wins gets you to the championship. I just think that is the difference here and for the Eagles to pull away at the foul line late.