Virginia Tech vs NC State 1/7/23 College Basketball Picks, Predictions, Odds

The NC State Wolfpack and the Virginia Tech Hokies meet Saturday in college basketball action from Cassell Coliseum. NC State enters this game at 12-4 overall. The Wolfpack beat Duke in their Wednesday game. As for Virginia Tech, they’re currently 11-4 on the year after a loss to Clemson. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Sports Chat Place.

NC State posted a strong 8-2 run over the first 10 games, losing to only Kansas and Pittsburgh. The Wolfpack have gone 4-2 since then with wins over Furman, Vanderbilt, Louisville and Duke. 

In the Duke game on Wednesday, the Wolfpack surged to a 44-22 lead in the first half. NC State kept the pressure up from there on a 40-38 run and won it 84-60. Terquavion Smith put up 24 points and three rebounds to lead the team. 

Over on the Virginia Tech side, they were sitting at 9-1 after 10 games with a lone loss to Charleston on November 20. The Hokies would win their next pair, then fall to Boston College, Wake Forest and Clemson. 

Matched up against Clemson on Wednesday, the Hokies were up 32-29 going into the second half. Virginia Tech was outscored 39-33 from there and lost 68-65. Grant Basile was the leading scorer on 17 points with seven boards. 

PICK: I’m going to try NC State in this one. The Wolfpack absolutely drilled a great Duke team on Wednesday; it was a nice bounce-back effort after a 78-64 loss to Clemson last Friday. NC State has scored 70 or more points in six of their last seven games, and if they can avoid the big-win hangover I think they’ll be in line for a cover here. As for Virginia Tech, they had a bad second half against Clemson in their last outing but should give NC State a good matchup. This one should be a fun game to watch, and I like NC State to get in there on a cover.