NC State Wolfpack (11-4) vs. Louisville Cardinals (6-9)
January 13, 2024 12:00 pm EDT
The Line: Louisville Cardinals +6 ; Over/Under: 149
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The North Carolina State Wolfpack and the Louisville Cardinals meet Saturday in college basketball action from KFC Yum! Center. NC State is coming off a Wednesday matchup versus North Carolina. In that one the Wolfpack dropped to 11-4 overall with a 13-point loss. As for Louisville, they played Miami in their last game. The Cardinals halted their three-game losing streak and improved to 6-9 with a victory there. Let’s get into our NC State vs. Louisville prediction. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Sports Chat Place.
NC State Wolfpack
North Carolina State came out of the gate this year with a 4-2 record featuring losses to only BYU and Ole Miss. The Wolfpack managed to win six of the next seven games over Boston College, MD-Eastern Shore, TN-Martin, Saint Louis, Detroit, Notre Dame and Virginia (with a loss to Tennessee).
In Wednesday’s game versus North Carolina, the Wolfpack kept the pace pretty well in the first half with a 30-28 deficit going into the locker room. NC State was outscored 37-26 from there however, and ended up losing 67-54. Topping the team in scoring was Casey Morsell with 12 points and six boards. DJ Horne led the rebounding effort with 10 alongside six points and four assists.
Louisville Cardinals
Over on the Louisville side, they hit a 4-3 run to kick off the year with losses to Chattanooga, Texas and Indiana. A 1-6 slide came after that with losses to Virginia Tech, DePaul, Arkansas State, Kentucky, Virginia and Pittsburgh surrounding a win over Pepperdine otherwise.
Back on Wednesday versus Miami, the Cardinals went into the second half with a 41-37 deficit. Louisville surged on a 43-30 run from there however, taking the win 80-71. Leading the way was Mike James and his 26 points with four rebounds.
ANDREW’S FREE NC STATE VS LOUISVILLE PREDICTION
I might take a stab on Louisville here. The Cardinals are coming off a nice effort versus Miami in their last game—despite a bit of a sketchy first half. Louisville shot a solid 49.1 percent from the field in that one with 36 rebounds and 17 team assists along the way. The Cardinals haven’t done great in the win/loss columns lately (against some tough competition, granted), but they’ve hit 70 or more points in four of the last five outings.
As for NC State, they’ve been a bit erratic scoring-wise lately but overall the results have been pretty good—up until the Tar Heels game, anyway. The Wolfpack should bounce back and play well here, but I think Louisville can keep a cover pace if all goes to plan.
