Posted at 8:30 AM EST. Odds subject to change.

Pinnacle -5 -107 BET365 -5 -110 Sportsinteraction -5 -110  888Sport -5 -110 

Texas Tech -5 over N.C. State

PPG Paints Arena – Pittsburgh, PA

Men's Basketball Championship - South Region - 1st Round

Streaming: CBS

9:40 PM EST. Everyone loves a feel-good story and the market is always keen to invest. Enter from stage right --- the N.C. State Wolfpack who’s run to the big dance was nothing short of a spectacle that bettors a plenty are gobbling up. Let’s dive deeper. NC State’s run has been described by a wide range of publications as “magical”; “historic”, and “miraculous”. The Wolfpack won five games in five days to secure their bid to March Madness and incredibly won the ACC hardware for the first time since 1987 while doing so. Among the vanquished were much of the Atlantic Coast vanguard which consisted of Louisville, Syracuse, Duke, Virginia, and North Carolina. N.C. State took down the Mount Rushmore of the conference and their story has quickly positioned them to be the tournament’s Cinderella. It is narratives such as this which render one to bet with one’s heart and we have said time and time again ---- that is not the place to be. The asking price in this market would suggest that this is where the glass slipper shatters, despite the fact it may appear opposite.

In their run to March Madness, the Wolfpack were a 1.5-point underdog against Syracuse, an 11-point pup against Duke, a 2.5-point underdog against UVA, and a 10.5-point pooch in the ACC Championship Game against the Tar Heels. In all four of these occasions the Wolves not only covered but won outright. As value seekers first, it is obvious where the value is in this one. NC State has been hammered since it opened as a 5½-point dog. 

A team that crushes the number and wins outright in succession as the Wolfpack have are only prone to be taking back a shorter tag in a scenario such as this one and not the opposite. Thus, the proverbial warning of betting a team a week too late, or in this case, five games too late is in play. The Red Raiders, who are a mainstay in this shindig, will be primed to not be State’s latest victim and we trust we are getting them at a fraction of a price thanks to the sensational storyline surrounding their counterparts and the inefficient market buying in.

Sherwood

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