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March Madness is starting to dwindle with Elite 8 action between the NC State Wolfpack and the Duke Blue Devils. NC State is coming off a big upset victory against the No. 2-seeded Marquette Golden Eagles meanwhile, Duke is also coming off an upset of their own taking out the No. 1-seeded Houston Cougars as they both head to the Elite 8.

These two are going to battle it out for a spot in the Elite 8 in this Sunday showdown in Dallas at the American Airlines Center. We take a look at this marquee matchup to make a NC State-Duke prediction and pick.

NC State (25-14) has won 8 out of their last 10 games winning as an outright underdog in six of those 10 games. They are coming off a game where they were 7.5-point underdogs to Marquette who they beat with relative ease. The Wolfpack got out to a 13-point lead at halftime and never let up, locking down the Golden Eagles only allowing them to score 58 points on just 33% from the floor and 13% from 3-point range. It was DJ Horne who led the team in scoring with his 19 points but he had some help from Casey Morsell (15 pts), and Mohamed Diarra (11 pts, 15 rebounds) to advance to the Elite 8. Now, NC State looks to advance to the Final 4 for the first time since 1983.

Duke (27-8) is playing their best basketball right now as they are coming off of a upset victory over the Houston Cougars who came in as the No. 1 seed in the South bracket. They may have not have had the best offensive performance but it certainly was a gritty one on both sides of the ball for the Blue Devils. They hankered down on defense just allowing this Cougars team to score 51 points on 41% from the floor and 25% from 3-point range. Kyle Filipowski was the leading man for the Blue Devils scoring 16 points to go along with 9 rebounds. Duke will need to replicate the same success they had against the Cougars in their Elite 8 matchup with the Wolfpack to advance to the Final 4 for the first time since 2022.

MARCH MADNESS: NC STATE WOLFPACK VS. DUKE BLUE DEVILS FANDUEL ODDS FOR MAR. 29

MONEY LINE

• NC STATE WOLFPACK: +245
• DUKE BLUE DEVILS: -310

SPREAD

• NC STATE WOLFPACK: +7.5 (-115)
• DUKE BLUE DEVILS: -7.5 (-105)

OVER/UNDER (TOTAL)

• OVER 142.5 (-115)
• UNDER 142.5 (-105)

BEST MARCH MADNESS ODDS FOR NC STATE WOLFPACK VS. DUKE BLUE DEVILS

• The Duke Blue Devils are -7.5-point favorites against the NC State Wolfpack. Hard Rock Bet currently has the best odds at -6.5 (-120)
• The NC State Wolfpack are the underdogs by 7.5 points to cover the spread. FanDuel currently has the best odds at (-115)
• FanDuel currently has the best odds for the total, which is set at 142.5 (-115) for the over, and (-105) for the under

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NC STATE WOLFPACK VS. DUKE BLUE DEVILS INJURY REPORT

NC STATE WOLFPACK INJURY REPORT

• LJ THOMAS - OUT FOR SEASON - PERSONAL
• DENNIS PARKER JR. - OUT FOR SEASON - ILLNESS
• MJ RICE - OUT FOR SEASON - REDSHIRT

DUKE BLUE DEVILS INJURY REPORT INJURY REPORT

• CALEB FOSTER - OUT FOR SEASON - FOOT
• CHRISTIAN REEVES - OUT FOR SEASON - ANKLE
• JADEN SCHUTT - OUT FOR SEASON - REDSHIRT

WHY NC STATE WOLFPACK WILL COVER THE SPREAD

NC State is lone double digit seed left in the tournament after exceeding all expectations coming into this year's March Madness. They have now won their last 8 games while winning 6 of those games as an underdog. Their win against Marquette was their most eye-opening performance the way that they handled the Golden Eagles offense just shutting them down.

The Wolfpack stifled the Golden Eagles perimeter shooting as they just shot 4-31 from beyond the arc where they have been hitting 35.6% from 3-point range for the season they only shot 13% in their upset defeat. In this matchup against the Duke Blue Devils this should be a much harder task at hand.

This Duke team has done very well defensively all tournament long and the Wolfpack will need their most scoring output from their top players like DJ Horne, D.J Burns Jr., and Casey Morsell if they want to advance to the Final 4. If this Wolfpack squad to muster up the same tenacity on defense which will lead to points on the other end they can continue their Cinderella story.

WHY DUKE BLUE DEVILS WILL COVER THE SPREAD

The Duke Blue Devils have turned a new leaf as they came into this year's tournament. The Blue Devils weren't in their best form but quickly turned it around come March Madness time. They were able to win and cover in convincing fashion all while taking out one of the favorites Houston Cougars were destined to make a deep run in the tournament.

Now, Duke gets to take on the NC State Wolfpack who are far exceeding expectations in every game. While they aren't a physically imposing team as say the Cougars were but they are still a tough team that Duke can't take lightly. The Blue Devils will need their star center Kyle Filipowski to have himself a game much like he did in their win against Houston where he led the team with 16 points to go along with 9 rebounds.

While he did get help from Jeremy Roach who scored 14 points, they will need more effort from the rest of the starting cast to get the job done here as they were the only two to score in double figures in their win against Houston. It's up to the Blue Devils to play a high tempo offense to put this Wolfpack defense on their heels early to get this win and advance to the Final 4.

FINAL NC STATE-DUKE PICK & PREDICTION

This game should be a good one from start to finish. Seeing as how the Duke Blue Devils have been playing good cohesive basketball on both ends, their momentum could take them a long way in this matchup with the NC State Wolfpack.

However, the Wolfpack have done a great job at covering the spread especially as the underdog. They have no covered the spread in 6 out of their last 7 games and they covered the spread as underdog in all 6 games with one of those games coming against the aforementioned Duke Blue Devils. While I fully expect Duke to move on to the Final 4, I also expect this game to be a lot closer than the line suggests. Play it safe and take the Wolfpack with the points to cover the spread yet again in this Elite 8 matchup.

FINAL NC STATE-DUKE PICK & PREDICTION: NC STATE WOLFPACK +7.5 (-115)

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