The road to Dallas in the South region got off to a crazy start on Thursday. The Cinderella Oakland Golden Grizzlies upset the favored Kentucky Wildcats, led by Jack Gohlke's 10 three-pointers. The Wolfpack of NC State methodically took care of Texas Tech en route to a big upset of their own.
They'll square off Saturday with a trip to the Sweet 16 on the line. Let's take a look at the matchup from a betting perspective.
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2024 NCAA Tournament Odds & Picks
(Odds courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook)
#14 Oakland vs. #11 North Carolina State
Oakland used a hot shooting night to upset the Wildcats on Thursday. A 15/31 three-point split, including 10/20 from Gohlke, was just enough to squeak by a Kentucky team that saw star freshman Reed Sheppard have one of the worst games of his young career. The Golden Grizzlies are a very good three-point shooting team, but it would be irresponsible to expect them to repeat that shooting performance.
NC State bullied the Red Raiders of Texas Tech in their winning effort. Big men Mohamed Diarra, DJ Burns and Ben Middlebrooks off the bench, went off from the field. The three combined for 19/28 shooting and 54 points. Texas Tech had no answer for the size and strength down low, and Oakland will also struggle to find an answer.
Kentucky was a great matchup for Oakland. They were a team that gave up a bunch of threes and shot a bunch of threes. For Oakland's sake, Kentucky’s shots didn't fall until it was too late. NC State won't allow the Grizzlies to get the shots they want. They held a top-40 three-point shooting team in Texas Tech to 22.6% from beyond the arc. On the other end of the court, Oakland doesn't have the size to match up this Wolfpack frontcourt. Oakland can try and slow the game down to minimize possessions and improve their chances. Still, the bigger, stronger NC State will move on to Dallas and the South Regional Semifinal.
Bet: NC State -6 (-110)
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