During the ACC Tournament NC State went from blowing out Virginia Tech to quickly exiting in a blowout loss the following night to Clemson. The Wolfpack can lean on that experience to come out more composed for a full 40 minutes against Creighton. The Bluejays have experience, but were just 4-5 in neutral court games this season. Grab the points here with the underdog Wolfpack.

All the advanced metrics say Creighton is the better team, especially defensively, One aspect that should come into play is free-throw shooting. NC State led the ACC in free-throw rate allowed and the Bluejays shoot 77 percent from the foul line. Creighton features five players who average double figures in scoring, four of whom have NCAA Tournament experience. That balance will be pivotal in overcoming NC State stars Terquavion Smith and Jarkel Joiner. Lay the points.