A first-round matchup in the 2023 NCAA Tournament features the No. 11 seed NC State Wolfpack playing the No. 6 seed Creighton Bluejays in the South Region on Friday afternoon at 4 p.m. ET. Creighton is favored by 5.5 points at Caesars Sportsbook, while the over/under is set at 148.5 (see up-to-date odds for every game this week on our college basketball odds page). 

Before making any NC State vs. Creighton picks, you NEED to check out the college basketball predictions from the SportsLine Projection Model.

The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every Division I college basketball game 10,000 times. The model enters conference tournament week 76-51 on all-top rated college basketball picks this season, returning nearly $1,200 for $100 players. Anybody who has followed it has seen HUGE returns!

The model knows NC State sophomore guard Terquavion Smith is a long and lanky scoring weapon in the backcourt. Smith does a lot of damage in the lane and mid-range. The North Carolina native leads the team in points (17.5), assists (4.2), and steals (1.5). On Mar. 8 over Virginia Tech, he finished with 30 points, eight rebounds, and three assists.

The model also knows Creighton junior center Ryan Kalkbrenner has been an anchor in the paint. Kalkbrenner owns a soft touch around the rim with good mobility to block shots. The Missouri native puts up 15.4 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 2.2 blocks per game. In his last outing against Xavier, Kalkbrenner had 18 points, three rebounds, and shot a perfect 7-of-7 from the field. 

Now, the model has set its sights on NC State vs. Creighton. It is leaning Under on the point total and it also says one side of the spread hits almost 60% of the time! You ABSOLUTELY need to see it before locking in any college basketball picks.

So who wins NC State vs. Creighton? And which side of the spread hits almost 60% of the time? Join SportsLine now to find out, all from the model that has crushed its top-rated college basketball picks against the spread!