Texas vs. NC State odds, prediction: 2026 NCAA Tournament picks from expert

Teams trending in the wrong direction meet when the Texas Longhorns face the North Carolina State Wolfpack on Tuesday night in a First Four matchup in the West regional of the NCAA Tournament. The winner moves on as a No. 11 seed to face sixth-seeded BYU on Thursday. Ole Miss defeated Texas 76-66 in the first round of the SEC Tournament last Wednesday, while NC State was beaten by Virginia 81-74 in Thursday's quarterfinals of the ACC Tournament. The Longhorns (18-14), who have lost five of six, placed sixth in the Southeastern Conference regular-season standings at 9-9. The Wolfpack (20-13), who have also dropped five of six, finished in a tie for seventh in the ACC with Florida State at 10-8.

The game from UD Arena in Dayton, Ohio, tips off at 9:15 p.m. ET. Texas defeated NC State 102-97 on Nov. 26 and leads the all-time series 4-2. Texas is a 1.5-point favorite in the latest Texas vs. NC State odds, while the over/under for total points scored is 158.5. 

Before making any Texas vs. NC State picks, check out what SportsLine college basketball expert Bob Konarski has to say.

Konarski specializes in college basketball, displaying in-depth knowledge of hundreds of Division I teams. He is a regular presence in the SportsLine Discord, co-hosts a weekly Twitter Spaces with fellow CBB expert Tom Casale and can be seen on the "Early Edge" breaking down his college hoops plays. He enters the NCAA Tournament on a 65-44 run on college basketball picks, returning $1,615 for $100 players. Anyone following could have seen huge returns.

Now Konarski has broken down Texas vs. NC State from every angle and locked in his picks. He's leaning Over on the total, and he's also found a critical X-factor that has him jumping on one side the spread! 

So who covers in Texas vs. NC State, and what critical X-factor do you need to know about? Join SportsLine right now to see which side of the spread you need to jump on, all from the expert on a sizzling 65-44 run on CBB pick!