NC State vs Kansas Prediction College Basketball Picks 12/14/24

The NC State Wolfpack and the Kansas Jayhawks meet Saturday in college basketball action from Allen Fieldhouse. Here’s an NC State vs Kansas prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best NC State vs Kansas pick. We will examine:

The NC State Wolfpack’s recent form and player performance

The Kansas Jayhawks’ recent form and player performance

Recent betting trends and streaks involving the NC State Wolfpack

Recent betting trends and streaks involving the Kansas Jayhawks

Recent betting trends in games played between NC State and Kansas

A summary that ties it all together and produces a favorable betting outcome for the NC State vs Kansas game

NC State Wolfpack Betting Preview

The Wolfpack’s season got off to a nice start with five straight wins. NC State would hit the skids with losses to Purdue, BYU, and Texas in the next three, however, prior to taking out Florida State and Coppin State.

On Tuesday versus Coppin State, the Wolfpack took a 35-28 edge into the locker room. NC State scored another 31 points from there in a 66-56 win. Leading team scorer Marcus Hill finished with 16 points and five boards.

Kansas Jayhawks Betting Preview

Over on the Kansas side, they got past Howard, North Carolina, Michigan State, Oakland, UNC Wilmington, Duke, and Furman in their first seven. The last pair have both been losses to Creighton and Missouri, however.

On Sunday in the Missouri game, the Jayhawks were looking at a 39-25 deficit by the break. Kansas got better in the second half but still lost 76-67. Leading scorer Hunter Dickinson bagged 19 points with 14 rebounds for a double-double.

Why the Kansas Jayhawks will win

• Kansas has won each of its last 19 games against non-conference opponents at Allen Fieldhouse.
• NC State has lost nine of its last 10 day games against Top 10 AP-ranked opponents.
• NC State has lost the first half in four of its last five day games against non-conference opponents.

Why the NC State Wolfpack will win

• NC State has won 16 of its last 20 games.

NC State vs Kansas Prediction

I’m going to stay with Kansas. The Jayhawks really need a good showing at home here following a pair of rough road losses. Kansas was struggling from the very beginning in their last matchup with Missouri, eventually shooting just 39.7 percent from the field with a whopping 22 turnovers (for 23 Tigers points). The Jayhawks have scored just 130 combined points in their last pair after hitting 75 or more in each of their first seven games.

As for NC State, they shot just 36.7 percent in their latest effort versus a winless Coppin State team. The Wolfpack have been below 67 points in four of their last five games (a 2-3 run), so I don’t see them keeping a cover pace with Kansas here.