Creighton vs NC State NCAA Tournament Round 1: How to watch, odds and predictions for March Madness

Both the No. 6 seed Creighton Bluejays and No. 11 seed NC State Wolfpack will be looking for redemption in the 2023 NCAA Tournament after being embarrassed to end their seasons at the hands of conference rivals.

Creighton was smacked around in the Big East Tournament semifinal and fell to Xavier by a score of 82-60. NC State pulled out the red carpet for Clemson, who steamrolled them 80-54 in the ACC quarterfinal. Creighton went 4-4 down the stretch and NC State went 4-5, so those results weren’t exactly shocking.

Nonetheless, these offenses are as comparable as you can get for a tournament matchup. The Wolfpack’s 78.2 points per game rank 35th in the country while Creighton’s 76.6 PPG isn’t too far behind at 58th. The biggest difference? Creighton held its own on defense (68.5 PPG allowed) in a high-scoring Big East conference while NC State surrendered 70.8 PPG in the weak ACC.

The Wolfpack should have a blueprint the crack the code, though. In Creighton’s four most recent losses over the last month, they gave up an average of 82 PPG. It was arguably the Bluejays’ most uncharacteristic defensive stretch of the entire season, which is concerning because they weren’t that bad during the gauntlet of Texas Tech, Arkansas, Arizona, Texas, Nebraska, BYU, Arizona State and Marquette gauntlet to start the year.

Can NC State take advantage and pull off the 11-6 upset?

How to watch Creighton vs NC State in the NCAA Tournament Round 1

Date: Friday, March 17
Time: 4:00 p.m. ET
Channel: TNT
Streaming: NCAA March Madness Live
Announcers: Lisa Byington, Steve Smith, Avery Johnson, Andy Katz

Creighton vs NC State NCAA Tournament Round 1 odds

According to FanDuel Sportsbook, Creighton is a -5.5 favorite (-110 odds) and -225 on the moneyline (bet $225 to win $100). On the flip side, NC State is +5.5 (-110 odds) and +184 on the moneyline (bet $100 to win $184). The over/under (both bets -110) checks in at 148.5. Seems like the books think this’ll be a high-scoring affair.

Creighton vs NC State NCAA Tournament Round 1 prediction

If the real Trequavion Smith doesn’t show up for NC State on Friday, then the Wolfpack will be in trouble. The guard averages 17.5 PPG but has struggled since early February and is scoring just 13.9 PPG over his last 10 contests. As for Creighton, Baylor Scheierman has to bring his balanced skillset (12.8 PPG, 8.4 RPG, 3.2 APG, 1.1 SPG) or else this back-and-forth might get a bit out of hand like things did against Xavier.

We’ll give the nod to the Bluejays, though, who had one of the toughest schedules in the NCAA this season. That might not matter in every matchup, but given how close these two are, it could very well be the deciding factor.

Creighton 81, NC State 77