Presbyterian Blue Hose vs NC State Wolfpack Prediction, Odds, Best Bets - Week 2

NC State is 2-0 and at home in Raleigh, but Presbyterian has a do-everything guard in Triston Wilson and scored 77.5 points a game through two losses. The Wolfpack should win, and the Blue Hose have enough offense to keep the final margin south of a very large spread.

The Matchup

Presbyterian visits NC State on Tuesday evening at the Lenovo Center in Raleigh, on ACCNX, with NC State a 19.5-point favorite, a total of 148.5, and the Wolfpack priced at -4,000 on the moneyline against Presbyterian at +1,600. The ACC home team is supposed to win this one going away, and the interesting question is what the Blue Hose bring with them.

NC State is 2-0, scoring 80.0 points a game and allowing 63.5. Preston Edmead leads the Wolfpack at 15.0 points and 6.5 assists a game, and Ven-Allen Lubin leads them at 7.5 rebounds a game, so the Wolfpack offense runs through a guard who both scores and sets the table, with a finisher on the glass behind him. Presbyterian is 0-2 but has scored 77.5 points a game while allowing 89.0, and Triston Wilson does nearly everything for the Blue Hose, leading them at 18.5 points, 5.5 assists, and 6.0 rebounds a game. A road underdog with one player leading it in all three categories is never without a punch, even when the rest of the roster is overmatched.

Presbyterian's two losses came with real offense attached, and last season says the Blue Hose are not a pushover by nature. They went 15-18 last season, scored 72.4 points a game, and allowed 72.2, a near-even team that played competitive basketball most nights. NC State went 20-14, scored 83.2, and allowed 76.3, clearly the stronger program, but a Wolfpack team that allowed 76.3 a game last season is not a defensive wall, and its two games this season came against opposition it was expected to handle at home.

Key Factors

Wilson is the whole ballgame for Presbyterian, in both directions. When he scores and creates, the Blue Hose reach the high seventies and a favorite has to keep scoring to cover. When NC State's length bothers him and his shots turn into long rebounds, Presbyterian has no second creator, and the Wolfpack runouts that follow are how a close game becomes a blowout in six minutes.

NC State's defense at home is the favorite's case. Allowing 63.5 points a game through two games, with Lubin protecting the glass, the Wolfpack can afford one cold shooting stretch because Presbyterian still has to score against set defense. Edmead's 6.5 assists a game also matter late: a point guard who finds shooters keeps a lead growing instead of stalling out against a zone.

The honest counterpoint is Presbyterian's defense, which has allowed 89.0 points a game and could simply be overwhelmed. NC State scored 83.2 a game last season with more talent than this, the Lenovo Center crowd feeds runs, and a Big South roster on its third game of the season can run out of legs. If the Wolfpack shoot well early and Wilson sits with foul trouble, the Blue Hose have nothing left to keep this inside any number.

Every pick is published with its line before the game. Odds via consensus sportsbooks at time of writing and move constantly. Must be 21+. If gambling is a problem, call or text 1-800-GAMBLER.