Free Pick | NCAA | Thursday | March 21

Nelly’s is 9-2 in the Round of 64 of the NCAA Tournament the past two seasons and 25-9 the past six tournaments. We are already 1-0 in the NCAA Tournament this season with a First Four win last night!

Check out EARLY, AFTERNOON, and PRIME TIME picks on today’s NCAA schedule from Nelly’s!

#734 Texas Tech -4.5 over NC State 8:40 PM CT

Any objective analysis would include Grant McCasland as one of the best college basketball coaches in the country. He led instant dramatic turnarounds as both Arkansas State and North Texas, winning a NCAA Tournament game at North Texas in 2021 as a #13 seed. Last year’s North Texas team won 31 games but missed the Big Dance, only to go on to win the NIT. Now at Texas Tech, McCasland is back in the NCAA Tournament after inheriting a 16-16 team and battling through the toughest conference in the nation with an 11-7 league record. That record includes five wins vs. Big XII NCAA Tournament teams. Texas Tech has elite offensive numbers while there is some concern with injuries, the Red Raiders battled through numerous rosters this season. NC State’s ACC Tournament run was unexpected as the Wolfpack closed the regular season losing seven of the final nine games. Narrow overtime wins over Duke and Virginia occurred while the championship win over North Carolina was a far bigger game for NC State. NC State heads to Pittsburgh after that grueling 5-game winning streak and could have a tough time competing on offense. NC State ranked eighth in the ACC on offense and was 13th in effective field goal rate. NC State doesn’t take many 3-point shots but connects at just a 47 percent clip from inside the arc. Texas Tech didn’t have a great defense by Big XII standards but still outranks NC State in most areas and the Red Raiders won’t be prone to turnovers. Texas Tech was the Big XII’s best free throw shooting team if they need points at the line to pull away late in the game.