March Madness Sweet 16 betting preview: NC State Wolfpack vs. Louisville Cardinals

The No. 8 North Carolina State Wolfpack are 13-4-2 ATS in their last 19 games as the betting underdog and 3-1 SU in their last four games as an underdog. NC State will be looking for another upset this Friday against the No. 4 Louisville Cardinals at the Carrier Dome.

NC State is a 3-point underdog on Thursday, according to sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com. As a 10.5-point road underdog against Louisville back on Feb. 14, the Wolfpack won outright, 74-65.

No. 1 Villanova entered its game against NC State last week as one of the nation’s hottest teams, riding a 16-0 SU and 14-2 ATS hot streak, including a 41-point victory over Lafayette in the Round of 64. But as a 10-point underdog, North Carolina State proved it could play with any team in the nation, upsetting the Wildcats, 71-68, behind a balanced attack led by Trevor Lacey.

A much smaller underdog this week, the Wolfpack will look for another outright upset and a trip to the Elite Eight.

For the fourth straight year, the No. 4 Louisville Cardinals have advanced to the Sweet 16. Louisville entered its game against No. 5 Northern Iowa as a 2.5-point underdog, but played one of the team’s best games of the season to run away with a 66-53 win. The Cardinals are 6-1 SU and 5-2 ATS in their last seven trips to the Sweet 16, with the one loss since 1997 coming against eventual champion Kentucky last year.

Friday’s total is set at 130 points on the March Madness odds at the sportsbooks. The total has gone UNDER in each of Louisville’s last seven games as a favorite of three points or less.

In four meetings between No. 4 seeds and No. 8 seeds since 2000, No. 8 seeds are a perfect 4-0 SU and ATS. This one has the makings of a great game: In addition to being one of the most evenly matched games of the Sweet 16, it is also the only game of the round to feature two teams from the same conference.