North Carolina Central vs. North Dakota State Bracket Prediction: March Madness First Four Odds
The two-lowest rated teams in the 2019 NCAA Tournament face off in the First Four opener Wednesday night from Dayton as No. 16 North Carolina Central faces No. 16 North Dakota State.
North Carolina Central vs. North Dakota State NCAA Tournament Point Spread and Betting
The NCAA selection committee clearly identified North Carolina Central and North Dakota State as the two worst teams in the field of 68 this year because Wednesday’s winner of this East Region game has the unenviable task of taking on tournament favourite and No. 1 overall seed Duke on Friday.
There are 353 schools in Division I basketball this season. North Carolina Central is ranked No. 302 in those new NET ratings, while North Dakota State is No. 222. But they are both conference champions so that rating means nothing.
North Carolina Central finished third in the MEAC regular-season standings but upset No. 1 seed Norfolk State 50-47 in the conference tournament title game. A Norfolk State three-pointer at the buzzer skipped off the rim. NCCU has clinched three consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances for the first time in school history, and is the first team to win three consecutive league tournament titles since North Carolina A&T won seven straight from 1982-88.
North Dakota State finished tied for third in the Summit League regular-season standings but knocked off No. 2 Omaha 73-63 in the conference tournament final. NDSU has earned a third NCAA berth in the past six years and has now four Summit League Tournament crowns in 11 seasons in the league.
These schools have met just once, back in 2007.
North Carolina Central Eagles
The Eagles have yet to win an NCAA Tournament game. Last year, they also played in the First Four and were beaten 64-46 by Texas Southern. This year, the school was 5-9 out of conference, including losses by 20 at Clemson and 22 at Cincinnati. Senior centre Raasean Davis is the player to watch as he was named first-team All-MEAC and averages team highs in scoring (14.6 ppg) and rebounding (8.9 rpg). He’s shooting a stellar 64.5 per cent from the field, which is 22nd nationally. He had one game this season shooting 12-for-12 from the field.
North Dakota State Bison
The Bison do have one NCAA Tournament win in their history, beating Oklahoma in the 2014 first round. They last reached in 2015, losing by 10 to second-seeded Gonzaga. NDSU (which is an FCS powerhouse in football) did play the Zags this season when Gonzaga was ranked No. 1 and got steamrolled 102-60. The Bison also had lost both regular-season games to Omaha before the conference tournament upset. Their player to watch is junior guard Vinnie Shahid. The JuCo transfer was named the Summit League’s Newcomer of the Year and leads the team in scoring (12.8 ppg) and assists (2.7 apg). North Dakota State is one of just nine Division I schools without a senior on the entire roster.
