Cover Photo: Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images Wednesday night's First Four play-in game between the No. 16-seed North Carolina Central Eagles and No. 16-seed North Dakota State Bison tips off at 6:40 p.m. EST in Dayton. The winner of tonight's game gets a shot at the No. 1-overall-seed Duke Blue Devils at 7:10 p.m. Friday in Columbia, South Carolina. North Dakota State is a 5-point favorite over the Eagles, according to FanDuel Sportsbook. If you're looking to place a bet on this showdown, you might want to see what some experts around the industry are predicting first. North Dakota State vs North Carolina Central Predictions Picks and Parlays Picks and Parlays has North Dakota State handling NC Central and covering the spread, 79-70. They believe the Bison are simply the better team here and probably should have received a better draw than a play-in No. 16 seed. #MarchMadness Predictions for the #NCCentral vs #NorthDakotaState #NCAATournament Matchup: Picks And Parlays: NC Central 70 | 헡헗 헦혁헮혁헲 ퟳퟵ | https://t.co/XuBSBc4qYA Scores & Stats: NC Central 61 | 헡헗 헦혁헮혁헲 ퟲퟱ | https://t.co/5XJC0cXTqB — Daily Sports Predictions (@DSPredictions) March 20, 2019 Scores & Stats Scores & Stats also likes North Dakota State to win, but not to cover a 5-point spread in a 65-61 final. The Eagles are an experienced NCAA Tournament team, having made the Big Dance three straight years, while NDSU hasn't made it since 2015. They believe this experience will help keep it close, but not close enough to come out with a win. Sports Chat Place Sports Chat Place fully believes in the more experienced NC Central squad here, taking the Eagles to win and cover. North Dakota State is outscoring opponents by an average of just one point on the season, so it should be closer than a 5-point final margin. ESPN Basketball Power Index Matchup Predictor ESPN's BPI is backing North Dakota State, giving the Bison a 66.7 percent chance of winning. Overall, three of four expert predictions are backing the Bison to win straight up, but two of three spread picks going with NC Central to cover. Join FanDuel Sportsbook Today. New users get a risk-free bet up to $500. Join Now. Ian McCafferty is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Ian McCafferty also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username itmccaff. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.<doc-sep>NC Central vs. North Dakota St. Prediction Which 16 seed will grab a cover in tonight’s First Four when North Dakota State faces North Carolina Central in the NCAA Tournament tonight at 6:40PM ET? Game Snapshot & Odds 715 North Carolina Central vs. 716 North Dakota State Wednesday, March 20, 2019 6:40PM ET – University of Dayton Arena TV: TRUTV Compare odds and from multiple different online sportsbooks and shop for the best lines at our new College Basketball Odds & Betting Page. Public Betting Trends According to oddsmakers at BetNow.eu, North Dakota State is the favorite in this game, as the Bison are getting odds of -5 points against NC Central. The over/under total is listed at 132.5 points. The public betting currently has 66 percent going on North Dakota State as the favorite. This information is subject to change, however, so be sure to check out our College Basketball Public Betting Page for updated figures on the game. NC Central wins MEAC North Carolina Central is coming off three wins in the MEAC Tournament to claim the automatic bid into the tournament. The Eagles have won six of their last seven while going 7-1-2 against the spread in their last 10. NC Central is 18-15 overall, 4-1 on a neutral floor, 17-11-2 against the spread and 17-13 with the under. The Eagles are a strong defensive team, giving up just 66.3 points per game while opponents shoot 43.4 percent against them. Offensively, NC Central is putting up 71.4 points per game while shooting 45.6 percent as a team. Raasean Davis is leading the team with 14.6 points and 8.9 rebounds per game while Jibri Blount is adding 10.5 points and 4.5 rebounds per contest. Bison take Summit North Dakota State was able to win the Summit League Tournament in order to gain the automatic bid. The Bison have won their last four, but are just 3-3 against the spread in their last six. ND State is 18-15 on the season, 4-3 on a neutral floor, 14-15-2 against the spread and 19-11 with the over. The Bison are averaging 73.2 points per game this season while shooting 45.6 percent as a team. Defensively, North Dakota State is giving up 72.2 points per game while allowing opponents to shoot 46.1 percent against them. Vinnie Shahid is averaging 12.8 points per game to lead the team while Tyson Ward is adding 12.3 points and 6.3 rebounds per contest. College Basketball Betting Trends North Carolina Central The Eagles are 18-7-1 against the spread in their last 26 games on a neutral floor and 8-3-1 ATS in their last 12 games against a winning team. North Dakota State North Dakota State is 6-1-1 against the spread following a win, but just 10-26-1 against the spread in their last 37 non-conference games. Prediction: Both teams are just 18-15 overall, so they have experienced their fair share of losing. The key here will be caliber of opponents and I think the Summit League provides more of a consistent challenge than the MEAC. North Dakota State ranks over 100 spots better than NC Central in the Kenpom rankings as well. I think the Bison will just have too much for the Eagles tonight. College Basketball Prediction: North Dakota State -5<doc-sep>North Dakota State went into halftime with a 40-34 lead and quickly extended it to double digits with the help of a 6-0 run. Trailing 49-36 with 16:06 left, the Eagles used the first media timeout to collect themselves and began chipping away at the gap. A pair of Larry McKnight Jr. 3-pointers eventually gave NCCU its first advantage since midway through the first half, putting the Eagles up 61-59 with 7:18 left. The Bison didn’t regain a lead until Tyson Ward made a free throw to break the tie at 70 with 1:41 remaining. NCCU never got it back. Tyson Ward led the Bison with 23 points, including eight in the final four minutes. Vinnie Shahid added 14 points and Sam Griesel and Jared Samuelson each chipped in 10. North Dakota State overcame a 38-29 rebounding disadvantage to claim the program’s second NCAA Tournament victory in 11 years as a Division I program. The Bison are 2-3 in four appearances. “It’s really cool,” Richman said. “You think about it in so many ways. This is the 11th year of Division I eligibility. We’re still in so many ways in our infancy. And to have the success, to now have two wins in the NCAA Tournament, it’s a credit to a great bunch of guys, a terrific leadership, administration. “When we made the jump, it wasn’t about just switching a Roman numeral. It was about to continue to compete for championships. And we were able to do that. And our leadership now understands that. They continue to build facilities and resources and those things. And there’s expectations at North Dakota State, but it’s a great place. When you have those expectations and people support you, you can do these things in March.” Raasean Davis and McKnight Jr. each tallied 20 points for NCCU, and Randy Miller Jr. added 18 points, but NCCU got no points from the bench. The Eagles are now 0-4 in NCAA Tournament appearances, including losses to Texas Southern and UC Davis the last two years at the First Four. “Obviously, it didn’t end the way we wanted it to,” Moton said. “Extremely proud of our guys. Thought we got into some adverse situations. And we showed our toughness. We fought and we fought and we fought some more. Unfortunately, with two minutes left, we just didn’t make the plays that were required to win a basketball game of this magnitude.” “But hats off to North Dakota State. They made significant plays at significant times. And we just came up short.”<doc-sep>March Madness. Its a crazy time for fans, schools, companies, analysts, and student-athletes. What makes it so special is that any team can win. Just last year UMBC proved that even the 16th seed has a chance. However, often overlooked are the “First Four” games played just before the round of 64, finishing off the seeding and locking in the bracket. Last night, two 16 seeds battled it out for the chance to play Duke in the first round, and just like any game in the tournament, only one team came out with their dream still alive. On Wednesday night NC Central played in their third consecutive First Four game, However, the third time was not the charm. They fell to North Dakota State in a close game with a final score of 78-74. NC Central appeared to be in control of the game in the final minutes, with Larry McKnight Jr. hitting a big three to put the Eagles up 66-61 with 5 minutes left to play. The game was not over, however, and NDSU hit 6 straight free throws and a huge three-point bucket to lock the game up at 68. From there the Bison never looked back, going on a 17-8 run the rest of the way. “I thought we had the game, to be honest,” McKnight said. “Everything felt good, I thought we had them. We were right where we needed to be.” Although McKnight hit some big shots for NC Central, scoring 15 of his 20 points in the second half, it was Tyson Ward who electrified NDSU. Moton’s Thoughts Head coach LeVelle Moton was emotional during the post-game interview, explaining how his heart went out to the seniors on the team and how tough it is to be on the brink of history and lose. “Just the fact it’s their last game … our locker room is like a funeral home right now.” “These kids – they become your children… They’re part of our family.” NC Central’s @LeVelleMoton gets emotional when talking about his seniors after a tough loss in the #FirstFour. #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/rPYPbXWyv9 — NCAA March Madness (@marchmadness) March 21, 2019 Ward had 23 points in the win, scoring seven in a row down the stretch to help the Bison push the lead to 5 with a minute left. TYSON WARD MEAN MUG HE WANTS DUKE pic.twitter.com/YAYrfIsWLM — Basketball Society (@BBallSociety_) March 21, 2019 Other Notable Scorers NC Central Raasean Davis- 20 points https://twitter.com/si_ncaabb/status/1108521336127791104 Randy Miller Jr- 18 points THR33!! Deep trey at the lights from Randy Miller Jr. cuts the lead to three for #NCCUMBB, 56-53!#3aglePride #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/gQcuCFwebO — NCCU Athletics (@NCCUAthletics) March 21, 2019 North Dakota State Vinnie Shahid-14 points NC Central leads 12-11 with 15:28 left in the 1st half. Vinnie Shahid has 5 early points, and Tyson Ward drilled a 3 before the break. — NDSU Basketball (@NDSUmbb) March 20, 2019 Jared Samuelson- 10 points 7 Bison have scored in the first 12:32. Jared Samuelson just hit his 3rd three. NDSU 28 NCCU 20 pic.twitter.com/tcJ8ZXCKNU — NDSU Basketball (@NDSUmbb) March 20, 2019 Sam Griesel- 10 points Sammy Hoops for 3!!! We're tied up at 68 with 3:40 to go. pic.twitter.com/M8RlOay329 — NDSU Basketball (@NDSUmbb) March 21, 2019 North Dakota State will look to upset no. 1 Duke in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday in Columbia, SC at 7:10 pm<doc-sep>
Associated Press DAYTON, Ohio — North Dakota State is one of the best free-throw shooting teams in the country, and that’s what it came down to at the end of the Bison’s First Four win over North Carolina Central. Vinnie Shahid sank three foul shots in the last 8 seconds to secure the 78-74 win on Wednesday night for North Dakota State, which now moves on to play East Region No. 1 seed Duke on Friday in Columbia, South Carolina. “I thought that was key to make free throws, something that we’ve pretty much done all year,” coach David Richman said. “Again, when it’s this time of year, it’s going to come down to possession here, possession there and those free throws. Every one of them is crucial.” North Dakota State (19-15) won its second NCAA tournament game since moving up to Division I 11 years ago. The team from Fargo upset Oklahoma in the opening round in 2014. Tyson Ward scored 23 points for North Dakota State, posting his third 20-point effort in the last six games for the Summit League tournament champions. Shahid had 14 points, and Sam Griesel and Jared Samuelson each added 10 points for the Bison. Eight different North Dakota State players put up points against a tough N.C. Central defense. “Early in the season we played a lot of teams that pressured like that, a lot of teams they had some athletes like that,” Shahid said. “And earlier in the year, when teams made a run, they were athletic and pressured like that, we kind of crumbled. As you can see, we’ve grown up a little bit.” N.C. Central (18-16) squandered an outstanding night by senior center Raasean Davis, who scored 20 points and pulled down 16 rebounds – the 16th double-double of his career. Larry McKnight Jr. also had 20 points and Randy Miller Jr. scored 18 for the Eagles, who lost a First Four game for the third consecutive year. Bracket:Follow the NCAA tournament action More:3 reasons Duke won't win national title, spoiling March Madness brackets everywhere COMING FROM DOWNTOWN The Bison held a 40-34 lead at the half on the strength of seven 3-pointers in 14 attempts and 58-percent shooting overall. Five North Dakota State players had hit long shots before the intermission, with Samuelson going 3 for 4. North Dakota went 2 for 6 on 3-point attempts in the second half. BIG PICTURE N.C. Central: The Eagles mounted a comeback but couldn’t keep a second-half lead for long. A lack of depth was part of the problem: N.C. Central got zero points from its bench, while North Dakota State’s reserves scored 17. “Thought we got into some adverse situations, and we showed our toughness,” N.C. Central coach LeVelle Moton said. “We fought and we fought and we fought some more. Unfortunately, with two minutes left, we just didn’t make the plays that were required to win a basketball game of this magnitude.” North Dakota State: The Bison used outside shooting to bolt out to a lead in the first half and then adapted down the stretch. BRING ON DUKE North Dakota State will be a huge underdog against Duke. “We’re ready for the challenge, ready to go compete,” Samuelson said. “We’re going to enjoy this one for a little bit. But we’re ready to go get ‘em.” Said Ward: “You always want to play the best. So chalk it up, and we’ll see what happens.” UP NEXT North Dakota State, a No. 16 seed, moves into the main NCAA bracket, where Zion Williamson and the Blue Devils await.