Clemson vs. NC State odds, line: 2019 ACC Tournament picks, predictions from expert on 42-27 run

The 2019 ACC Tournament continues Wednesday with two teams set to do battle that are firmly on the bubble to make the NCAA Tournament as No. 9 seed Clemson takes on eighth-seeded NC State at noon ET. The Tigers are 1.5-point favorites over the Wolfpack, while the over-under for total points is 142 in the latest Clemson vs. NC State odds. The Tigers are one of the last four teams in, while NC State is on the outside looking in, according to Jerry Palm’s latest bracketology projections on CBSSports.com, so both sides are in need of a win Wednesday to enhance their résumés. Before you make your Clemson vs. North Carolina State picks, be sure to check out the ACC Tournament predictions from SportsLine senior analyst Josh Nagel. 

A Nevada-based expert and winner of multiple handicapping contests with more than 20 years of experience in the sports wagering industry, Nagel specializes in picking college athletics. He is entering Wednesday with a sparkling 42-27 record in against-the-spread college basketball picks for SportsLine members. Anyone who has followed him is way up.

Nagel knows that NC State will be looking to recapture the magic of its late-January win over Clemson. The Wolfpack hit big shots down the stretch, including a Braxton Beverly 3-pointer as time expired to win 69-67. The Wolfpack have been a streaky shooting team all season, hitting 36.1 percent of their 3-point attempts for the season. They’re 9-1 in games where they hit at least 10 shots from beyond the arc.

But just because the Wolfpack can shoot doesn’t mean they’ll cover the Clemson vs. NC State spread in the 2019 ACC Tournament on Wednesday. 

The Tigers have won four of their past five games, and the only loss during that span was a two-point defeat against North Carolina. And the reason why they’re playing so well right now is unquestionably their defense.

Clemson hasn’t allowed its last five opponents to shoot better than 41.3 percent from the field, and combined their opponents are shooting just 37.3 percent in their past five games. The Tigers also had the second-best scoring defense in ACC play.

We can tell you Nagel is leaning toward the over, but his much stronger play is on the spread. He has identified a critical x-factor that causes one side of the spread to hit hard. He’s only sharing what it is, and who to back, at SportsLine.

Who wins NC State vs. Clemson? And what critical x-factor makes one side of the spread a must-back? Visit SportsLine now to find out which side of the North Carolina State vs. Clemson spread you need to jump all over Wednesday, all from a senior analyst who has hit 60 percent of his recent college basketball spread picks.