The set-up: Louisville is 19-11 (9-8 ACC) and NC State is 20-10 (10-7 in ACC) when the two schools meet tonight in Raleigh. Both are coming off losses but Louisville will almost assuredly have the tougher time bouncing back. The Cardinals had possession and a one-point lead over No. 1 Virginia with 0.9 seconds remaining on Thursday but turned the ball over on an inbound play (Deng Adel moved his feet and was called for traveling while inbounding the ball on the baseline) and then watched as Virginia's De'Andre Hunter drained a 30-footer off the backboard for a 67-66 UVa victory. Interim head coach David Padgett called it the "toughest loss I've ever had." NC State is coming off a 78-75 loss at Georgia Tech, where the Wolfpack were perhaps guilty of looking past a Yellow Jackets team that didn't win a game in February.

Louisville: The Cardinals led the No. 1 Cavs by as many as 13 points but despite the loss, did wind up scoring more points (66) against Virginia's top-ranked defense than any other ACC team this season. Two missed free throws in the final minute and the late turnover led to the loss. Adel, who had that fateful turnover, did have a team-high 18 points plus added six rebounds and four assists. Ray Spalding had 16 points and nine rebounds, while Quentin Snider added 13 points. The 6-7 Adel (15.4 & 5.3) leads the team in scoring, the 6-10 Spalding (12.0 & 8.9) leads in rebounding and PG Snider(12.2 & 3.9 APG) leads in assists.

NC State: The Wolfpack led the Yellow Jackets by seven points at the half but Georgia Tech's Ben Lammers scored eight straight points late for Ga. Tech while Braxton Beverley (.9 & 4.1 APG) missed a pair of game-tying threes in the dying seconds as the Wolfpack saw their four-game win streak come to an end. Allerik Freeman (15.2 & 4.0) led NC State with 19 points on 7-of-16 shooting, 6-5 guard Torin Dorn (13.7 & 6.2) added 18 and 7-0 center Omer Yurtseven (13.7 & 6.9) had 17 points and nine rebounds. PG Markell Johnson (8.7 PPG), who leads the ACC and is third in the nation with 7.6 assists per game, had an uncharacteristically poor game with five turnovers in only 18 minutes.

The pick: Louisville has lost six of its last nine games as it travels to PNC Arena for its regular season finale. NC State's first-year head coach Kevin Keatts, after getting UNCW to the NCAAs the past two seasons, has "worked wonders' with the Wolfpack this season (NC St was coming off a 15-17 / 4-14 ACC mark) and his four-guard lineup will be a tough matchup for the bigger but slower Cards. Note that NC State is 15-3 at home this season with wins against Duke and Clemson (has outscored opponents, 87.6-to-72.1 PPG). Make NC State an 8* play.