NC State faces Vermont in opening round of NCAA Tournament

Audio By Carbonatix

Vermont Catamounts (21-12, 16-3 America East) at NC State Wolfpack (26-6, 18-3 ACC)

Raleigh, North Carolina; Saturday, 2 p.m. EDT

BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Wolfpack -20.5; over/under is 124.5

BOTTOM LINE: No. 9 NC State and Vermont square off in the NCAA Tournament first round.

The Wolfpack's record in ACC play is 18-3, and their record is 8-3 against non-conference opponents. NC State is third in the ACC scoring 76.8 points while shooting 45.0% from the field.

The Catamounts are 16-3 against America East opponents. Vermont ranks fifth in the America East with 21.4 defensive rebounds per game led by Anna Olson averaging 4.3.

NC State averages 6.8 made 3-pointers per game, 2.3 more made shots than the 4.5 per game Vermont gives up. Vermont has shot at a 46.5% rate from the field this season, 7.9 percentage points above the 38.6% shooting opponents of NC State have averaged.

TOP PERFORMERS: Aziaha James is shooting 32.9% from beyond the arc with 2.1 made 3-pointers per game for the Wolfpack, while averaging 17.9 points. Zoe Brooks is shooting 46.2% and averaging 16.2 points over the past 10 games.

Olson is averaging 12.8 points and 5.2 rebounds for the Catamounts. Nikola Priede is averaging 13.8 points over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Wolfpack: 8-2, averaging 77.3 points, 37.3 rebounds, 14.3 assists, 5.1 steals and 4.3 blocks per game while shooting 44.1% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 68.2 points per game.

Catamounts: 9-1, averaging 63.7 points, 27.9 rebounds, 11.9 assists, 6.9 steals and 4.1 blocks per game while shooting 51.4% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 46.7 points.

___

The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.