The Longwood Lancers aim to continue a storybook season on Friday. Longwood is the No. 1 seed in the 2022 Big South Tournament, and the Lancers will face the No. 9 seed North Carolina A&T Aggies in the quarterfinals. Longwood is 23-6 overall and 15-1 in conference play, though the lone loss came to North Carolina A&T. The Aggies advanced with a win over Radford in the first round, and North Carolina A&T is 12-19 overall this season.
The Lancers are listed as 6.5-point favorites for this noon ET tipoff. The total number of points Vegas thinks will be scored, or the over-under, is 137 in the latest Longwood vs. North Carolina A&T odds from Caesars Sportsbook. Before making any North Carolina A&T vs. Longwood picks, you need to see the college basketball predictions and betting advice from SportsLine's advanced computer simulation model.
The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every Division I college basketball game 10,000 times. Over the past five-plus years, the proprietary computer model has generated an impressive profit of over $1,700 for $100 players on its top-rated college basketball picks against the spread. Anyone who has followed it has seen huge returns.
Now, the model has set its sights on NC A&T vs. Longwood, and just locked in its picks and CBB predictions. You can head to SportsLine now to see the model's picks. Now, here are several college basketball odds and betting lines for Longwood vs. NC A&T:
- North Carolina A&T vs. Longwood spread: Longwood -6.5
- North Carolina A&T vs. Longwood over-under: 137 points
- North Carolina A&T vs. Longwood money line: Longwood -280, NC A&T +230
- NCAT: The Aggies are 5-3 against the spread in the last eight games
- LNG: The Lancers are 7-5 against the spread in the last 12 games
Why North Carolina A&T can cover
North Carolina A&T has a win over Longwood under its belt and plenty of statistical strengths. The Aggies lead the Big South in offensive rebounding this season, pulling down 31.7 percent of missed shots. North Carolina A&T is also above the Big South average in turnover rate at 18.0 percent, and the Aggies should benefit from a Longwood defense that is near the bottom of the conference in 2-point shooting allowed (53.9 percent) and block rate.
The Aggies also force a turnover on 19.3 percent of defensive trips, well above the Big South average, and that includes an impressive 10.0 percent steal rate. Longwood is making only 48.1 percent of 2-point shots, No. 9 in the Big South, and 10.6 percent of Longwood's shots have been blocked during conference play.
Why Longwood can cover
The Lancers lead the Big South Conference in offensive efficiency and 3-point shooting, illustrating a powerful overall attack. From there, Longwood's defense is also strong and it ranks above the Big South average in points allowed per possession. The Lancers lead the conference in free-throw prevention this season, and Longwood is also No. 1 in steal rate at 11.4 percent.
Longwood is No. 3 in the Big South in turnover creation rate at 19.6 percent, and the Lancers are also in the top three in defensive rebounding, grabbing almost 76 percent of missed shots by opponents. North Carolina A&T is No. 11 in the conference in shooting efficiency, including a 66.7 percent mark on free throws and a 46.8 percent clip on 2-point attempts. The Aggies are also No. 9 in free-throw creation rate and No. 11 in assist rate among Big South teams.
How to make North Carolina A&T vs. Longwood picks
SportsLine's model is leaning over on the total, with 11 players projected to score at least seven points. The model also says one side of the spread hits in over 50 percent of simulations. You can only see the model's Longwood vs. North Carolina A&T pick at SportsLine.
So who wins North Carolina A&T vs. Longwood? And which side of the spread hits in over 50 percent of simulations? Visit SportsLine now to find out which side of the North Carolina A&T vs. Longwood spread you need to jump on Friday, all from the model that has crushed its college basketball picks, and find out.
