The Louisville Cardinals take on the NC State Wolfpack. Check out our ACC championship odds series for our Louisville NC State prediction and pick. Find how to watch Louisville NC State.

The Louisville Cardinals are at the end of the line. They are about to enter what could be their very last game with Kenny Payne as their head coach. It is a mere formality at this point that Payne will be fired and the school will search for a new head coach. Payne has been an absolute disaster as the head coach at a proud and tradition-rich program. He inherited a program which was a mess, and he somehow managed to make it noticeably worse. Louisville fans have been waiting a whole year to see Payne go. They have known for the past two months that Payne was finished. Louisville has, however, waited to fire him. It hasn't refused to fire him, but it has chosen to wait until the end of the season. Given that piece of contextual detail, Louisville fans would very likely want the Cardinals to lose this game instead of win it, so that the firing can occur and the Cardinals can immediately begin their head coaching search. This season has been exhausting and miserable for Louisville. A program and its fans are ready to move on and leave Payne behind.

The North Carolina State Wolfpack aren't nearly in the rock-bottom position Louisville inhabits, but the Wolfpack are not in a good spot, either. They won't make the NCAA Tournament, which is a significant and very disappointing failure in Raleigh from another program which — like Louisville — has won multiple national championships. NC State fans don't expect the Final Four, but they do expect regular NCAA Tournament appearances. Head coach Kevin Keatts has not been able to reach that modest standard, casting his tenure in Raleigh as a failure. North Carolina State needs to win the ACC Tournament to make the NCAA Tournament. The Wolfpack are favored to beat Louisville, but what is important for State in this game is to not expend too much energy and make sure its starters get plenty of rest before the next round on Wednesday. This game, a first-round game at the ACC Tournament, will be played in Washington, D.C.

Here are the Louisville-NC State ACC Championship odds, courtesy of FanDuel.

ACC Championship Odds: Louisville-NC State Odds

Louisville Cardinals: +8.5 (-102)

NC State Wolfpack: -8.5 (-120)

Over: 149.5 (-110)

Under: 149.5 (-110)

How To Watch Louisville vs NC State

Time: 4:30 pm ET / 1:30 pm PT

TV: ACC Network

Stream: fuboTV (click for a free trial)*

Why Louisville Could Cover the Spread

The Cardinals have not been a good team this season, but they have won a few ACC games and have made other ACC opponents sweat. This is a bad team, but as awful as Kenny Payne is as a coach, the Cardinals haven't truly quit on him. They're not good, but they haven't stopped competing. That's why, in the ACC Tournament, one shouldn't assume Louisville will just throw in the towel. Conference tournaments often measure and reflect which teams care and which teams don't. Louisville is more likely to care than not. That doesn't mean Louisville is a good team, only that if NC State has a 10-point lead with five minutes left, Louisville will play to the end and fight hard enough to cover an 8.5-point spread.

Why NC State Could Cover the Spread

North Carolina State is a mediocre team, but Louisville is a bad team. Louisville sits at the bottom of the ACC for a reason. Kenny Payne is an atrocious head coach. Kevin Keatts has underperformed at NC State, but compared to Payne, he's Dean Smith or Mike Krzyzewski. Louisville has competed reasonably well — not getting results, but not quitting on games — in recent weeks. However, with the end of the season and the end of Payne's tenure now one loss away, you could actually see Louisville bail on this game if North Carolina State gets a healthy lead early in the second half.

Final Louisville-NC State Prediction & Pick

The Louisville Cardinals are awful and are ready to go home. Take NC State.

Final Louisville-NC State Prediction & Pick: NC State -8.5