The North Carolina State Wolfpack will face the LSU Tigers in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday night, in a battle of two teams that finished in the middle of the pack in their respective conferences. The Wolfpack had won three straight before getting bounced by Duke in the ACC Tournament, while the Tigers were ousted by a pretty average Auburn team in the SEC Tourney.

Here are my keys to the game:

1. Previous History - The Wolfpack played well against tough opposition during the regular season, with marquee wins over the likes of Duke, North Carolina and Louisville. They also played close games against Virginia and Notre Dame. The Tigers were inconsistent, and come in losing two of their last three with those losses coming to Auburn at Nashville, and at home to Tennessee.

2. Jordan Mickey - Tigers second leading scorer Jordan Mickey did not play in the win over Arkansas in the regular season finale, and he's scored a combined 10 points in his last two games. He's recently been diagnosed with an Iron deficiency, and may not be at 100 percent tonight.

3. X-Factor - The Wolfpack come in playing quite well, winners of six of their last eight overall, and they've covered the spread in seven of their last nine.

Selection: This is a play on the N.C. State Wolfpack (10*)