The No. 9 seed Marquette Golden Eagles (19-12) and No. 8 seed North Carolina Tar Heels (24-9) meet Thursday for a East Region first-round game of the NCAA Tournament. Tip-off from Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas, is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. ET. Below, we look at the Marquette vs. North Carolina odds and lines, and make our expert college basketball picks, predictions and bets.
The Golden Eagles suffered an early exit in the Big East Tournament with a 74-63 loss to Creighton in the team’s first game. While Marquette had some good spurts this season, it is just 4-6 straight up (SU) across the past 10 games and 1-7 against the spread (ATS) in its last eight outings.
The Tar Heels were bounced 72-59 in the ACC Tournament semifinals Friday by eventual champ Virginia Tech. That loss snapped a six-game win streak for UNC, its longest of the season. The Heels are 4-1 ATS across their last five games overall.
See also: Ferris Mowers Coaches Poll powered by USA TODAY Sports
Marquette vs. North Carolina odds, spread and lines
Odds provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 7:27 a.m. ET.
- Money line: Marquette +145 (bet $100 to win $145) | North Carolina -180 (bet $180 to win $100)
- Against the spread (ATS): Marquette +3.5 (-110) | North Carolina -3.5 (-110)
- Over/Under (O/U): 152.5 (O: -107 | U: -115)
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Marquette vs. North Carolina odds, lines, picks and predictions
Prediction
North Carolina 79, Marquette 71
Money line
NORTH CAROLINA (-180) isn’t too terribly overpriced if you just want to play the winner and forget about laying the points. UNC is playing its best basketball of the season, including spoiling Duke’s Coach K’s home finale last week. Marquette isn’t doing as well lately and can’t be trusted.
Against the spread
NORTH CAROLINA -3.5 (-110) is worth playing to win this one by two buckets or more. The Tar Heels have covered four of their last five games overall. While UNC failed to cover last time out, it hasn’t had back-to-back non-covers since Jan. 18 and Jan. 22.
Roll with the Heels as they look to take on the defending national champ Baylor Bears in the Round of 32.
Over/Under
The UNDER 152.5 (-115) is the lean here.
The Under did cash in each of the two ACC Tournament games for the Tar Heels and is 4-3 in their last seven overall. This line is a tad high, although there is some concern as the Golden Eagles struggle defensively with 70.8 PPG allowed (226th nationally).
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