The No. 8 seed North Carolina Tar Heels (25-9) and No. 1 seed Baylor Bears (27-6) meet Saturday for a East Region second-round game of the NCAA Tournament. Tip-off from Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas, is scheduled for 12:10 p.m. ET. Below, we look at the North Carolina vs. Baylor odds and lines, and make our expert college basketball picks, predictions and bets.
The Tar Heels opened with a convincing 95-63 victory against Marquette. UNC hit 46% from the floor while connecting on 14 of its 17 free-throw attempts and turned it over just 10 times.
The Bears thrashed Norfolk State, as expected, cashing as 20.5-point favorites in an 85-49 victory as the Under came in. Baylor is still 3-4-1 ATS across the past eight games overall despite the cover in their opener.
See also: Ferris Mowers Coaches Poll powered by USA TODAY Sports
North Carolina vs. Baylor 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 7:42 a.m. ET.
- Money line: North Carolina +200 (bet $100 to win $200) | Baylor -250 (bet $250 to win $100)
- Against the spread (ATS): North Carolina +5.5 (-112) | Baylor -5.5 (-108)
- Over/Under (O/U): 147.5 (O: -115 | U: -107)
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North Carolina vs. Baylor odds, lines, picks and predictions
Prediction
Baylor 77, North Carolina 73
Money line
Baylor (-250) will get a much better test from North Carolina than it received from Norfolk State. While the defending champs are expected to win, you cannot risk two and a half times your potential return in a close game.
AVOID.
Against the spread
NORTH CAROLINA +5.5 (-112) looked like world-beaters against Marquette in the opening game. The defending champs could be headed home if it plays like that again Saturday. The Tar Heels are 5-1 ATS in the past six games overall. Look for a much closer game for both of these sides than they faced in Round 1.
Over/Under
The OVER 147.5 (-115) is the lean here but only play it lightly.
The Over is 4-1 in the past five games as an underdog for UNC, while going 15-6-1 in the past 22 games overall. The Over has cashed in five of the past nine games for Baylor, too.
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