The No. 20 North Carolina Tar Heels (3-0) and No. 7 Purdue Boilermakers (3-0) meet Saturday at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. Tip-off is scheduled for 4 p.m. ET. Below, we look at the Villanova vs. Tennessee odds and lines, and make our expert college basketball picks, predictions and bets.
The Tar Heels have won all three of their games to date but haven’t really faced anybody of note so far. UNC topped Loyola-Maryland by 16, Brown by seven and won at Charleston by 11. They failed to cover in all three outings.
The Boilermakers haven’t really faced high-caliber competition, either, but they have won all three of its games by 25 or more points against Bellarmine, Indiana State and Wright State.
Rankings courtesy of the Ferris Mowers Coaches Poll powered by USA TODAY Sports.
North Carolina vs. Purdue odds, spread and lines
Odds provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Odds for a full list. Lines last updated at 7:10 a.m. ET.
- Money line: North Carolina +205 (bet $100 to win $205) | Purdue -260 (bet $260 to win $100)
- Against the spread (ATS): North Carolina -5.5 (-107) | Purdue +5.5 (-115)
- Over/Under (O/U): 153.5 (O: -107 | U: -115)
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North Carolina vs. Purdue odds, lines, picks and predictions
Prediction
Purdue 85, North Carolina 77
Money line
There isn’t a lot of value in PURDUE (-260) at nearly three times the odds. PASS and look to the spread instead.
Against the spread
PURDUE +5.5 (-115) is a strong play catching the points, and you don’t have to risk nearly three times your wager. North Carolina -5.5 (-107) hasn’t covered through three games yet, and they’re not going to do so in this tournament game, either.
Over/Under
OVER 153.5 (-107) looks like a rather high number, but between two top-tier offenses, they should be able to inch this one over the line.
Purdue is averaging 94.7 PPG, seventh in the nation, and they won’t be able to sustain that level of production against a top-tier team. However, they’ll still be able to put up a healthy number. And Purdue’s defense is still a work in progress, so expect UNC to be able to score plenty as well.
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