Tag: North Carolina

Ohio State at North Carolina odds, picks and best bets

Previewing Wednesday’s Ohio State Buckeyes at North Carolina Tar Heels college basketball matchup, with NCAA basketball betting odds, picks and best bets

The Ohio State Buckeyes (7-0) will tussle with the North Carolina Tar Heels (6-1) at the Dean E. Smith Center at 9:30 p.m. ET Wednesday in a battle between top 10 squads in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge. We analyze the Ohio State-North Carolina odds and betting lines, while providing college basketball betting tips and advice on this matchup.

The Buckeyes are ranked sixth in the USA TODAY Sports men’s basketball coaches poll. The Tar Heels are No. 7.

Ohio State at North Carolina: Three things you need to know

1. Ohio State F Kaleb Wesson has been a one-man wrecking crew for the Buckeyes, leading the team in points (12.7), rebounds (9.3) and blocked shots (1.7).

2. The Buckeyes football team is known for its stingy defense, but the basketball team is making headlines in the category, too. The hoopsters are No. 2 overall in scoring defense (52.7 points), while also checking in second in field-goal percentage defense (32.7 percent).

3. North Carolina has won 12 of 14 all-time meetings in this series, including an 86-72 win in the Dean Dome back in 2017.

Get some action on this game or others by placing a bet at BetMGM!

Ohio State at North Carolina: Odds, betting lines and picks

Odds via BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated at 11:30 a.m. ET.

Prediction

North Carolina 76, Ohio State 69

Moneyline (ML)

NORTH CAROLINA (-189) will cost you more than against the spread, but it could be a tight game and the extra insurance might be worth it. Ohio State (+155) is battle-tested, having scored impressive wins over Cincinnati and Villanova, but a win in Chapel Hill is a pretty tall order.

Against the Spread (ATS)

NORTH CAROLINA (-3.5, -110) won’t blow the doors off Ohio State (+3.5, -110) as the Buckeyes won’t be intimidated by the environment. But UNC will be the most complete team OSU faces to date. Freshman F Armando Bacot is a handful, posting double-doubles in four of his first five games, and he’ll give Ohio State fits.

New to sports betting? A $10 bet on UNC to win by at least four points returns a profit of $9.09.

Over/Under (O/U)

OVER 135.5 (-161) is the play, as this one should sneak into the lower 140’s with a series of late fouls and free throws, helping to inch the game over the line. The Over is 4-1 in the past five meetings in this series, too.

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WATCH: Former Longhorn Mack Brown celebrates after gaining bowl eligibly

UNC defeated arch-rival NC St. gaining bowl eligibility in Mack Brown’s first season. He celebrated with the team in the locker room.

When Texas fired Mack Brown in 2013, he was just four years removed from winning the Big 12 and making a national championship appearance. In those four years, he never got back to double-digit wins, with his best record being 9-4. After being fired, Brown took some time to work in the media, working with ESPN as a studio analyst.

Five years after being let go from Texas, Brown was hired by the school where he started his Power 5 head coaching career, North Carolina. He inherited a mess, with the program losing nine games two years in a row. Brown had three 10 win seasons while at UNC, but they had only had one since he left in 1998.

The Tarheels defeated in-state arch-rival North Carolina State 41-10 on Saturday, gaining bowl eligibility in Brown’s first season as the head coach. He rightfully celebrated with the team in the locker room after the game.

With North Carolina being bowl eligible, people have started to wonder if they could match up with Texas in the Camping World Bowl. Even Camping World’s CEO Marcus Lemonis said it would be a good game.

If the Tar Heels and Longhorns were to meet in the Camping World Bowl, not only would there be a reunion with Mack Brown, but it would be the first time the schools have met since 2002. Brown has turned the UNC football program around and has a chance to become a consistently good team in the ACC.

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N.C. high school forced to forfeit football wins, miss playoff because of ineligible player

A North Carolina high school football program was awakened from dreamland Wednesday when it was informed that the best season in school history is now finishing before the start of the playoffs. 

A North Carolina high school football program was awakened from dreamland Wednesday when it was informed that the best season in school history is now finishing before the start of the playoffs.

Holly Springs (N.C.) High School finished the 2019 regular season with a 10-1 record, 5-1 in the competitive South Wake Athletic Conference. Now two of those contests have been ruled forfeits because of the use of an ineligible player, per North Carolina prep sports site HighSchoolOT.com.

The NCHSAA decided that Holly Springs will have to forfeit two games in which the ineligible player played, pay a $250 fine, and relinquish its spot in the 4AA state playoffs.

Slated as the No. 3 seed in the 4AA state playoffs, Holly Springs was to rest this weekend on one of the playoffs’ first round byes. Instead, the team will sit home and watch opposing teams compete, particularly No. 6 seed Garner and No. 11 seed, who are suddenly playing not only to win a tournament game, but also to earn a bye straight through to the third round, with the second round now passed over with Holly Springs’ withdrawal.

Here’s more specifics on Holly Spring’s heartbreaking forfeits, as outlined by HighSchoolOT.com:

Holly Springs will forfeit its Week 11 and Week 12 wins against Apex and Hillside. The forfeits will drop Holly Springs’ record to 8-3 overall and 4-2 in conference play, meaning the Golden Hawks will finish second in the SWAC, bumping Garner up to the first place spot.

More importantly, Holly Springs is missing out, thanks to one player and two weeks that now stand as the pair that kept Holly Springs from from playoffs and the potential for ultimate high school glory.