The No. 1 North Carolina Tar Heels (4-0) and the Portland Pilots (4-2) meet Thursday in the Phil Knight Invitational at Moda Center. Tip-off is scheduled for 1 p.m. ET (ESPN). Below, we analyze Tipico Sportsbook’s lines around the North Carolina vs. Portland odds, and make our expert college basketball picks, predictions and bets.
Rankings courtesy of the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll.
The Tar Heels have played 4 games at home to get ready for their first trip away from Chapel Hill. UNC had 3 wins and non-covers against UNC Wilmington, Charleston and Gardner-Webb before handling James Madison 80-64 for the 12.5-point cover. The Under is 3-1 through 4 games overall.
The Pilots are looking to rebound after an 80-68 at home against Seattle of the WAC. Portland started out 3-0 SU, but it has dropped 2 of the past 3 while the Under has cashed in each of its last 3 outings.
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North Carolina vs. Portland odds
Provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 6:45 a.m. ET.
- Moneyline (ML): North Carolina -1800 (bet $1,800 to win $100) | Portland +800 (bet $100 to win $800)
- Against the spread (ATS): North Carolina -14.5 (-115) | Portland +14.5 (-105)
- Over/Under (O/U): 152.5 (O: -105 | U: -115)
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North Carolina vs. Portland picks and predictions
Prediction
North Carolina 80, Portland 63
Moneyline
North Carolina (-1800) will cost you 18 times your potential return. That’s a bad wager normally, but it is especially bad when playing a team in its hometown, even though, technically, this is considered a neutral-site game.
PASS.
Against the spread
NORTH CAROLINA -14.5 (-115) is the No. 1 team in the nation, but it hasn’t really hit its stride yet in 4 games against tomato cans. Portland isn’t the toughest team in the nation either, but at least there is some adversity here with the cross-country travel, playing on a holiday and playing in the hometown of the opponent.
Portland might be without team steals leader G Michael Meadows, too, as he is questionable to play due to an undisclosed ailment. He has missed the past 2 games.
Over/Under
UNDER 152.5 (-110) is the lean, but go with a half-unit play at best.
Portland has been rather middle of the pack with a 45.3% field-goal percentage so far, and the defense is just so-so, too. While North Carolina is posting 80.8 PPG to rank 66th in the nation, it is doing so down low and at the stripe. UNC ranks just 318th from downtown during the early going, hitting 3-pointers at just a 28.8% clip.
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