The No. 8 seed North Carolina Tar Heels (18-10) are a 1-point favorite in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament against the No. 9 seed Wisconsin Badgers (17-12) on Friday at Mackey Arena. The matchup begins at 7:10 PM ET on CBS. Here are insights into this South Region 8-9 matchup to help you fill out your bracket.
On Friday, the Tar Heels faced Florida State and fell short by a score of 69-66. The Tar Heels failed to cover the spread as 2.5-point underdogs and the teams combined to hit the under on the 151 point total.
Last time out, D’Mitrik Trice scored 19 points as the Badgers fell short in a 62-57 loss to Iowa on Friday. The teams combined to score 119 points to hit the under on the 143.5 point total by bookmakers, while the Badgers were 5.5-point underdogs and covered the spread.
Rankings courtesy of Ferris Mowers Coaches Poll powered by USA TODAY Sports.
Wisconsin at North Carolina: Betting odds, spread and lines
Odds via BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list.
Lines last updated at 10:25 PM ET on March 17, 2021.
- Money line: Wisconsin -105 (bet $105 to win $100) | North Carolina -115 (bet $115 to win $100)
- Against the spread/ATS: Wisconsin +1 (-110) | North Carolina -1 (-110)
- Over/Under: 138.5 (O: -110 | U: -110)
North Carolina: Three things to know
- Armando Bacot leads the Tar Heels in scoring (12.3 points per game) and rebounding (8.0 rebounds per game). Kerwin Walton paces the squad with a team-high 2.0 made three-pointers per game.
- The Tar Heels score 75.7 points per game, 11.4 more points than the 64.3 the Badgers allow.
- North Carolina has an 18-8 record overall and a 13-0-1 record against the spread when scoring more than 64.3 points.
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Wisconsin: Three things to know
- Trice leads the Badgers in points and assists. He contributes 13.7 points per game while adding 4.0 assists. Trice averages 2.0 made threes per game to lead the team.
- The Badgers’ 69.6 points per game are only 0.2 more points than the 69.4 the Tar Heels allow to opponents.
- Wisconsin has put together an 11-2 overall record and an 8-0 ATS record in games where it scores more than 69.4 points.
Wisconsin at North Carolina: Odds, betting lines, predictions and picks
Prediction
North Carolina 70, Wisconsin 69
Money line
The model and BetMGM are in agreement that the North Carolina Tar Heels are the money line favorite in this matchup.
Against the spread (ATS)
The MGM line for this matchup is within 0.1 points of the model. Stay away from this one.
Over/Under (O/U)
MGM and the model are extremely close in their point total projections for this contest, within 1.0 point of each other.
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