North Carolina Tar Heels vs Kentucky Wildcats

Betting Odds

Point Spread: Kentucky(-1.5)
Game Total Line: (147.5)
(wagering lines available at 5Dimes)

The No.2 seed North Carolina Tar Heels and the No.4 seed Kentucky Wildcats have survived the East Region gauntlet to earn the opportunity to battle each other for a trip to the Final Four in this year’s NCAA Men’s Tournament. Sunday’s tip-off from the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ. is set for 5:05 p.m. (ET) and the game will be broadcast nationally on CBS.

North Carolina left little doubt it would be in this game with an impressive 81-63 dismantling of No.11 seed Marquette this past Thursday night as a four-point favorite. The Tar Heels jumped out to a 40-15 lead at the half and held off any comeback attempt by the Golden Eagles to cruise into the Elite Eight.

Scoring has not been an issue for this team in its three tournament games with an average of 89.7 points a game. Tyler Zeller led the way against Marquette with a game-high 27 points and Harrison Barnes added 20 more in the winning effort. These two combined for 45 points in last Sunday’s 86-83 victory over No.7 seed Washington as a four-point favorite.

The Tar Heels shot just 41.9 percent from the field and 31.2 percent from three-point range against the Golden Eagles, but they pulled down 44 rebounds after managing to snag just 33 against the Huskies. North Carolina finished the regular season as the No.1 rebounding school in the nation with an average of 42.5 a game.

Kentucky’s starting lineup, which features three freshmen, grew up in a hurry with a shocking 62-60 win over No.1 seed Ohio State as a 5 ½-point underdog in Friday night’s Sweet 16 matchup. This followed a 71-63 victory over No.5 seed West Virginia in the third round as a 3 ½-point favorite.

Brandon Knight’s 15-foot jumper with less than five seconds to play proved to be the difference against the Buckeyes, but it was Josh Harrellson, who added some veteran leadership to the youthful Wildcats with a team-high 17 points and DeAndre Liggins, who scored 15 points off the bench, that led the way in the upset.

Kentucky shot 45.8 percent from the field and went 12-for-14 from the foul-line against the Buckeyes. This is coming off a 48 percent shooting effort against the Mountaineers. The Wildcats have averaged 64 points a game in this tournament after averaging 76.4 points during the regular season.

North Carolina is just 1-4-1 against the spread in its last six games and the total has gone ‘over’ in three of its last five games. Kentucky is 4-1 ATS in its last five games and the total has stayed ‘under’ in three of its last four games.

Head-to-head, the Tar Heels have won six of the last seven games straight-up, including a 75-73 win this season as a one-point home favorite. The total line was a ‘push’ at 148.

Against the Spread Game Pick

This time around stick with the Wildcats as their overall depth and talent is peaking at just the right time, landing them in next Saturday’s Final Four.
Take the Wildcats -1.5 at 5Dimes and get reduced juice every day!!