Notre Dame Fighting Irish vs. North Carolina Tar Heels Betting Odds - Point Spread Pick

Notre Dame Fighting Irish vs. North Carolina Tar Heels Betting Odds - Point Spread Pick

Cliff Knox
Date: March 27, 8:49 pm
Location: Wells Fargo Center
TV: TBS

Betting Odds

Point Spread: North Carolina -9.5
Total: 153.5

<p>East Region 4th round game with No. 6 seed Notre Dame vs. No. 1 seed North Carolina.
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<p>It's the Notre Dame Fighting Irish vs. No. 3 North Carolina Tar Heels in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on 3/27/2016. The tipoff is scheduled for 8:49 PM at the Wells Fargo Center. This match hit the board with the Tar Heels a -9 betting favorite and has risen to -9.5 at some sports betting shops. The total line on this game was initially offered at 156, but UNDER bettors have driven the O/U line down to 153.5
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<p>Notre Dame came back from three down inside 30 seconds to win 61-56 over Wisconsin in their last game getting the point spread cover as a small 1.5-point favorite. The victory was their third straight and fifth in their last six games. The spread win was fourth in their last six contests. The 117 points put up on the board by the two clubs fell well short of the 132 closing line in the game.
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<p>North Carolina crushed Indiana 101-86 for their ninth straight victory and their sixth point spread cover in their last seven matches to even their seasonal ATS mark at 18-18-1. The total line of 157.5 on this game was crossed with over six minutes remaining for only the Tar Heels third OVER in their last eight games.
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<p>These two ACC teams met twice this season with Notre Dame winning and covering at home and North Carolina winning and covering in the conference tournament. The total for both games went UNDER with the highest output being 1`56 points and the lowest 125. Notre Dame has been a solid bet recently in this series going 4-1 versus the betting line, but they got embarrassed in their latest with an embarrassing 31-point loss. In the last six games between these two clubs the total has gone UNDER five times.
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<p>Notre Dame ranks 118th in the nation averaging 75.6 PPG and 20th giving up an average of 64.7 PPG. In their win over Wisconsin in their last NCAA Tournament game the Fighting Irish shot a nearly identical FG% as the Badgers, but they forced 17 turnovers and they made 13 of their 14 free throws while Wisconsin only made it to the charity stripe six times.
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<p>North Carolina ranks 12th in the nation in scoring (82.4 PPG) and tied for 27th in opponents' points allowed (66.5 PPG). The Tar Heels have won eight straight games. In their win over Indiana in their last NCAA Tournament game UNC outscored the Hoosiers by 11-points in the first half and for the game they were solid on both ends of the floor with a FG% of 51.6% and holding Indiana to a FG% of 41%.
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<div class="heading">Sagarin Ranking</div>
<p>Notre Dame: 85.04<br><br />
North Carolina: 93.06
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<div class="heading">Betting Trends to Consider</div>
<ul>
<li>ND is 4-1 ATS in their last 5 NCAA Tournament games.</li>
<li>ND is 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games following a ATS win.</li>
<li>ND has an Under record of 8-3 in their last 11 games.</li>
<li>UNC is 6-1 ATS in their last 7 games overall.</li>
<li>UNC is 6-1 ATS in their last 7 games vs. a team with a winning straight up record.</li>
<li>UNC has an Under record of 14-6 in their last 20 games.</li>
</ul>
<p>On the season Notre Dame has an O/U record of 16-17 and North Carolina has an O/U record of 19-18. </p>
<p>This season in games held at a neutral site Notre Dame is 5-4 and North Carolina is 10-0. </p>

Notre Dame Fighting Irish vs. North Carolina Tar Heels Prediction

North Carolina is a perfect 10-0 in neutral site games and comes into this match playing the best basketball they have all season. They absolutely destroyed clubs in this tournament with their lowest margin of victory being 16 points. They had the advantage of playing the Fighting Irish on their home court in the last meeting and will play this on a neutral court, but it wasn't even close with the Tar Heels holding a 19-point lead at the break before coasting to a 31-point margin. Don't let the 86 points allowed to Indiana fool you. UNC's defense has really stepped it up over their last five which included the last meeting between these two clubs allowing just 64.6 points on 38.4 shooting. No reason to think that North Carolina doesn't come close to a repeat of their last game. ND gets closer this time around, but doesn't get within the line.

Free Pick: Take North Carolina -9.5 and UNDER 153.5
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