In perhaps the most exciting matchup of the Sweet 16, the North Carolina Tar Heels (30-6) will go head to head with the Indiana Hoosiers (27-7) on Friday night at 9:57 p.m. in a battle for a spot in the Elite Eight. Check out our betting odds and prediction for the highly anticipated matchup.
The Hoosiers enter tonight as the underdog for the second game in a row, but just the sixth time all season. They'll be getting five points agains the Tar Heels, who are 17-18-1 against the spread this season, including 17-16-1 as a favorite.
Indiana is 19-15 ATS and 4-2 as an underdog in its matchups against Duke (+10), Notre Dame (+1.5), Michigan (+2), Michigan State (+7.5), Iowa (+4) and Kentucky (+3.5). The Hoosiers won four of those games outright but lost and failed to cover against Duke in the beginning of the year and Michigan State back in mid-February.
As for the Tar Heels, they're 3-1 as the favorite when the spread is under five points but just 13-15 when the spread is above five. As you can see above, Indiana has covered every underdog spread that was under five points.
Both teams are 7-3 ATS in their last 10 games.
While it seems as if the Hoosiers are a good bet to cover based on those numbers, the over/under presents a tricky scenario. The 158.5 figure is high but can easily be busted if these two teams play offense as they usually do. Then again, the under has covered in nine out of North Carolina's 12 games in which the o/u was 155 or more. The under has also hit in six of Indiana's 10 games in which the o/u was 155 or more.
For UNC, the under has covered six times in their past 10 games, and Indiana has split the o/u in their past 10.
Both teams average exactly 82.3 points per game. North Carolina has averaged 79.6 over its past 10 and allowed just 66.8 while Indiana has averaged 77.0 and allowed 70.9, neither of which are far from its season-long totals.
Get ready for a battle tonight as two of the best teams in the NCAA Tournament will fight for a spot in the Elite Eight.
Suggested Bets: Indiana +3 for first half; Indiana +5 for game; under @ 158.5
Prediction: North Carolina 75, Indiana 72
