NCAA Tournament Odds: Kentucky, North Carolina betting preview
Kentucky is favored by a point on Sunday against North Carolina.
They've combined for 12 NCAA titles, been to the Final Four 31 times and have upped their Elite Eight appearances now to 57. Yeah, I'd say that makes for a matchup of storied programs on Sunday when the North Carolina Tar Heels meet the Kentucky Wildcats in the East Regional Final.
Newark's Prudential Center is where the region will be decided with CBS beginning its broadcast a little past 2:00 p.m. (PT), about 30 minutes after the Kansas, Virginia Commonwealth contest in San Antonio. The Don Best screen shows Kentucky a one-point favorite with Sunday's total sitting at 145½.
John Calipari's Wildcats (28-8 straight up, 16-14-1 against the spread) crushed a lot of brackets Friday night when they took out the top-ranked and top-seeded Ohio State Buckeyes, 62-60. Brandon Knight's short jumper with five ticks left lifted Kentucky over the Buckeyes who were favored by 5½.
Reminiscent of Kentucky's opener against Princeton when Knight's only two points came at the end to beat the Tigers, the freshman did not enjoy a great game from the field before hitting the game-winner. Knight had made just two of his previous nine attempts, hitting just 1-of-6 from long range.
Knight's winning shot got the glory, but the tale of the tape versus Ohio State was Kentucky won a game of 6-on-5. Thad Matta used five players for all but eight minutes of court time while Calipari was able to rotate six of his players in and out for at least 25 minutes each. DeAndre Liggins made the most of his time off the bench with 15 points, six rebounds and three blocks in 34 minutes. Senior Josh Harrellson paced the Wildcats with 17 points and 10 boards, five on the offensive end.
Kentucky's defense frustrated Ohio State into missing 39 of its 59 field goals, well below the Buckeyes' 49.4 percent success rate on the season which ranks third in the country.
Friday's win was Kentucky's ninth straight, a streak that includes victories over Florida (twice), Vanderbilt, Tennessee, West Virginia and now Ohio State. The Wildcats have cashed six times with one 'push' in the span, with the same 6-2-1 mark to the 'under.'
Prior to Kentucky and Ohio State hitting the floor, North Carolina was busy beating up on Marquette, 81-63. The game was close for the first nine minutes before Roy Williams' squad, a four-point favorite, literally ran away from the Golden Eagles.
Marquette held a 10-8 lead with 11:30 to go in the opening half before North Carolina (29-7 SU, 16-16-1 ATS) went on a 19-0 run. The Golden Eagles managed to make just six of their 30 first-half field goal attempts, and only 2-of-16 three-pointers all night.
Tyler Zeller led the Tar Heels with 27 points while snaring 12 rebounds. John Henson also had 12 boards to go with 14 points. Harrison Barnes just missed his double-double with 20 points and nine rebounds.
The stat that made Williams the happiest, however, was UNC committing only seven turnovers on the evening while forcing Marquette into 18 miscues.
Not only are the two programs historical on their own, there's also a lot of history between Kentucky and North Carolina that dates to 1924 when the Tar Heels and Wildcats competed together in the old Southern Conference. North Carolina has won 23 of the 34 previous matchups, including a 75-73 decision in Chapel Hill on Dec. 4 this season.
Kentucky closed as the one-point road favorite in that game. The Wildcats were ranked 10th in the AP poll at the time while the Tar Heels had yet to crack into either set of rankings. Zeller was the game's top scorer with 27 points, hitting 11-of-12 from the charity stripe. Doron Lamb came off the pine to lead Kentucky with 24 points.
The last time the two schools met at the NCAA Tournament was 1995, coincidentally an Elite Eight contest. Then-UNC coach Dean Smith and his 4th-ranked Tar Heels topped the 2nd-ranked Wildcats by a 74-61 count. Jerry Stackhouse and Rasheed Wallace combined for 30 points and 15 rebounds to lead North Carolina.
The Tar Heels own a 7-3-1 ATS mark in the last 11 meetings with Kentucky. Six of those 11 have gone 'over.'
Sunday's winner draws the victor from the UConn, Arizona matchup next Saturday in Houston.
Kentucky is favored by a point on Sunday against North Carolina.
They've combined for 12 NCAA titles, been to the Final Four 31 times and have upped their Elite Eight appearances now to 57. Yeah, I'd say that makes for a matchup of storied programs on Sunday when the North Carolina Tar Heels meet the Kentucky Wildcats in the East Regional Final.
Newark's Prudential Center is where the region will be decided with CBS beginning its broadcast a little past 2:00 p.m. (PT), about 30 minutes after the Kansas, Virginia Commonwealth contest in San Antonio. The Don Best screen shows Kentucky a one-point favorite with Sunday's total sitting at 145½.
John Calipari's Wildcats (28-8 straight up, 16-14-1 against the spread) crushed a lot of brackets Friday night when they took out the top-ranked and top-seeded Ohio State Buckeyes, 62-60. Brandon Knight's short jumper with five ticks left lifted Kentucky over the Buckeyes who were favored by 5½.
Reminiscent of Kentucky's opener against Princeton when Knight's only two points came at the end to beat the Tigers, the freshman did not enjoy a great game from the field before hitting the game-winner. Knight had made just two of his previous nine attempts, hitting just 1-of-6 from long range.
Knight's winning shot got the glory, but the tale of the tape versus Ohio State was Kentucky won a game of 6-on-5. Thad Matta used five players for all but eight minutes of court time while Calipari was able to rotate six of his players in and out for at least 25 minutes each. DeAndre Liggins made the most of his time off the bench with 15 points, six rebounds and three blocks in 34 minutes. Senior Josh Harrellson paced the Wildcats with 17 points and 10 boards, five on the offensive end.
Kentucky's defense frustrated Ohio State into missing 39 of its 59 field goals, well below the Buckeyes' 49.4 percent success rate on the season which ranks third in the country.
Friday's win was Kentucky's ninth straight, a streak that includes victories over Florida (twice), Vanderbilt, Tennessee, West Virginia and now Ohio State. The Wildcats have cashed six times with one 'push' in the span, with the same 6-2-1 mark to the 'under.'
Prior to Kentucky and Ohio State hitting the floor, North Carolina was busy beating up on Marquette, 81-63. The game was close for the first nine minutes before Roy Williams' squad, a four-point favorite, literally ran away from the Golden Eagles.
Marquette held a 10-8 lead with 11:30 to go in the opening half before North Carolina (29-7 SU, 16-16-1 ATS) went on a 19-0 run. The Golden Eagles managed to make just six of their 30 first-half field goal attempts, and only 2-of-16 three-pointers all night.
Tyler Zeller led the Tar Heels with 27 points while snaring 12 rebounds. John Henson also had 12 boards to go with 14 points. Harrison Barnes just missed his double-double with 20 points and nine rebounds.
The stat that made Williams the happiest, however, was UNC committing only seven turnovers on the evening while forcing Marquette into 18 miscues.
Not only are the two programs historical on their own, there's also a lot of history between Kentucky and North Carolina that dates to 1924 when the Tar Heels and Wildcats competed together in the old Southern Conference. North Carolina has won 23 of the 34 previous matchups, including a 75-73 decision in Chapel Hill on Dec. 4 this season.
Kentucky closed as the one-point road favorite in that game. The Wildcats were ranked 10th in the AP poll at the time while the Tar Heels had yet to crack into either set of rankings. Zeller was the game's top scorer with 27 points, hitting 11-of-12 from the charity stripe. Doron Lamb came off the pine to lead Kentucky with 24 points.
The last time the two schools met at the NCAA Tournament was 1995, coincidentally an Elite Eight contest. Then-UNC coach Dean Smith and his 4th-ranked Tar Heels topped the 2nd-ranked Wildcats by a 74-61 count. Jerry Stackhouse and Rasheed Wallace combined for 30 points and 15 rebounds to lead North Carolina.
The Tar Heels own a 7-3-1 ATS mark in the last 11 meetings with Kentucky. Six of those 11 have gone 'over.'
Sunday's winner draws the victor from the UConn, Arizona matchup next Saturday in Houston.
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