(1) North Carolina vs. (4) Alabama: Betting Tips, Prediction, and Betting Odds

The Alabama Crimson Tide will take on the North Carolina Tar Heels in the Sweet 16. It will be a meeting of high octane offenses. Alabama has the top ranked scoring offense in the nation, while UNC has the 20th ranked scoring offense.

The Crimson Tide dominated Charleston in their first game, but struggled at times against Grand Canyon in the Round of 32. The Lopes took the lead with about five minutes left before letting Alabama go on a 13-3 run to close out the game. The Tide did an excellent job of forcing turnovers and taking advantage of an inexperienced Grand Canyon team.

North Carolina breezed past Wagner in the 1 vs. 16 matchup, but struggled to start the game against Tom Izzo’s Spartans. Michigan State had a 10 point lead early in the game before the Heels went on a tear to end the half. They would go on to win 85-69. Head coach Hubert Davis called a timeout half way through the first and laid into his guys. His team responded by going on a huge run and didn’t look back.

Both teams have earned their spot in the Sweet 16, but one team has an advantage in this matchup.

UNC is -4 at the time of publishing. Playable to -5.

North Carolina has a massive advantage over Alabama in the frontcourt. Armando Bacot is one of the best centers in the country and should have a big game on Thursday. Alabama has had issues with guarding big men all year. Zach Edey scored 35, Ryan Kalkbrenner had 19 (shot 9/11 from the floor), PJ Hall had 21, and Johni Broome had 24 & 25 in two games.

The Crimson Tide have one of the worst defenses in the country, ranking 345th in scoring defense. You can get away with poor defensive play against Charleston and Grand Canyon, the Lopes even made their defense look good at times, but not against UNC. They will have their hands very full with Bacot and All-American RJ Davis. Davis is averaging 21 ppg and can let it rip from deep.

This is a nightmare matchup for Alabama. The Tar Heels should roll here.

Over 173.5 is available at the time of publishing. Playable at that number.

This total is very high, but it’s hard to take an under when Alabama is playing. One of the worst defenses and the best scoring offense is a perfect recipe for an over. UNC’s offense is no slouch either, with the 20th in the country in scoring offense. Nine of Alabama’s last 11 games have gone over this number.

Both these teams are very hard to stop on offense. This should be a very entertaining game. Sit back and watch a ton of points being scored.

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