Tar Heels and Tigers Are Gonna Stage a Track Meet

Published on 29-Mar-2019 by Sportbet Staff

Basketball - NCAA Mens    NCAA Basketball Daily Stake

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Tar Heels and Tigers Are Gonna Stage a Track Meet

It's gonna take a special team making a special effort to outpace North Carolina in a run-&-gun game.

Auburn's firing all cylinders right now, so it seems they're ready to accept the challenge.

The Tigers may be a No 5 seed, but those labels don't have much bearing this deep into March Madness. Dudes have strung together 10 straight victories, returning to the Elite Eight for the first time since 2003.

 

The sportsbooks are looking for this to be the barnburner that fans on the Alabama Plains think it will be.

Bovada has set the line for this one at North Carolina -6, the total at 164, and the moneyline at Auburn +220 and North Carolina -270.

Why bet on Auburn ...

The Tigers are marksmen from the arc. During their winning streak, dudes are averaging 12.2 made treys a game. Bryce Brown alone has hit 372 career 3's and needs just three more to rank among the top 30 in college basketball history. He's averaging 15.9 points per game.

Auburn's running game is ignited differently than North Carolina's. The Tar Heels turn rebounds on one end into layups on the other. 52.2% of their points are scored inside the arc. On the other hand, the Tigers force turnovers at an NCAA-leading 25.2% clip and turn them into 11.5 made treys per game.

 

Why bet on North Carolina ...

Everything starts for the Tar Heels by controlling the glass. Dudes dominated both Iona and Washington on the boards in their first two NCAA Tournament games. They lead the nation in rebound margin at a rate of +10 a game.

North Carolina racks up an average of 86.1 points per game. That's third nationally. Coby White beats opponents off the dribble. Luke Maye excels at banging around off the low block. Then there's Cameron Johnson, the team's leading scorer at 16.9 points per game. When he's on his game -- which is often -- he's a virtual pinball wizard.

 

Instant analysis ...

This one will come down to three-point shooting as Auburn has been nearly unstoppable behind the arc and it makes teams press harder to try to close the gap.

The Tigers have better athletes to keep pace with the Heels, which sets the stage force a high-scoring game. However, North Carolina’s rebounding and ability to defend the perimeter will end up being the difference in shutting them down.

Auburn's fast, can shoot the three, and is peaking. But, they don’t have a player like Maye on their squad. North Carolina takes it on the moneyline and against the spread.

ATS pick: North Carolina -6
Moneyline pick: North Carolina -270

Bet at 5dimes

Result: Auburn 97 North Carolina 80 ... Tigers cover ATS and Moneyline

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