Butler Vs North Carolina Odds, Betting Pick & TV Info

Posted by Eric Williams on Wednesday,March 22, 2017 11:38, EDT in

The top-seeded North Carolina Tar Heels will look to avoid the big upset when they battle the fourth-seeded Butler Bulldogs in their Sweet 16 matchup on Friday.

With neither team in this matchup looking like ‘world-beaters’ in their respective second round matchups, let’s find out where the NCAA basketball point spreads value lies in this contest.

Analyzing The Bulldogs Vs Tar Heels Odds, Betting Pick & TV Info

When: Friday, March 24, 2017 at 7:05 PM ET
Where: FedExForum, Memphis, Tennessee
TV: CBS
Live Stream: CBS Sports Network
NCAAB Odds: North Carolina -7 / Total: 153

 

 

Why Bet The Butler Bulldogs Odds at +7

The Bulldogs (25-8 SU, 19-12 ATS) have won two consecutive tourney games since dropping their regular season finale and Big East tournament opener. Butler got past Winthrop 76-64 in their opener before subduing Middle Tennessee en route to a 74-65 win in the second round as 2.5-point favorites as Kelan Martin scored a team-high 19 points and Andrew Chrabascz added 15 points in the win.

The Bulldogs have won six of their last eight games, not to mention the fact that the Bulldogs re the better shooting team in their Sweet 16 matchup and hold the edge over the Tar Heels in free throw shooting, defense, turnovers and bench play.

Why Bet The North Carolina Tar Heels Odds at -7

The Tar Heels (29-7 SU, 18-15 ATS) have won two straight and eight of 10 and smacked Texas Southern senseless in their tournament opener – before struggling to put away feisty Arkansas squad that clearly didn’t want to go home in the second round. North Carolina got 16 points and 11 rebounds from center Kennedy Meeks while ACC Player of the Year Justin Jackson added 15 points in Carolina’s 72-65 win over the Razorbacks. The Heels have four players averaging double figures in scoring and lead the nation in rebounding.

Expert Pick & Final Score Prediction

Let me start by saying that Butler certainly won’t go away quietly, but that I do expect Carolina to win a cash in against the Bulldogs. While Butler has gone 6-1-1 ATS in their last eight games as an underdog, North Carolina has gone 13-3 ATS in their last 16 NCAA Tournament games as a favorite between 7-12.5 points while also going 20-7-2 ATS in their last 29 neutral site games as a favorite.

More importantly, Carolina has a trio of outstanding big men that expect to dominate down low and control the board while the Heels also get some stellar perimeter play from Justin Jackson and Joel Berry III. Butler has had a fine season, but it comes to an end in the Sweet 16. Despite the fact that 55 percent of the betting public likes Butler to cover the spread, I’m thinking Carolina wins by double digits to cover.

My final score prediction is North Carolina 76 Butler 66