Is #3 North Carolina a Winning Pick for the 2019 March Madness Tournament?

Is #3 North Carolina a Winning Pick for the 2019 March Madness Tournament?

Written by on March 7, 2019

March Madness, NCAA Basketball Betting News

While the Duke Blue Devils and Virginia Cavaliers garnered the vast majority of the national media attention for their impressive records and accompanying, high national rankings that had both teams at No. 1 at some point this season, it is the now, overlooked North Carolina Tar Heels (25-5 SU, 180=-10-2 ATS) that have the look of a team that could very well win it all this season.

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Thanks to the expert betting analysis that you’re about to get, you’re going to find out just why Carolina may or may not be a winning pick in the odds to win the 2019 national championship. Let’s get started with why the Tar Heels are looking good right now as the regular season comes to a close this coming weekend.

Is #3 North Carolina a Winning Pick for the 2019 March Madness Tournament?

Why North Carolina Can Win It All!

Offense

North Carolina has one of the most explosive offenses in the nation in putting up a stellar 86.8 points per game to rank third nationally in scoring. The Tar Heels shoot a solid 46.8% from the field (59th) and 37.3% from beyond the arc (51st). Carolina also shoots a collective 74.5% from the free throw line (43rd) and that could be huge in close tournament games.

The Tar Heels have three double-digit scorers and six players that all average 8.0 points per game or more, including an ‘athletic freak of nature’ in five-star freshman Nasir Little (9.6 ppg).

Rebounding

North Carolina leads the nation in rebound (43.8 per game) and that means a lot of extra shot attempts and fewer for their opponents.

Momentum

The Tar Heels are clearly playing their best basketball of the season right now, having won nine of their last 10 games, including a huge, 88-72 smackdown of Duke on Feb. 20, on the road no less.

Road Warriors

Last but not least, North Carolina has gone an impressive 11-1 in away games this season, although they have also suffered a pair of neutral site losses this season.

Why North Carolina Won’t Win It All!

Defense

The Tar Heels allow 73.1 points per game to rank an uninspiring 226th nationally in points allowed. Carolina also allows the opposition to shoot 33.5% from three-point distance (133rd) so, they’re clearly not an elite defensive team.

Scoring

While the Heels score the ball great collectively, they don’t have a go-to scorer per se and they only have three players averaging double figures in scoring. This could be a problem one March Madness gets underway if any of their top scorers struggle from the field.

Case in point…the Tar Heels were limited to 72 points or less in four of their five losses this season while not reaching the 70-point plateau in three of those contests.

Prediction

Make no mistake about it college basketball betting faithful…the North Carolina Tar Heels are a team that could definitely win this season’s national championship, even though they’re not my pick to do so. Carolina is playing well right now and they have some added incentive to get it done for head coach Roy Williams who has been battling vertigo for some time now and have to leave a recent contest because of the condition. I certainly don’t see the Heels getting dispatched by any team that isn’t a legitimate national championship contender in their own right.

2019 March Madness Expert Betting News