The 2nd seed Kentucky Wildcats face the top-seed North Carolina Tar Heels in a South Region Elite 8 NCAA Tournament game that will take place at a neutral site at the FedEx Forum in Memphis, Tennessee on Sunday, March 26 at 5:05 PM ET. The NCAA betting board has UNC as a -2.5 favorite over UK with the over/under line showing a lot of upward mobility hitting as high as 159.5 points on some boards.
Kentucky is coming off an 86-75 win over UCLA in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament where they covered the spread as a 1.5-point underdog. The total number of points scored in the game was 161, which was under the closing line of 167. The Wildcats have an ATS record of 2-1-1 in their last four games and in nine of their last 10 games, including their last four, the total has gone under. Kentucky has won 14 straight games.
North Carolina is coming off a 92-80 win over Butler in their last game where they covered the 7-point line. The total number of points scored in the game was 172, which was over the closing line of 154.5. The Tar Heels have covered the spread in two of their last three games and in three of their last four games the total has gone over. North Carolina has won five of their last six games.
Offensively, Kentucky is putting up 85.2 points per game, which ranks 9th in the nation, on a 47.5% FG average. On the defensive side of the ball the Wildcats are allowing 71.3 points on a 42.3% FG average.
North Carolina is putting up 85.1 points per game, which ranks 10th in the nation, on a 46.9% FG average. On defense the Tar Heels are allowing 71.3 points per game on a 41.7% FG average.
These teams last met at a neutral site this season where Kentucky beat North Carolina 103-100.
Kentucky Wildcats vs. North Carolina Tar Heels Betting Trends
- Kentucky is 7-13-2 against the spread in their last 22 games.
- The Wildcats are 3-9-1 against the spread in their last 13 games against the Tar Heels.
- The game total has gone over in 4 of Kentucky’s last 6 games against North Carolina.
- North Carolina is 5-1 straight up in their last 6 games.
- The Tar Heels are 1-4 straight up in their last 5 games against the Wildcats.
Public Money Consensus
In this NCAAB matchup between Kentucky and North Carolina have the public evenly split on this game where Kentucky is getting the 3 points with 50% per side. The over/under bettors are thinking this game will definitively go over the posted total line of 156 with 76% on board.
