North Carolina at Mississippi State

The Tar Heels are not used to the NIT, but with a talented youthful team, it isn't a bad spot for them to get some experieince, and an 8 point win over a talented William & Mary team that beat Wake Forest this season, shows they have come to play, not go through the motions. The Bulldogs were shunned by the NCAA tournament committee and they are not happy to be here. They played a lackluster game vs Jackson State, but won on pure talent alone. This one won't come as easy. The Tar Heels have owned the SEC, where they are a perfect 10-0-1 ATS in their last 11 encounters, and overall 43-19 ATS in non-conference games. The Bulldogs might squeeze out a win here, but the Heels are capable, and certainly are the odds on favorite to get out of this one, inside a big number. I'll go with North Carolina here.