Villanova vs. North Carolina

It's been an impressive run for #2 seed Villanova, but they bang into a team bigger, deeper, and better. Villanova has one dominant low post player in 6-11 senior Daniel Ochefu (10 points per game, 7.6 rebounds per game), but #1 seed North Carolina has four. 6-9 senior Brice Johnson (16 points per game, 10 rebound per game), 6-9 junior Kennedy Meeks (12 points per game), 6-8 junior Isaih Hicks (10 points per game), and even 6-10 Joel James overwhelmed Syracuse down low. The Heels finished with 50 points in the paint. North Carolina is clicking at the right time, winning 10 games in a row, the last five by double digits. The Tar Heels are 16-5-1 ATS at neutral sites. The sparkplug on offense is senior guard Marcus Paige (12 point per game) on a team that finished #1 in the ACC in scoring (82.9 points per game), #2 in field goal shooting (47.8%). Don't overlook this defense, though, which was #2 in field goal shooting allowed (41%) in the best conference in the country. UNC leads the all-time series, 11-4. That includes 5-1 against the Wildcats in the NCAA Tournament, with the most recent a 78-71 March tourney win three years ago. Under Roy Williams, the Tar Heels are 112-47 after a momentum-building double-digit win and 62-18 after scoring 80+ points in back-to-back games. North Carolina is also 19-3 over the past two seasons in neutral-court games. Villanova coach, Jay Wright is just 44-58 straight-up when facing elite teams (teams at .800 or better). And against the best of the best (teams like North Carolina who outscore their opponents by 12+ points per game after 15+ games), Wright’s teams are just 9-26. North Carolina has the more talented team again and will get the victory. Play North Carolina on the moneyline.