North Carolina, which just lost the ACC tournament championship game to Florida State, begins its tournament Friday night when it plays the Sportsbook of Tuesday's Midwest Regional play-in game - Vermont.
The Tar Heels earned a No. 1 seed in part on the strength of winning the ACC's regular-season title. Vermont beat Lamar to earn this Midwest bracket spot and they are underdogs of 16 points at Sportsbook.
The game is being played at Greensboro Coliseum, which makes it technically a neutral site match.
North Carolina battles the Catamounts, currently sitting with a 24-11 mark (4-1 ATS). The OVER/UNDER records, always important for totals bettors, are 17-15-1 for the Tar Heels and 2-2-1 for the Catamounts.
View Vermont vs North Carolina Odds and Stats.
Power Rankings / Prediction:
This game puts the Tar Heels, most recently No. 5 in the Odds Shark power rankings, up against the Catamounts, who rate No. 85 in the latest survey. Meanwhile, math and computer-based handicapping simulations run on this game predict a potential 84-76 victory for the Tar Heels.
How They Match Up:
In the paint, the rebound battle will feature North Carolina's No. 1-rated squad against Vermont's No. 125-rated roster. And in long-range shooting, North Carolina rates No. 285 in the country with 5.1 per game, while their foes tonight rank No. 252 nationally with 5.4 per match.
Comparing how these foes stack up statistically, Vermont owns the country's No. 13-rated mark, allowing 60.2 points per game on the highway. North Carolina, on the other hand, rates No. 4 in scoring at home.
Vermont was a 71-59 Sportsbook in their most recent outing at home against Lamar. They covered the 1.5-point spread as underdogs. Lamar got 16 points from Devon Lamb but lost anyway, 71-59, to Vermont on Wednesday at Dayton Arena.
Last time out for North Carolina, they were an 85-82 loser as they battled Florida State at home. They failed to cover in the match as a 6-point favorite. North Carolina got 23 points from Harrison Barnes but lost anyway, 85-82, to Florida State on Sunday at Philips Arena.
