The North Carolina Tar Heels hope to be lousy hosts on Saturday as the East Carolina Pirates pay a visit to Dean Smith Center on the college basketball betting menu.

The Tar Heels bring a 7-2 record (5-2 ATS) to this tilt against the 6-1 Pirates, who are 1-3 ATS. OVER/UNDER bettors have witnessed North Carolina go 3-4 so far and the Pirates go 1-0.



View East Carolina vs North Carolina Odds and Stats.

Betting Line:
Bettors looking to go with the Tar Heels in this one found them listed as 16.5-point favorites earlier on the NCAA basketball betting menu for Monday's contest. Check for updates as money coming in on the Pirates was expected to move the line.

Power Rankings / Prediction:
This game puts the Tar Heels, most recently No. 22 in the Odds Shark power rankings, up against the Pirates, who rate No. 31 in the latest survey. Meanwhile, math and computer-based handicapping simulations run on this game predict a potential 92-90 victory for the Tar Heels.



How They Match Up:
Rating these schools in several key categories is important for handicappers and North Carolina has the nation's No. 5-rated offensive output, at 83.4 PPG. The visiting Pirates defense ranks No. 97 allowing on average 62 PPG. The Tar Heels FG% has averaged 46.2% so far, more than the Pirates marksmen have achieved on the year, 45.7% per game.

Defensively, East Carolina features the nation's No. 86-rated defense on the road, allowing 64.5 points per game. North Carolina, meanwhile, comes in at No. 34 nationally in scoring at home.

East Carolina won its last outing, a 111-59 result against St. Andrews on December 4. The battle between the Pirates and Knights didn’t turn out to be much of a battle at all as St. Andrews was handed a 111-59 defeat on Tuesday at Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum.

In their last action, North Carolina was a 78-55 Sportsbook at home against East Tennessee State. North Carolina cruised to victory on Saturday, running East Tennessee State out of the gym and running up a 78-55 score at Dean Smith Center.


East Carolina Pirates Trends:
When playing on Saturday are 4-6
Before playing Gardner-Webb are 3-1
After playing St. Andrews are 1-2
After a win are 7-3

North Carolina Tar Heels Trends:
When playing on Saturday are 10-0
Before playing Texas are 5-0
After a win are 6-4

A few Pirates at Tar Heels trends to consider:
East Carolina is 4-8 SU in its last 12 games on the road
North Carolina is 21-4 SU in its last 25 games at home
North Carolina is 19-4 SU in its last 23 games


Next up:
East Carolina home to Gardner-Webb, Tuesday, December 18
North Carolina at Texas, Wednesday, December 19