The No. 1 Wisconsin Badgers look to pick up their ninth straight SU win when they meet the No. 4 North Carolina Tar Heels in a West Region Sweet 16 matchup and they are favored by 6.5 points.
But while Wisconsin has been hard to beat on the scoreboard, they are just 1-8 ATS in their last nine as double-digit favorites, which could swap some bettors looking at the UNC dog line at Sportsbook.
The Badgers have now reached the Sweet Sixteen in four of the last five years, and are 6-1 SU in their last seven March Madness matchups, 4-2-1 ATS. The squad is winless SU in their two most recent meetings with the Tar Heels, dating back to UNC's 88-82 Elite Eight win in 2005, but covered as betting underdogs in each contest.
North Carolina ended a two-game ATS losing streak with their 87-78 Round of 32 win over No. 5 Arkansas, covering as five-point favorites. The Tar Heels' offense has scored 80 or more points in five of their last eight, but face a Badgers defense that has surrendered over 60 points in just five of their last 14.
North Carolina Tar Heels vs Wisconsin Badgers Odds and Stats.
Team Betting Records & Power Rankings
This college basketball season, the Wisconsin Badgers are 33-3 overall and 18-17-1 ATS, while the North Carolina Tar Heels are 26-11 and 20-16-1 ATS. As for the betting totals, Wisconsin boasts a 16-20 on the OU, and North Carolina is 21-14-1.
It's a betting matchup between the No. 5-rated Wisconsin Badgers and the No. 26-ranked North Carolina Tar Heels, according to the latest pro hoops power rankings here at Odds Shark.
How North Carolina Tar Heels vs Wisconsin Badgers Stats Matchup
Rating these schools in several key categories is important for handicappers and Wisconsin has the nation's No. 39-rated offensive output, at 72.28 PPG. The visiting North Carolina Tar Heels defense ranks No. 186 allowing on average 68.57 PPG. The Badgers FG% has averaged 48.03% so far, more than the Wisconsin Tar Heels marksmen have achieved on the year, 47.63% per game.
Recent Outings Betting Recap
Marcus Paige scored 22 points leading the Tar Heels to a 87-78 victory over Arkansas at Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena on Saturday.
The Badgers got 17 points from Sam Dekker as Wisconsin ran past Oregon 72-65 on Sunday at CenturyLink Center.
Sweet 16 Betting Trends:
4 seeds won 3 of past 5 matchups vs top seeds (but 1s are 22-8 SU since 1996)
Badgers 0-2 SU, 2-0 ATS vs UNC since 2001
Badgers 5-2 ATS in Sweet 16 since 2000
North Carolina is 9-0 SU, 6-3 ATS in Sweet 16 since 1996
UNC 0-5 SU and ATS as Madness underdog since 2000
