Only two teams remain out of the 68 that entered the NCAA Tournament field, as North Carolina and Villanova face off Monday with the Sportsbook cutting down the nets in Houston. A No.1 seed and No. 2 seed have faced off against each another in the Finals on three occasions since 1996, with the top seed going a perfect 3-0 SU and ATS in those affairs. Those three winning No.1 seeds have sported a combined +11.7 average scoring margin with only the 2012 Kentucky team winning by single-digits.
- Villanova is 4-0 SU and ATS in its last four games with one day off between games.
- No. 1 seeds are 4-6 SU as 2.5 point favorites or less against No. 2 seeds since 1996.
- The OVER is 5-1 is the last six NCAA Tournament Finals.
Meetings between the Tar Heels and Wildcats have been few and far between with just one contest since the start of the 2013 season, though UNC won and covered in that affair (March 22, 2013).
North Carolina enters the final game of the tournament dominating, as they have won each of their games during March Madness by double-digits with their smallest margin of victory coming against Notre Dame in the Elite Eight — a game they won by 14 points. Brice Johnson has been unstoppable during the NCAA Tournament with the senior averaging 20 points and 9.6 rebounds while shooting 61.4 percent from the floor.
Things were not much different for Villanova, as the Wildcats steamrolled nearly every team in their way with just No.1 Kansas managing to stay within 15 points at the final whistle. The Wildcats are coming off a performance for the ages in which they shot over 70 percent from the floor while holding one of the best shooting teams in recent memory to just 31 percent. Josh Hart had his best game of the tourney against Oklahoma, as the junior tallied 23 points and hit a ridiculous 80 percent of his shots.
Villanova Wildcats vs North Carolina Tar Heels Matchup
Team Betting Records & Power Rankings
The North Carolina Tar Heels currently sport a 33-6 record overall in NCAA basketball action, and have posted a corresponding betting slate of 19-18-2 ATS. The Villanova Wildcats are 34-5 and 21-17 ATS. Betting totals have seen the North Carolina Tar Heels produce a 21-18 OVER/UNDER record on the season, while the Villanova Wildcats have gone 21-17 against the totals betting line.
According to new college basketball power rankings here at Odds Shark, it's the No. 14-ranked North Carolina Tar Heels and the No. 38-rated Villanova Wildcats in this matchup.
Statistical Matchup
Rating these schools in several key categories is important for handicappers and North Carolina has the nation's No. 9-rated offensive output, at 83 PPG. The visiting Villanova Wildcats defense ranks No. 11 allowing on average 63.31 PPG. The Tar Heels FG% has averaged 48.36% so far, more than the North Carolina Wildcats marksmen have achieved on the year, 48.11% per game.
Recent Outings Betting Recap
The battle between the Wildcats and Sooners didnt turn out to be much of a battle at all as Oklahoma was handed a 95-51 defeat on Saturday at NRG Stadium.
North Carolina got 16 points from Brice Johnson en route to a 83-66 victory over Syracuse on Saturday at NRG Stadium.
