Marquette vs North Carolina Betting Line
Tar Heel Blue is a familiar site among the Sweet Sixteen in the NCAA Tournament, as North Carolina made it for the 24th year in 2011. Moving on however may be a big obstacle, as Marquette stands in the way of a possible match-up with Ohio State in the East Regional Final. Friday night at 7:20 pm is the date and time for this battle of the Big East and the ACC, in the heart of Big East country at Newark, NJ. North Carolina is favored by 4.5 points.
Latest Marquette vs No. Carolina Point Spread
At the time of this writing, the point spread is the same at most online sportsbooks. As they change, we’ll update this post. For the most current point spread, money line, or over/under odds, click on any of the links below.
- Sportsbook.com: Marquette +4.5 (-110), No. Carolina -4.5 (-110)
- Bodog.com: Marquette +4.5 (-110), No. Carolina -4.5 (-110)
Marquette vs North Carolina Sweet 16 Preview
North Carolina
Head coach Roy Williams and his Tar Heels are the best rebounding team in the country, perhaps because they rank 102nd in field goal percentage. If they miss shots, they know how to go get second chance points, so the key for Marquette will be keeping the bigger, stronger Tar Heels off the boards.
Carolina is led by Harrison Barnes and Tyler Zeller, both averaging over 15 points per game. Barnes is a 6 ft 8 inch freshman and Zeller is a 7 foot tall junior. To those trees, add 6 ft 10 inch sophomore John Henson and you have the best frontcourt in the nation. The Heels problems have been the guard play of Dexter Strickland and Leslie McDonald. Both are solid players and can score from the outside, but inconsistency has plagued them all season long – not to mention turnovers.
In conference, North Carolina lost only twice, once to Duke and the other to Georgia Tech. They lost to Duke in the ACC Tournament Championship game but beat the Blue Devils once during the regular season. Bad early losses to Minnesota and Vanderbilt made people questions the Tar Heels, as did losses to Illinois and Texas. They did beat Kentucky and won a close game with Washington last weekend.
Marquette
Marquette has not enjoyed this deep of a run into the NCAA Tournament since 2003 when they went to the semifinals, only to lose to Kansas. This year marks the programs third appearance in the Sweet Sixteen since their 1977 National Championship season.
The Golden Eagles are no easy out this year, as one of the top passing and shooting teams in the country they can give any good defense fits. Only three of their 14 losses came by ten points or more, proving that Marquette will be there at the end of the game. Darius Johnson-Odom leads the Golden Eagles, scoring 16 points per game from his shooting guard spot. Jimmy Butler is a 6 ft 7 inch swingman who can score inside and out and is good for 15.8 points and 6.1 rebounds nightly. Jae Crowder and Dwight Buycks are key contributors, scoring an average of 11.8 and 9.1 points per game.
All but one of the 14 losses on Marquette’s schedule came against tournament opponents. Overall, they endured some tough games losing to Seton Hall and Vanderbilt, but enjoyed big wins over Syracuse and UConn. They defeated the Orange in the second round to reach the Sweet Sixteen.
Marquette vs No. Carolina Prediction
Guard play is critical come tournament time and Johnson-Odom has been superb. He scored 17 points in the win over Syracuse and many tabbed him as the second best guard behind Kemba Walker in the Big East. He will pose a major problem for North Carolina. The experience edge goes the Heels, but the Golden Eagles will live and die by the three point shot. Look for the upset special here as Marquette moves onward.
We’re going with Marquette +4.5 -110 at Sportsbook.com.
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