Final Four Betting Lines: North Carolina vs. Villanova

Villanova spoiled plenty of NCAA Tournament brackets with its win over No. 1 seed Pittsburgh to reach the Final Four. After burying college basketball powers UCLA and Duke, Scottie Reynolds drove down the lane and delivered a buzzer beater to take Pitt out of the dance. Now, North Carolina is waiting. The Heels are back in the Final Four for the second straight year but are hoping to perform better than they did last year when they were crushed by eventual champion Kansas. The North Carolina Tar Heels are listed as a 7-point favorite with the total set at 159.

With all the talk about Louisville, Pittsburgh, and UConn this season, Villanova is now stealing the show. It defeated conference rival Pittsburgh to reach the Final Four and could potentially face rival UConn in the national championship if both Big East squads take care of business. The challenge for Villanova is going to be not getting fat and happy. Few expected the Wildcats to be a Final Four team this season and a highly emotional win over No. 1 seed Pittsburgh could have the Wildcats staring a letdown right in the face. If the Cats come out flat, this one won’t even be close because North Carolina is going to be very determined after not making the title game a season ago. Villanova has shown a great deal of toughness and has played with a ton of confidence to get to this point so with odds makers and the media doubting it, I don’t expect the Cats to lay down. The Cats have one major goal they are going to have to accomplish in order to win this game and that is to slow down North Carolina point guard Ty Lawson. Offensively, it is very important for Villanova to take good shots. If North Carolina has a weakness, it is on the defensive side of the ball. Taking bad shots often leads to quick Carolina buckets on the other end. Lastly, Scottie Reynolds is going to have to come up big for the Wildcats again. He doesn’t necessarily have to have the most points for Nova, but he’s going to have to take and make the tough shots when the shot clock is winding down and when the game in on the line. If you think the Wildcats can give the Tar Heels a run for their money, bet Villanova at +7 at Bookmaker.

North Carolina is back to its dominant self now that Ty Lawson is in the lineup and looking as healthy as ever. North Carolina struggled against LSU before pulling away late, but the Heels dominated wire to wire against Gonzaga and Oklahoma. The Heels look like the best team in the country with Ty Lawson on the floor, but expect Villanova coach Jay Wright to take the ball out of his hands as much as possible. That is going to put pressure on the other Tar Heels players to step up. We expect Tyler Hansbrough to get his, but Wayne Ellington becomes the guy which can really give the Heels an offensive lift if his perimeter shot is falling. Defensively, North Carolina is going to want to take Villanova out of its comfort zone to keep the tempo in its favor. That means putting the Villanova guards under extreme pressure to make them play faster than they want to. If you think the Heels roll to their fourth straight win and cover in the Big Dance, bet North Carolina at -7 at Bookmaker.

Jimmy Boyd is an unmatched 17-6 with his college basketball picks in the Big Dance. Keep beating the NCAA basketball odds by doing your college basketball betting right here at Locksmith Sports.

If you liked this article, you may also be interested in:

• North Carolina Could Miss Big Dance
• Michigan State vs. North Carolina: NCAA Championship Preview & Odds
• North Carolina v. Florida State Football Betting Odds & Picks
• North Carolina’s Ed Davis Out with Broken Wrist
• South Carolina at North Carolina State Football Pick & Predictions

Comments