Under first-year head coach Hubert Davis, North Carolina surprised many by reaching the Final Four.
Saturday will be a great night of college basketball betting with the Tar Heels taking on their rival Blue Devils of Duke in what could be coach Mike Krzyzewski’s final game. College basketball betting lines currently have North Carolina as 4-point underdogs.
Here’s a look at North Carolina entering the national semifinal, including national championship odds at the online sportsbook.
Who Are The North Carolina Tar Heels?
Record: 28-9 (15-5) | Conference: ACC
Head coach: Hubert Davis, first season as North Carolina head coach (28-9)
Leading scorer: Armando Bacot (16.5 PPG)
Leading rebounder: Armando Bacot (12.8 RPG)
Assists leader: Caleb Love & R.J. Davis (3.7 APG)
NCAA Tournament scores:
First Round vs. #9 Marquette: W 95-63
Second Round vs. #1 Baylor: W 93-86 (OT)
Sweet 16 vs. #4 UCLA: W 73-66
Elite Eight vs. #15 Saint Peter’s: W 69-49
Shining Star: Armando Bacot. The big man has been dominant in the NCAA tournament and earned himself the East Region’s Most Outstanding Player award averaging 16.5 points and 15.8 rebounds per game across their four victories.
X-Factor: Brady Manek. The Oklahoma transfer can stroke it from deep exceptionally well for a 6’9″ forward and can be a sudden offensive spark in basically any game.
In his first season as head coach, Hubert Davis leads the North Carolina Tar Heels to the Final Four.#MarchMadness x @UNC_Basketball pic.twitter.com/bEC49IglmB
— Audacy Sports (@AudacySports) March 27, 2022
How Did North Carolina Make the NCAA Tournament?
It wasn’t long ago when North Carolina was on the bubble. The Tar Heels were facing the potential chance of missing out on the NCAA tournament altogether until they ripped off five straight wins to end the regular season including a stunner over Duke in Coach K’s final game at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
How Did North Carolina Advance to the Final Four?
They have looked like a different team ever since the middle of February and although they do not utilize bench minutes almost at all, they have strung together some of their best performances over the last two weeks.
A blowout win over Marquette put them up against top-seeded Baylor where their lead grew to as big as 25 points until they needed overtime to finish the job. After getting past UCLA behind 30 points from guard Caleb Love, the Tar Heels easily took care of Cinderella Saint Peter’s en route to their 21st Final Four in program history.
North Carolina National Championship Odds: +500
The Tar Heels certainly have the talent to win a national championship which makes them intriguing at this price.
The lack of a bench is a slight concern if someone ends up in foul trouble or gets injured (see Villanova), but with the Final Four being an event that can produce such random outcomes, this is a great price of +500 on a team that has the capability to win yet another national title.
