UNC Tar Heels vs Baylor Bears Betting Preview/Prop Pick

The first round of the NCAA Tournament is now over, and there are 32 teams still left standing. The Baylor Bears will take on the North Carolina Tar Heels in the East Region, and a trip to the Sweet 16 will be on the line.

North Carolina is the number eight seed in the East, and this team has struggled to find consistency all season long. The Tar Heels picked up a 95-63 win over the Marquette Golden Eagles in a rout on Thursday afternoon.

Baylor is the defending national champion, and they earned a number 1 seed yet again. The Bears had little trouble in the First Round, picking up an 85-49 victory over Norfolk State on Thursday. 

The Baylor Bears are 5.5-point betting favorites in this Second Round game against the UNC Tar Heels. 

Tar Heels Can Really Score

The North Carolina Tar Heels are averaging 78 points per game this season, and they have the ability to score points in a hurry. North Carolina plays extremely fast on both ends, and they will try to score before Baylor can get their defense established. 

Armando Bacot leads the team with 16.5 points and 12.4 rebounds per game, and he will have to use his size to impact this game on both ends. Guard Caleb Love sets the tone for the offense, but the Tar Heels also need him to make some shots.

Defense has been an issue for the Tar Heels at times this season, and they are giving up 63 points per game. North Carolina wants to play fast, but they have to lock in on defense. 

Bears Can Really Defend

Baylor is an elite defensive team, and they are capable of holding any opponent to 60 points or less. North Carolina presents plenty of challenges with their offense, but Baylor has proven that they can get stops when needed.

The Bears can also really shoot the basketball, especially from the three-point line. James Akinjo and Adam Flagler give Baylor a pair of elite three-point shooters, and that’s going to play a role in this game. 

Baylor will try to slow down the tempo in this game, but they have enough athletes to beat UNC if things start going back and forth.

Baylor Beats Up on UNC

This North Carolina team can really score, but they are facing a team that just doesn’t give up much to their opponents at all. The Tar Heels are going to have to shoot it extremely well on Saturday, but getting good shots won’t come easy.

There is a reason that Baylor is the number one seed in the East, and they have the ability to win games in so many different ways. The Bears have athletes at every single position, and they are simply going to wear down the Tar Heels. 

This game will be close throughout, but Baylor will pull away in the end. Bet the Baylor Bears -5.5 as they beat up on the North Carolina Tar Heels to advance to the Sweet 16 yet again.

Prop Pick

North Carolina (-110) UNDER 71.5 Points

Baylor is allowing 63.4 points per game on defense, which ranks No. 47 in the nation, while holding teams to 46.6 percent shooting from the field, which ranks No. 50. Scores had gone UNDER in seven of the Bears’ last nine games after allowing less than 50 points in the previous game (Norfolk State scored 49 in Baylor’s last game).

With Dunkel predicting a Baylor victory by the score of 73-64, take the Tar Heels (-110) to finish UNDER their Vegas team total of 71.5 points against the Bears.

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