North Carolina (26-9) vs UCLA (27-7)
When: Friday, March 25th 2022
Where: Wells Fargo Center,
Philadelphia, PA
Time: 9:39 ET | TV: CBS
Opening Odds: UCLA -3/142
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The North Carolina Tar Heels might be a No. 8 seed in this NCAA Tournament, but they have been playing like a One. They’ll look to continue their road towards the Final Four when they take on the fourth-seeded UCLA Bruins on Friday night in Philadelphia. The Tar Heels won their final five regular season games before bowing out in the ACC Tournament, then easily handled Marquette in the first round. It looked like another dominating blowout over top-seeded Baylor in the second round, but the Bears fought back to force overtime before UNC prevailed. Carolina is now 8-1 in their last nine contests and 7-1 ATS. They have also won 16 straight games against Pac-12 opponents.
The Bruins had some trouble with Akron in the first round, but looked like a Final Four team with a blowout win over Saint Mary’s. The team shot a sizzling 56.5 percent against the Gaels and only took nine three-pointers – making four. The Bruins also committed just five turnovers in the win. UCLA is seeking back-to-back Final Fours after getting their in 2021 as a Play-In team. The Bruins, who have lost their last five meetings with North Carolina, are 0-9 ATS in their last nine against ACC opponents. The line for this game is UCLA -2.5 and a total of 141.5. The winner will get either Purdue or St. Peter’s in the Elite Eight on Sunday.
North Carolina built a 25-point lead on Baylor last weekend, but a Tar Heel ejection seemed to fuel the Bears. Forward Brady Manek received an ejection for a flagrant elbow, and the Tar Heels held on for a 93-86 win in overtime in a game that saw 53 personal fouls called. R.J. Davis scored a career-high 30 points in the win and drained down five 3-pointers. Manek hit four, and had 26 points prior to his ejection. Both Manek and Armando Bacot have been dominating for Carolina this tournament. Bacot has 32 points and 26 rebounds in the two wins, and Manek 54 points and 16 rebounds. North Carolina has now scored over 90 points in each game of the tournament thus far, thanks in large part to their outside shooting.
Tyger Campbell led UCLA with 16 points against the Gaels and also had 16 in the first round win. Three other Bruins starters scored at least 14 points, including Jaime Jaquez Jr., who had 15. Jacquez hurt his ankle in the Saint Mary’s game, but has plenty of time to rest up. Campbell, who shot 41 percent from beyond the arc this season, knocked down three treys in the Round of 64 followed by an eight-for-eight night from the free throw line in the Round of 32. Guard Jules Bernard has 24 points so far this tournament. Defensively, the Bruins are 14th in the nation in adjusted defensive efficiency and have held their last two opponents to lower than 48.0 effective field goal percentage.
I have the Bruins going all the way to the final game, but this North Carolina team looks a lot better right now. The Tar Heels offense is sizzling and I’m not sure the Bruins can hold them back.
Pick: North Carolina +2.5
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