#2 North Carolina Tar Heels vs #15 Long Island Blackbirds | Predictions, Preview, Odds & Free Pick | Sportsbookbuzz.com

Tar Heels try to prevent flight of Blackbirds

Roy Williams has continued the tradition established by Dean Smith of having North Carolina Tar Heels teams seeded high in the NCAA Tournament. UNC begins play in March Madness on Friday when they take on the Long Island Blackbirds in Charlotte.

vs.

#2 North Carolina (26-7, 14-2 ACC) vs. #15 Long Island (27-5, 16-2 NEC)

Date/Time: Friday, March 18, 7:15 PM ET
Venue: Time Warner Cable Arena in Charlotte, NC.
Broadcast: CBS

Money Line: N/A
Spread: North Carolina -17 ½
Over/Under: 158

The Blackbirds return to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1997 and for just the fourth time in school history. They are seeking their first ever tournament victory, and feel that they have the offense with which to pull off a monumental victory.

Click Here for more FREE EXPERT March Madness Basketball Picks

Long Island easily won the NEC regular season title and then the post-season conference tournament with a team that averages 82.6 points per game. That ranks them 4th in the entire country. They also are 3rd in the nation in rebounds at 41.8 per contest, and overall the team that actually calls Brooklyn home has won 13 straight games and 20 of their last 21.

Still, this is North Carolina we are talking about. The Tar Heels are 24th in the nation in scoring at 76.7 points per contest, and led the entire country as a team in rebounds (42.5 RPG). The Tar Heels really began to find their collective stride when Kendall Marshall was inserted into the starting lineup.

The freshman point guard wound up leading the team in assists at 5.8 per game, having taken over the job following the in-season departure of Larry Drew II. They won nine straight games before falling in Sunday’s ACC title game to Duke. North Carolina’s leading scorer was Harrison Barnes, who averaged 15 points per contest.

The Blackbirds counter with balanced scoring. Four players finished the season averaging double figures in points per game: Julian Boyd (12.9 PPG), Jamal Olasewere (12.9 PPG), David Hicks (11.0 PPG), and Kyle Johnson (10.8 PPG) can all shoot from outside. Long Island shot 36.6 percent from beyond the arc this season.

The odds makers have the North Carolina Tar Heels as a -17.5 point favorite with an over/under of 158.

Check out the latest March Madness Odds here.

Prediction: This game will likely be closer than the experts will predict. In the end, the size advantage for North Carolina with players like Barnes, John Henson, and Tyler Zeller, will prove to be too much for the Blackbirds.

Need more help making your picks winners? Check out our top handicappers.

Bet the North Carolina/Long Island basketball game at an online sportsbook that gives you a 50% sign up bonus up to $500 from the website “Where the Line Originates” – Bookmaker.

North Carolina Tar Heels Betting Trends: