March Madness Picks & Predictions for Sunday, March 27, 2011
By Nate Steele
(The Spread) – Kentucky and North Carolina for the rights to go the Final Four. Does it get any better than that?
View Current March Madness Odds
No. 4 seed Kentucky shocked many people Friday night by upsetting top seed Ohio State 62-60, while No. 2 seed North Carolina steamrolled Marquette 81-63 to advance. The Wildcats and Tar Heels will do batte today in their Elite Eight matchup beginning at approximately 5:05PM EST.
Oddsmakers from online sports book Bodog.com have made Kentucky a 1.5-point favorite in the contest and the over-under is set at 146.
According to the latest trends, the Wildcats are 0-7-1 ATS in the last eight meetings. The Tar Heels are 12-3-1 ATS in their last 16 versus the Southeastern Conference. Kentucky is 6-1 ATS in its last seven non-conference games.
Tyler Zeller has been instrumental for North Carolina recently and he scored 27 points in the victory over Marquette. Meanwhile, Brandon Knight hit his second game-winning shot during the NCAA Tournament with his winning jump shot in the closing seconds against Ohio State.
Kentucky vs. North Carolina, 5:05PM EST (View Matchup)
March Madness Predictions: Kentucky is riding quite a momentum swing with its second down-to-the-wire victory of the tournament versus Ohio State and now have the confidence to defeat anyone in its path. While North Carolina has been an offensive juggernaut throughout its run thus far, it has yet to meet a team with the physicality of Kentucky. If the Wildcats can slow the tempo slightly and not try to play the Tar Heels' game, this should be theirs to win. Brandon Knight and Terrence Jones have grown as the season has progressed, while the inside play of Kentucky is playing brilliant basketball as of late. I am rolling with the Wildcats in this one.
MARCH MADNESS ELITE EIGHT FREE PICK: KENTUCKY -1.5