NCAA Basketball Picks: The 12th-ranked North Carolina Tar Heels are big favorites to defeat the East Carolina Pirates on Sunday in a game that can be seen on ESPN U. There is no doubt that the public will be backing the Tar Heels in this game but it is worth noting that East Carolina covered the spread when these teams met two years ago. Let’s look at the game and NCAA basketball predictions.
Can the Pirates Cover?
There is not much doubt that East Carolina will lose this game on Sunday as they are simply overmatched. The Pirates were just 4-3 after their first seven games and those games were against weaker competition. They take a big step up on Sunday against the Tar Heels. East Carolina has been scoring enough points to make this interesting as they are averaging 75 points per game. The concern is a defense that is allowing about 67 points per game.
The Pirates only had three of their first seven games with lines posted and they went 1-2 ATS. The Pirates won four games when they out-rebounded its opponent, while they lost all three games in which it has lost the battle on the boards. The Pirates do have an exciting young scorer in B.J. Tyson who is 10th in freshmen scoring.
12th-Ranked Tar Heels
The Tar Heels started the season at 5-1 before their game against Iowa on Wednesday. The team went 4-2 against the NCAA basketball odds in their first six games. The team was averaging 81 points per game while allowing 64 per contest. North Carolina is playing better defense than they did a year ago, led by Brice Johnson. The Tar Heels were in the top 10 in defense in effective field-goal percentage. The Tar Heels have never finished in the top 20 defensively under head coach Roy Williams.
“Brice and Kennedy and Isaiah and Desmond have done a great job of protecting the rim and bringing interior defense,” point guard Marcus Paige said. “When all those parts are coming together, we could be a complete defensive team.” The Tar Heels were 12th in the country in blocks at six per game.
Game Notes
These teams met two years ago and it was the Tar Heels winning by a score of 93-87. They didn’t come close to covering the 16.5 point basketball betting number in a game that flew over the total of 149.
NCAA Basketball Predictions
We’ll look for the North Carolina Tar Heels to win and cover this game.
