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The NCAA Tournament will continue with second-round play on Saturday.
The ACC will have 2 teams in action on Saturday in North Carolina and NC State — both of whom won their first-round matchups on Thursday. The Tar Heels handily defeated No. 16-seeded Wagner while the Wolfpack upset No. 6-seeded Texas Tech earlier this weekend.
Here’s a look at the ACC’s slate for Day 3 at the Big Dance:
1 North Carolina vs. 9 Michigan State | 5:30 p.m. ET | CBS | Charlotte, North Carolina
North Carolina took care of business on Thursday vs. Wagner, but will now get a much tougher test in Michigan State. The Spartans are a bit overqualified to be a No. 9 seed — they’re sitting at No. 16 overall in KenPom’s rankings entering Saturday’s slate. Carolina has won 9 of its last 10 games entering this matchup against Michigan State.
Spread: North Carolina -3.5 (via ESPN Bet)
Total: 141.5 points (via ESPN Bet)
ESPN BET Sportsbook
NJ, PA, VA, MD, WV, MA, KS, KY, LA, TN, NC, CO, AZ, IA, IL, IN, MI, OH Must be 21+. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER.
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CODE: SOUTH
CODE: SOUTH
No. 14 Oakland 11 NC State | 7:10 p.m. ET | TBS/truTV | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Both NC State and Oakland pulled off first-round upsets, which means we will have at least one double-digit seed in the Sweet 16 this year. The Wolfpack have won 6 straight games, including 4 against NCAA Tournament teams. Oakland got to this spot by pulling off the biggest upset of the Tournament so far — a win over Kentucky on Thursday.
Spread: NC State -5.5 (via ESPN Bet)
Total: 146.5 points (via ESPN Bet)
2 picks
Jack Gohlke under 3.5 made 3-pointers (+115 on ESPN Bet)
Jack Gohlke became one of the biggest stars of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday after he made 10-of-20 3-point attempts against Kentucky. That was an outlier performance — Gohlke averages 3.7 made 3-pointers per game — and I think it’s causing this prop to be miss-priced. NC State has defended the 3-point line extremely well during its winning streak. Over the last 5 games, opponents have shot just 35-of-128 (27%) from 3-point range against the Wolfpack.
North Carolina -3.5 (-120 on ESPN Bet)
It’s dangerous to bet against Tom Izzo and Michigan State in March, particularly when the Spartans are a short underdog. But I’m backing Carolina in this spot — I think they’re the more talented team and they should be locked in for this matchup against Michigan State. It should be a close game if Michigan State can make shots, but I’d lean toward UNC being able to cover the 3.5 points here.
ESPN BET Sportsbook
NJ, PA, VA, MD, WV, MA, KS, KY, LA, TN, NC, CO, AZ, IA, IL, IN, MI, OH Must be 21+. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER.
GET BONUS
CODE: SOUTH
CODE: SOUTH
Spenser is a news editor for Saturday Down South and covers college football across all Saturday Football brands.
