ACC betting preview for Day 3 at the NCAA Tournament

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)

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.

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