Alabama vs. North Carolina: Sportsbook shares how Sweet 16 matchup is being bet
By Andrew Olson
Published:
Alabama and North Carolina headline Thursday’s Sweet 16 slate with a late-night clash in Los Angeles between the 4-seed Crimson Tide and 1-seed Tar Heels.
Thursday morning, DraftKings Sportsbook shared with Saturday Down South how the Sweet 16 matchup is being bet ahead of tipoff (9:39 p.m. ET, CBS).
Bettors are strongly favoring the Tar Heels. At publishing time, Alabama moneyline is priced at +164 ($100 bet wins $164), while favorite UNC is -198 ($198 bet needed to win $100).
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At DraftKings, 88% of moneyline bets for 85% of the handle (amount of money in play) is on the Tar Heels. As a straight-up underdog winner, Alabama has 15% of the handle at 12% of bets.
- North Carolina to win (-198): 88% bets, 85% handle
- Alabama to win (+164): 12% bets, 15% handle
Carolina is currently being given 4.5 points against the Crimson Tide. Bettors are quite confident that the Tar Heels will cover.
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As a 4.5-point favorite priced at -110, Carolina is getting 91% of bets for 94% of the handle. Alabama is getting just 9% of bets for 6% of the handle.
- North Carolina -4.5 (-110): 91% bets, 94% handle
- Alabama +4.5 (-110): 9% bets, 6% handle
Tar Heels expected to slow the Tide from lighting up the scoreboard
The over/under for the game’s point total is currently set at 173.5. Both are priced at -110.
Alabama has established itself as one of the top offensive teams in the country, but the Crimson Tide have had defensive issues throughout the season. UA did make it to the Sweet 16, though, by winning a 72-61 game against Grand Canyon.
At DraftKings, the over/under splits are a bit different than the game winner. In terms of bets, it’s a 55/45 split in favor of under. There’s a 70/30 split, however, on the handle.
- Under 173.5 points (-110): 55% bets, 70% handle
- Over 173.5 points (-110): 45% bets, 30% handle
How they got here
North Carolina is playing some of its best basketball, having won 10 of its last 11 games. The Tar Heels cruised past 16-seed Wagner 90-62 in the First Round and took over against 9-seed Michigan State to win 85-69 in the Round of 32.
Alabama stumbled into March Madness, dropping 4 of its last 6 over the course of the regular season and the SEC Tournament.
Nate Oats’ team recovered in the NCAA Tournament. A 4-seed, Alabama bested 13-seed College of Charleston 109-96 in the First Round. Against 12-seed Grand Canyon, UA managed a 72-61 win.
Andrew writes about sports to fund his love of live music and collection of concert posters. He strongly endorses the Hall of Fame campaigns of Fred Taylor and Andruw Jones.
