The NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament gets underway today, as the field of 68 has already been reduced to 64 teams after the conclusion of Wednesday’s First Four matchups. Wagner played in a First Four matchup on Tuesday, outlasting Howard 71-68 in Dayton, OH, and was awarded a date with North Carolina. The Tar Heels fell short in the ACC Championship, but they received the fourth overall #1 seed and have a great chance to win today and make a deep run in this year’s tournament.
In this article, I give you a few Wagner vs. North Carolina predictions, which you can use to unlock a $250 welcome bonus if you’re located in North Carolina. If you’re not located in NC, don’t worry, you can still earn a $150 sign-up boost from DraftKings Sportsbook.
The Wagner Seahawks and North Carolina Tar Heels face off today in the first round of the 2024 NCAAB Tournament, and I anticipate a big win for the #1-seeded Heels. North Carolina enters today’s matchup with a 27-7 record and faces a Wagner team that is 17-15 and qualified for the tournament after winning the Northeast Conference Tournament. Wagner took down Howard in a First Four matchup on Tuesday night, but today’s game against UNC won’t be as easy.
The fact Wagner won on Tuesday is remarkable because their roster contains just seven healthy players. They’ll have the same group today, and although they jumped out to an early lead against Howard, the Bison almost pulled off a late-game comeback. Carolina’s depth and size will cause issues for Wagner, and I’m not sure how they’ll slow down RJ Davis, Armando Bacot or Cormac Ryan. The Seahawks have one player taller than 6’ 7”, and Carolina is one of the best rebounding teams in the country. I fully expect the Tar Heels to dominate the glass and get easy second-chance points.
Rhode Island, Seton Hall and Providence are the three toughest teams Wagner has played this season, and they lost those three games by an average of 23.7 points. UNC is head and shoulders above all three of those teams and should cruise to a 25+ point victory. Therefore, my main Wagner vs. North Carolina prediction is on the Tar Heels -24 (-112 at DraftKings).
Wagner vs. North Carolina Round of 64 Picks & March Madness Best Bets Highlighting UNC -24
The Tar Heels have only been favorites by more than 20 points three times this season, and Hubert Davis’ squad went 2-1 against the spread in those contests. In Davis’ first NCAA Tournament appearance leading UNC, the Tar Heels dispatched Marquette 95-63. He wasn’t concerned about taking his foot off the pedal in that game, so I fully expect UNC to play their starters well into the second half. In addition to my pick on UNC -24 (-108 at DraftKings), let’s dive into some of my other Wagner vs. North Carolina best bets.
Another way you could bet on today’s game would be to place a wager on North Carolina O79.5 Total Points (-105 at DraftKings). The Tar Heels average 81.5 points per game (T20th in the country) and have scored 80+ points in eight of the 13 games in which they’ve been double-digit favorites this season. Wager will have no answers for UNC’s size, and so long as the Tar Heels control the pace of today’s game, they should surpass 80 points.
