Wisconsin Badgers vs. North Carolina Tar Heels Sweet 16 Betting Matchup

The No. 4 North Carolina Tar Heels are 9-0 SU and 6-3 ATS in nine trips to the Sweet 16 since 1996. UNC will be in the underdog role this Thursday going up against the No. 1 Wisconsin Badgers at Staples Center.

North Carolina is a 5.5-point underdog against Wisconsin according to sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com. This will be the first game of the NCAA Tournament that Wisconsin is favored by less than double-digits.

UNC has played well over its last nine games, putting together a 7-2 SU and 6-3 ATS run that includes strong road wins over Louisville and Virginia. The Tar Heels survived No. 13 Harvard’s tough team defense in a 67-65 win in the Round of 64 and was much more comfortable in an 87-78 shootout win over Arkansas on Saturday.

The Tar Heels have only been an underdog five times in the NCAA Tournament since 2000 and are 0-5 SU and ATS in those five instances.

The Badgers won but failed to cover in each of their first two games of the NCAA Tournament, beating Coastal Carolina 86-72 as a 20-point favorite and Oregon 72-65 as a 12.5-point favorite. Winning without covering has been a common theme for the Badgers in 2015 as the team is 18-1 SU and 8-10-1 ATS over its last 19 games.

Wisconsin is 2-0 ATS in its last two games against UNC and 5-2 ATS in its last seven trips to the Sweet 16.

Thursday’s total is set at 142 points at the sportsbooks. The OVER is 3-2 in Wisconsin’s last five games and in North Carolina’s last five games according to the OddsShark College Basketball Database.

No. 1 seeds are 22-8 SU in their last 30 games against No. 4 seeds, but have been less dominant of late as No. 4 seeds are 3-2 SU in the last five games between these two seeds. This will be just the third time these two teams have met since 2005, with UNC favored in the previous two meetings. UNC has been the underdog only once in its last nine trips to the Sweet 16, upsetting Tennessee 74-69 back in 2000.