The Indiana Hoosiers are 7-1 straight up and 6-2 against the spread over their last eight games, including two outright upsets. The Hoosiers will need to pull off another upset to advance to the Elite Eight taking on the North Carolina Tar Heels on Friday night.
North Carolina vs. Indiana, NCAA Tournament 2016 odds: Underdog Hoosiers seek upset
After defeating Kentucky in the Round of 32, Indiana hopes for another upset against favored North Carolina in the Sweet 16 on Friday.
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Indiana is a 5.5-point betting underdog in this Sweet 16 showdown at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com. In their last four games as a betting underdog, the Hoosiers are 4-1 SU and ATS.
No. 5 seeds going up against No. 12 seeds has historically been a tricky matchup for the 5-seed, but Indiana had no trouble at all in dispatching Chattanooga with a 99-74 win as an 11-point favorite. The Hoosiers carried that momentum into an impressive 73-67 upset win over the Kentucky Wildcats, who many believed were good enough to make a deep run this season.
Despite being overshadowed by some other teams around the nation, Indiana has been very strong this year with a 27-7 SU and 19-15 ATS record.
While Indiana is just 2-6 SU and ATS in its last eight games against ACC opponents overall, the Hoosiers have had success against North Carolina with a 3-1 SU and 4-0 ATS record in their last four games against the Tar Heels per the OddsShark College Basketball Database.
North Carolina locked up its one-seed and the ACC title with a 5-0 SU and 4-1 ATS run to enter the tournament that included wins over fellow Sweet 16 teams Syracuse, Duke, Notre Dame, and Virginia. Through the first two games in the tournament, the Tar Heels have beaten No. 16 Florida Gulf Coast by 16 points and followed that up with a 19-point win over No. 9 Providence.
North Carolina is second only to Kansas on the odds to win the NCAA Tournament, but it will have a tough test in this round against a very capable Hoosiers squad.
Friday’s total is set at 158.5 points. The OVER is 6-1 in Indiana’s last seven games in the month of March.
North Carolina’s loss to Wisconsin in the Sweet 16 last year broke up a streak of 11 straight wins in the Sweet 16 that dated back to 1993. The Tar Heels will try to start up another Sweet 16 streak on Friday in what should be a very good game between two legitimate contenders.
