#1 North Carolina vs. #5 Auburn NCAA Tournament Betting Odds
- Spread: UNC -4.5
- Over/Under: 161.5
- Date: Friday, March 29
- Time: 7:29 p.m. ET
- Location: Kansas City, Mo.
- TV: TBS
North Carolina had a scare in its opening game against Iona, as it was trailing by five at half before storming back after the break. The Tar Heels then blew out Washington in the Round of 32, earning the right to play a red-hot Auburn team.
The Tigers, who won the SEC Tournament, buried Kansas in the second round, behind lights-out shooting from 3.
North Carolina's Statistical Profile
The Tar Heels finished the regular season strong with seven straight wins, include two over the Duke Blue Devils. While Coach K’s team was without Zion Williamson for the second matchup, and most of the first, Roy Williams’ team still dominated the Blue Devils in both games.
North Carolina performed admirably against Duke in the ACC Tournament, losing by just one point following Williamson's return to the Devils. While the Heels were certainly disappointed with the loss, this team is in fine form heading into the NCAA tourney. — PJ Walsh
- Record: 27-6
- Adj. Efficiency Rank: 5
- Adj. Offensive Efficiency Rank: 7
- Adj. Defensive Efficiency Rank: 12
- Tempo Rank: 4
All advanced metrics via KenPom from before NCAA Tournament.
Auburn's Statistical Profile
Considering Auburn began the year ranked 11th in the country and ended the regular season at No. 22, it would be fair to say that the Tigers may have underperformed, but only slightly.
They began the year with a few reasonable tests, and took care of business in both, knocking off Washington and Xavier. Then came a battle with Duke in which the Tigers hung around to lose by only six as 11-point underdogs. Entering SEC play, they were ranked No. 11 at 11-2 overall.
Auburn ultimately finished fourth in a difficult SEC at 11-7 in conference play, and while it took the entire regular season to get there, the Tigers finally got their statement victory in their final matchup against No. 5 Tennessee.
After that, they continued the momentum in the SEC Tournement, ultimately beating Tennessee 84-64 as 5-point underdogs in the final.
This is Auburn’s 10th NCAA tournament appearance and second in a row. They’ll be looking to bounce back from last year’s embarrassing exit – an 84-53 loss to Clemson. — Danny Donahue
- Record: 26-9
- Adj. Efficiency Rank: 14
- Adj. Offensive Efficiency Rank: 9
- Adj. Defensive Efficiency Rank: 50
- Tempo Rank: 142
All advanced metrics via KenPom from before NCAA Tournament.
Sean Koerner's North Carolina-Auburn Projections
Get point spreads for this game and every possible tournament matchup with our bracket simulator built by Sean Koerner, our Director of Predictive Analytics, a former oddsmaker and FantasyPros' most accurate in-season fantasy football ranker from 2015-2017.
- Spread: North Carolina -5.5
- Over/Under: 151.5
- Score: North Carolina 78.5 | Auburn 73
- Win Probability: North Carolina 70% | Auburn 30%
