The North Carolina Tar Heels and Michigan State Spartans face off in the second round of the 2024 NCAA Basketball Tournament. The North Carolina Tar Heels easily handled Wagner in a game where their stars played like stars. Michigan State also took care of business fairly easily, downing Mississippi State 69-51 in the very first game of the tournament. With these two squaring off in the second round, basketball fans will be treated to a clash of two titans in college basketball.
Below, we will preview this NCAA Tournament college basketball game, giving an North Carolina vs Michigan State prediction and other March Madness expert picks. Which school will win and keep their hopes of winning the championship trophy alive?
North Carolina vs Michigan State Prediction and March Madness Expert Picks
2024 NCAA Tournament
No. 1 North Carolina Tar Heels (28-7) vs. No. 9 Michigan State (20-14)
Date: Saturday, March 23, 2024
Time: 5:30 PM EST
Venue: Spectrum Center — Charlotte, NC
Coverage: CBS
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North Carolina vs Michigan State March Madness Odds
All college basketball betting odds for Arizona vs Long Beach State can be found at BetUS Sportsbook.
Moneyline: UNC: -185 | MSU: +154
Point Spread: UNC: -4 (-110) | MSU: +4 (-110)
Total: 140.5 — Over: (-112) | Under: (-108)
KenPom Rankings | Bracketology
KenPom Rankings are from KenPom.com
| Team | Rk | AdjO | AdjD | AdjT |
| North Carolina | 9 | 118.5 (18) | 93.3 (7) | 70.6 (42) |
| Michigan State | 16 | 114.2 (49) | 93.1 (6) | 65.1 (310) |
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North Carolina vs Michigan State College Basketball Trends
- North Carolina is 9-3 in non-conference college basketball games this season.
- Michigan State is 9-3 in non-conference college basketball games this season.
- The OVER is 16-17-1 in North Carolina basketball games this season.
- The OVER is 14-20 in Michigan State basketball games this season.
- North Carolina is 5-2 in NCAA Tournament games since 2019.
- Michigan State is 4-3 in NCAA Tournament games since 2019.
North Carolina vs Michigan State Prediction | March Madness Expert Picks
The North Carolina Tar Heels were one of the best teams this season all year long. In the first round of the NCAA Tournament, the Tar Heels obliterated Wagner. That came on the back of their dominance in the paint. If teams give Carolina the paint, they will take it all day with Armando Bacot and Jalen Washington. Against Wagner, Bacot totaled 20 points and 15 rebounds. Additionally, North Carolina’s number one player R.J. Davis had a huge second half, as he finished the game with 22 points, including shooting 4/7 on three point shots. What was nice to see out of the Tar Heels too, was the excellent game out of Jae’lyn Withers. Withers put together his best game of the year, scoring 16 points and adding 10 rebounds off of the bench. As a whole, North Carolina took care of business and beat a far inferior opponent, but to see them work so well in the paint and not have to rely on three point shooting is a good sign for the rest of the tournament.
In what was basically a pick ’em game, the Michigan State Spartans took down Mississippi State in the first round. Much like North Carolina, the Spartans got great production out of their stars. Jaden Akins went for 15 points and hit three three-pointers, while Tyson Walker put up a solid 19 points. This wasn’t much of a challenge for the Spartans, as they were able to slow the game down with the nations’ 310th fastest tempo. As a whole, the Spartans defense was a major focal point of their game, shutting down Bulldogs’ star Tolu Smith. Can the defense once again get them the victory in the second round?
While Michigan State registered one of the best games of their season, North Carolina is a different animal than Mississippi State. I am not sure that the Spartans will be able to handle North Carolina’s strong inside presence. As for the defense, North Carolina obviously has the better between the teams and Michigan State lacks the fire power of the Tar Heels. North Carolina has four legit scorers in their starting lineup. I think that this is where the Spartans’ season comes to an end. For our North Carolina vs Michigan State prediction, we are picking the North Carolina Tar Heels to win and move on in the NCAA Tournament.
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