Louisville basketball is taking on the North Carolina Tar Heels this evening in a massive ACC showdown. With the Cardinals having just four games remaining before the postseason begins, Louisville is trying to climb the ACC standings to earn that coveted bye, and tonight marks a crucial stretch for them to secure a higher seed in the ACC Tournament.
Louisville has won six of its last seven, including a 17-point victory over Georgia Tech a couple of days ago, while North Carolina has gone 2-2 in their last four, including a 24-point loss to North Carolina State. Louisville has struggled against ranked teams this season, and even more so on the road. When UofL has traveled on the road to take on a ranked team, the Cards are 0-3 and have lost by an average of 20.3 points.
So, tonight is a huge game for Louisville to flip the switch, show this team is trending in the right direction, and try to climb the ACC standings and seed hunt for the NCAA Tournament. So, with Louisville struggling on the road against ranked teams, and North Carolina struggling recently in the past four games, what are the experts and Vegas oddmakers predicting for this crucial ACC showdown?
Vegas oddsmakers give the edge to Louisville basketball
Despite Louisville’s road record and history against ranked teams, the Cardinals travel to Chapel Hill as favorites. The Vegas oddsmakers over at FanDuel give Louisville the slight edge as the Cards are a 2.5 point favorite against North Carolina, and give Louisville -144 odds to defeat North Carolina and the Tar Heels +120 odds to defeat Louisville.
ESPN Matchup Predictor projects this Cardinals team to also win on the road as Pat Kelsey and his squad have a 59.2 percent chance of winning according to ESPN Analytics. These odds have dipped a little bit, as Louisville did have 61.1 percent entering the weekend, but with North Carolina’s center, Henri Veesaar, listed as probable, UNC gets a big boost for tonight's game.
With UNC without Caleb Wilson, the oddsmakers clearly give the Cards the edge, as Louisville saw against North Carolina State how big a piece Wilson is to this Tar Heels squad. Louisville has a huge opportunity to stay hot in February with UNC, Clemson, and Miami still on its schedule, and with the Tar Heels without their best player, the experts are making it clear the Cards are the favorite.
With the Cardinals trying to climb in these ACC standings, tonight marks the beginning of a huge stretch for Louisville. The Cards have a massive week with UNC tonight and Clemson on Saturday, and if Louisville can earn a marquee road win, it will give them confidence heading to Clemson, while also helping them climb in the standings and likely jump up in the NCAA Tournament seedings.
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