Tar Heels, Jayhawks Full of Surprises
by Perry of
BetWWTS Sportsbook
A team that does well when it isn't expected to is not only great for fans, it can be very profitable for bettors.
Such is the case for the defending national champion North Carolina Tar Heels. The Tar Heels entered the season having lost their top seven scorers from last year, four of whom were drafted into the NBA.
Forced to rely on freshmen, the Heels were not expected to contend this season, and lower expectations were factored into UNC's pointspreads. As it turns out, the freshmen were better than initially thought. Much better.
With astute coaching by Roy Williams, the Tar Heels notched an impressive record of 22-7 straight up (SU) overall and 12-4 SU in the ACC.
Leading the way for the Heels was 6-foot-9 freshman F Tyler Hansbrough. The ACC rookie of the year topped the team in scoring with 19.1 ppg (second overall in the conference) and rebounds with 7.8 rpg.
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The highlight of UNC's unlikely season was a victory in the regular-season finale against rival Duke at Cameron Indoor Stadium. The Heels won 83-76 as 7-point dogs.
The team's unexpected success fattened the bankrolls of North Carolina backers who got favorable pointspreads all season long. The Heels went 18-8-1 against the spread (ATS) - a winning percentage of 67 percent (6th overall in college hoops).
UNC started the season unranked in the major media pools, but finished the season ranked No. 10 by the AP.
The Heels earned a No. 3 seed in the Washington bracket of the NCAA tournament. On Friday, they will face No. 14 seed Murray St. at the University of Dayton Arena (9:30 p.m. ET).
Winners of the Ohio Valley Conference, Murray St. has a record of 24-6 SU overall and 17-3 SU in conference play. The Racers have a fairly dismal record of 11-17 ATS and have dropped four of their last six ATS.
The Heels, meanwhile, are an incredible 8-2 ATS on the road and are 10-2-1 ATS in their past 13. They opened as 6.5-point favorites versus the Racers.
Another team that played extremely well this year despite low expectations was Kansas.
Last season, the Jayhawks were supposed to contend for the national championship but were embarrassingly eliminated in the first round of the tournament by Bucknell.
That capped a disappointing end to the season whereby Kansas lost six of its last nine games. With four starters gone and only one returning, most figured the pain from last year would spill over into this season.
But like UNC, the freshmen stepped up - three of the top four scorers on KU are rookies including 6-foot-6 guard Brandon Rush. Named the Big 12 Freshman of the Year, Rush led the team in scoring with 13.6 ppg and rebounds with 5.9 rpg.
The Jayhawks fought their way to a record of 25-7 SU overall and 14-3 SU against Big 12 opponents. Last week, they beat No. 9 Texas 80-68 as 3-point dogs to win the Big 12 championship.
Once again, the unexpected success has been a boon to Jayhawks' bettors. KU went 19-11 ATS this season, a winning percentage of 63 percent.
For their efforts, the NCAA tournament committee granted Kansas the No. 4 seed in the Oakland bracket. On Friday, they will tip off with No. 13 seed Bradley at the Palace of Auburn Hills (9:30 p.m. ET).
Bradley had a record of 20-10 SU overall and 11-7 SU in the Missouri Valley Conference. Last week, the Braves lost to Southern Illinois 59-46 in the conference championship as 3-point favorites.
Despite that loss, the Braves also had one of the best betting records in college basketball this season having gone 17-10-1 ATS, a winning percentage of 61 percent.
Ranked No. 12 by the AP, Kansas opened as a mere 3.5-point favorite versus Bradley, which only played one Top 25 team this season - last month they beat then-No. 25 Northern Iowa 71-49 as 6-point dogs.
The Jayhawks enter the game having gone 12-4 ATS in their past 16 games and 6-2 ATS away from home. The Braves are just 6-7 ATS on the road.
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