Tonight the Harvard Crimson will tangle with the North Carolina Tar Heels at Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida in the 2nd round of the NCAA Tournament. The game has a start time of 7:20 pm (Eastern) and will be televised on TNT. Current Vegas betting odds have the Tar Heels listed as 9.5 point favorites, while the total is set at 136. 

Analysis: The Harvard Crimson had another nice year in the Ivy league as they went 22-7 overall and 11-3 in the Ivy League. they did tie Yale for the Ivy league regular season title, but won a trip to the big dance with a 53-51 win over the Bulldogs in the 1 game playoff. This will be Harvard's 4th trip in a row to the Big Dance and heir 5th overall. Harvard has gone 7-2 ATS in their last 9 vs. the ACC, but just 1-4 ATS in their last 5 non-conference games. The Crimson have been a poor offensive team this year, ranking 260th in scoring (64.2 ppg), 179th in shooting (43.5%), 129th in 3 point shooting (35.2%) and 89th in FT shooting (71.6%). The defense for this team has been very good this year, ranking 12th in points allowed (57.2 ppg), 48th in defensive FG% (39.9%) and 98th in 3 point defense (32.8%). 

The North Carolina Tar Heels have had another solid year as they went 24-11 overall and made it to the Finals of the ACC Tournament before losing to Notre Dame. This will be the Heels 46th trip to the Big Dance and they have 18 Final Fours and 5 National Titles to show for it. The Tar Heels have gone 6-1 ATS in their last 7 neutral site games, but just 1-5 ATS in their last 6 NCAA Tournament games. North Carolina has been a very good offensive team this year, ranking 17th in scoring (77.9 ppg), 27th in shooting (47.5%), 168th in 3 point shooting (34.5%) and 136th in FT shooting (70.1%). The defense for this team has not been that good as they come in ranked 238th in points allowed (68.4 ppg), 42nd in defensive FG% (39.8%) and 12th in 3 point defense (29.8%).         

Pick:  I will be looking at the Heels to win this one BIG. The Heels are still smarting a bit from letting the ACC Title go and i expect Roy Williams to have his team ready and focused for this one. Harvard was really lucky to get here and overall they haven't been the same type of team that we have seen in the past. They are not a big team and the Heels will easily control the glass here. The Heels can also score plenty, while the Crimson are a very poor offensive team I see the Heels taking their frustrations out on a very aver Harvard team, on their way to a 15+ point win. This one will not be good for the Crimson.  

-$25 of picks FREE! No Obligation - No Credit Card Required - Becoming a member is Fast and Free! 

Stay on top of the latest odds and line moves for CBB Season with our real-time odds from Las Vegas and offshore!

Handicapping Tips: NCAA Tournament Round 1
Steve Fezzik and Teddy Covers from Pregame.com give some insight and tips on handicapping the 1st round of the NCAA Tournament.