Hubert Davis and the North Carolina Tar Heels match up against Bill Self and the Kansas Jayhawks in the 2022 NCAA Tournament championship game on Monday evening. Both teams head into this contest with their confidence sky-high. The top-seed Jayhawks are on a 10-game win streak, beating Villanova 81-65 in their previous game. No. 8 seed North Carolina has won five straight games, upsetting ACC rival Duke 81-77 in a historic Final Four victory on Saturday.
Tipoff in New Orleans is set for 9:20 p.m. ET. Caesars Sportsbook lists the Jayhawks as four-point favorites in the latest Kansas vs. North Carolina odds. The over-under for total points is set at 151. Before locking in any North Carolina vs. Kansas picks, be sure to check out the 2022 NCAA Tournament predictions from SportsLine's Matt Severance.
A well-connected writer and handicapper who has worked in the industry since 2005, Severance is on a stunning run: He is a blistering 105-73-4 on his last 182 college basketball picks against the spread, returning $2,400 to $100 bettors during that span. Anyone who has followed him is way up.
Now, Severance has set his sights on Kansas vs. UNC and just locked in his picks and college basketball predictions for March Madness 2022. You can head to SportsLine now to see his picks. Here are several college basketball odds and betting lines for UNC vs. Kansas:
- Kansas vs. UNC spread: Kansas -4
- Kansas vs. UNC over-under: 151 points
- Kansas vs. UNC money line: Kansas -210, UNC +175
- KU: The Jayhawks are 7-5 against the spread in neutral-site games
- UNC: The Tar Heels are 6-4 against the spread in neutral-site games
Why Kansas can cover
Ochai Agbaji projects as one of the most talented players on the floor. Agbaji is a two-way wing who projects as a potential lottery pick in the upcoming 2022 NBA Draft, and he scored 21 points while hitting six 3-pointers against Villanova in the national semifinal. For the season, Agbaji is averaging 18.9 points and 5.1 rebounds with a 41.0 percent mark from 3-point range, and he is the 2021-22 Big 12 Player of the Year. Alongside Agbaji is a deep and talented roster, including talented wing Christian Braun, who connected on a pair of dagger 3-pointers in the second half against Villanova, and David McCormack, who owned the interior in scoring 25 points and grabbing nine rebounds in the Final Four tilt.
Kansas is an excellent shooting team, posting an effective field-goal percentage of 53.9 percent, and the Jayhawks are very good on the offensive glass. Kansas grabs more than 33 percent of its own missed shots, and the Jayhawks project for a very low-turnover game against North Carolina. Kansas commits a giveaway on only 17.4 percent of possessions, and North Carolina is one of the worst teams in the country when it comes to creating turnovers. The Tar Heels are outside the top 300 in turnover creation rate (13.7 percent) and steal rate (7.4 percent).
Why North Carolina can cover
North Carolina has been one of the top rebounding teams in the nation. The Tar Heels ranked sixth nationally with 40.87 rebounds per game. The Tar Heels all crash the boards and that hasn't slowed down during their NCAA Tournament 2022 run. UNC snagged 43-plus boards in five straight games, including 50 rebounds in the win over Duke.
Junior forward Armando Bacot is a dominant threat on the glass, constantly creating second-chance opportunities. Bacot was third in the country in rebounds per game (13.1) and second in offensive rebounds (4.13). The Virginia native has pulled down 20-plus rebounds in consecutive matchups. In the Final Four win over Duke, Bacot suffered an ankle injury but played through it and produced a stellar outing. He finished with 11 points and 21 rebounds.
How to make Kansas vs. North Carolina picks
For North Carolina vs. Kansas, Severance is leaning under on the point total, but he also says a critical X-factor makes one side of the spread a must-back. He's only sharing what it is, and which side of the UNC vs. Kansas spread to back, at SportsLine.
Who wins North Carolina vs. Kansas? And which side of the spread is a must-back? Visit SportsLine now to see which side of the Kansas vs. North Carolina spread you need to jump on, all from the expert who has crushed his college basketball picks, and find out.
