The North Carolina Tar Heels are playing in a Final Four this week, just not the one you would expect. The Tar Heels are in the Final Four of the NIT and they face Rhode Island in the late game on Tuesday at Madison Square Garden (9:15 p.m. ET, ESPN2).
Rhode Island is listed as a 1-point favorite and the total is set at 149 at SBG Global.
While North Carolina has the bigger name, Rhode Island might have the better team this year. The Rams won 26 games this season and nearly made the NCAA Tournament while North Carolina struggled through one of their worst seasons in recent memory.
That said, the Tar Heels have come together in the NIT so Tuesday’s game has the potential to be compelling.
North Carolina and Rhode Island last met in 1993 in the NCAA Tournament and the Tar Heels won by 45 points, their largest margin of victory ever in the NCAA Tournament.
Heels head coach Roy Williams has different memories of Rhode Island, though. His Kansas Jayhawks were upset in the 1998 NCAA Tourney by the Rams, who had Cuttino Mobley and Tyson Wheeler. The two stars combined for 47 points in the win.
“I think both of them scored 400 points apiece,” Williams said. “They had a great win, and we had a terrible loss.”
Rhode Island freshman Akeem Richmond is an important player off the bench for the Rams and he was recruited briefly by North Carolina.
“I remember watching him in high school – a young man who could really score,” North Carolina coach Roy Williams said. In the end, the Tar Heels decided not to go after Richmond.
“Of course, I feel like I have something to prove, but I’m not going to go out there doing too much; I’m just going to try to treat it like a normal game.” Richmond said.
Here are some key NIT betting stats for Tuesday’s game:
The Tar Heels are 45-19 ATS in their last 64 non-conference games. The Tar Heels are 7-3 ATS in their last 10 neutral site games. The Tar Heels are 3-10 ATS in their last 13 games as an underdog.
The Rams are 4-1 ATS in their last five non-conference games.
The over is 4-1 in the Tar Heels’ last five non-conference games. The under is 19-7 in the Tar Heels’ last 26 overall. The under is 7-0 in the Rams’ last seven neutral site games.
Title: NIT Betting Preview: Rhode Island vs. North Carolina
Duration: 0:00
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Category: Sports Roundup
Added on: March 30th, 2010
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