Ole Miss vs. North Carolina Prediction, Odds & Preview: NCAA Tournament First Round Best Bets
No. 6 seed Ole Miss (22-11) meets No. 11 seed North Carolina (23-13) in today's NCAA Tournament first round at 4:05 p.m. ET (TNT) at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee.
The Tar Heels are 1.5-point favorites to advance in the South Region of the March Madness bracket. Are the best sports betting sites overreacting to their First Four win? We discuss it all in our Ole Miss vs. North Carolina prediction, odds, and preview as part of our March Madness predictions.
🏀 Ole Miss vs. North Carolina prediction & picks today
Here are my best Ole Miss vs. North Carolina predictions for the first round of the NCAA Tournament; use our parlay calculator to get the best odds for any same-game parlay:
✅ Against the spread pick: Ole Miss +1.5 (-110 via BetMGM) vs. North Carolina ⭐⭐⭐⭐
🔥 Best player prop bet: Sean Pedulla Over 13.5 points (-114 via FanDuel) ⭐⭐⭐⭐
🎯 Exact score prediction: Ole Miss 83, North Carolina 78 (+19000 via DraftKings)
👉 Want more picks? Check out our latest college basketball picks and the rest of our March Madness first-round predictions.
🤖 See our March Madness AI bracket predictions for every game through Monday, April 7
🔢 Ole Miss vs. North Carolina updated betting action
- As you may know may now, the public absolutely loves North Carolina in this matchup, and we see that based on 71% of the spread tickets at BetMGM being on the Tar Heels to cover
- Bettors are much more split on the total though, with the Over getting 57% of the action
- North Carolina briefly became a 2.5-point favorite earlier this week, but this spread settled back at -1.5
🏆 Best Ole Miss vs. North Carolina pick, player prop bet & score prediction
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✅ Ole Miss to cover the spread: +1.5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐
In Tuesday’s First Four win over the San Diego State Aztecs, the Tar Heels put on a clinic. They won by 27 points, as they shot 52.6% from the field and made 14 of their 24 3-point attempts. Because of this performance, the best March Madness betting sites now favor the Tar Heels to win this game.
The Tar Heels are 9-2 in their last 11 games, with their only two losses coming to the Duke Blue Devils. However, they went 0-3 against the SEC this season, losing to the Alabama Crimson Tide, Auburn Tigers, and Florida Gators. Meanwhile, the Rebels picked up a win over the Crimson Tide, and they went 10-8 in the historically great SEC.
The Rebels are allowing over 71 points per game, so the Tar Heels should have no trouble scoring. But the Rebels are also a great offensive team, averaging 77.2 points per contest this year. The Tar Heels rank 239th in scoring defense. The Rebels will take advantage of that and beat the Tar Heels at their own game.
📊 Best odds: -110 via BetMGM ($10 to win $9.09)
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🔥 Sean Pedulla Over 13.5 points ⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Rebels have six players who score in double figures, which makes it difficult to pinpoint which of their stars will ultimately have the best game. However, it’s very surprising to see the team’s leading scorer, who is averaging 14.9 points per game, with a total set below his season average in a game that should be very high-scoring.
Pedulla didn’t shoot well in the SEC tournament, making just one of his 12 attempts from beyond the arc. But the Tar Heels are tied for 147th in the nation in opponent 3-point percentage allowed, so I fully expect Pedulla to get back on track in this one.
If you’re worried about how good the Tar Heels’ defense looked on Tuesday, don’t be. It held the Aztecs to just 29.6% from beyond the arc, but the Aztecs also rank 234th in the nation in 3-point percentage. Pedulla will exploit the biggest weakness the Tar Heels have, potentially scoring 20.
📊 Best odds: -114 via FanDuel ($10 to win $8.77)
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🎯 Score prediction: Ole Miss 83, North Carolina 78
The Tar Heels making the field on Selection Sunday was a massive shock, and it led to many believing they’d be one-and-done. Now, they’re favored over a sixth-seeded SEC team and 63% of the public is backing them to cover the spread in this game. Let’s not overreact to one performance.
The Tar Heels played plenty of good teams this season, but they went just 1-12 in Quad 1 games. Five of those 12 losses were by double figures. Meanwhile, the Rebels went 8-10 in Quad 1 games, and they picked up wins over 10 NCAA Tournament teams. They also defeated the Louisville Cardinals 86-63. The Tar Heels lost to the Cardinals by 13 earlier this year.
📊 Best odds: +19000 via DraftKings ($10 to win $1,900)
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🤖 Ole Miss vs. North Carolina AI prediction
For entertainment purposes, we asked ChatGPT to analyze historical trends and live NCAA Tournament stats before predicting the winner and exact score for Ole Miss vs. North Carolina. Our AI prediction projects a final score of North Carolina 81, Ole Miss 68.
🖥️ AI score prediction: North Carolina 81, Ole Miss 68
- The Rebels’ strengths include strong defense, good rebounding, and coaching by Kermit Davis, who focuses on disciplined play
- UNC has a dynamic offense, skilled forwards, and strong rebounding. Its fast-paced play often overwhelms teams that aren’t as athletic or deep
- North Carolina's size and depth on the boards will likely be a deciding factor. If Ole Miss can limit UNC’s second-chance points, it’ll stand a better chance
🤔 Betting takeaway: ChatGPT's AI prediction would mean North Carolina covering the spread (-1.5) and a total of Under 155.5 points. ChatGPT is not a dedicated sports betting model, but it can identify data that March Madness bettors might overlook.
📊 Live Ole Miss vs. North Carolina odds
Follow the latest live March Madness college basketball odds and real-time NCAA Tournament scores for the first round.
Latest Ole Miss vs. North Carolina odds
Our updated Ole Miss vs. North Carolina odds are via BetMGM.
Spread
North Carolina opened at -1.5 before briefly moving to -2.5 a few times yesterday morning. The Tar Heels are back at -2.5 in the hours prior to tipoff.
Total
The total has stayed stagnant at 155.5.
Moneyline
There's been slight and slow moneyline movement, with North Carolina moving from -118 to -130.
🔢 Ole Miss vs. North Carolina opening odds
- Spread: Ole Miss +1.5 (-115) | North Carolina -1.5 (-105)
- Moneyline: Ole Miss -102 | North Carolina -118
- Over/Under: Over 155.5 (-115) | Under 155.5 (-105)
📅 Check out the full March Madness first-round schedule and opening odds.
🔮 South Region expert picks
Here are our experts' best predictions for every game in the South Region
- South Region betting preview
- Auburn vs. Alabama State prediction
- Louisville vs. Creighton prediction
- UC San Diego vs. Michigan prediction
- Texas A&M vs. Yale prediction
- Ole Miss vs. North Carolina prediction
- Iowa State vs. Lipscomb prediction
- New Mexico vs. Marquette prediction
- Michigan State vs. Bryant
📺 How to watch Ole Miss vs. North Carolina: NCAA Tournament first round
📅 Date: Friday, March 21
🕗 Time: 4:05 p.m. ET
📍 Location: Fiserv Forum (Milwaukee)
📺 TV: TNT
💻 Streaming: March Madness Live, Max
💰 March Madness betting odds pages
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