2022 NCAA Tournament Second Round: No. 1 Baylor Bears vs. No. 8 North Carolina Tar Heels
How to Watch:
- Date: Saturday, March 19
- Time: 12:10 p.m. ET
- Location: Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, TX
- TV: CBS
- Live Stream: NCAA.com
Tale of the Tape:
| No. 1 BAY | STAT | No. 8 UNC |
| Big 12 | Conference | ACC |
| 27-6 | Record | 25-9 |
| 76.5 (52nd) | Points Per Game | 77.5 (40th) |
| 63.6 | Points Allowed Per Game | 71.7 |
| 0.627 (11th) | RPI | 0.593 (35th) |
| 12th | Strength of Schedule | 54th |
| At-Large Bid | Bid | At-Large Bid |
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Baylor leaders:
- James Akinjo, G, SR: 13.4 PPG, 2.8 RPG, 5.7 APG, 2.1 SPG, 82.5% FT
- Adam Flagler, G, JR: 13.4 PPG, 2.2 RPG, 3.1 APG, 1.1 SPG, 39.3% 3PT
North Carolina leaders:
- Armando Bacot, F, JR: 16.4 PPG, 12.4 RPG, 1.8 BPG, 58.9% FG
- Caleb Love, G, SO: 15.6 PPG, 3.4 RPG, 3.8 APG, 1.1 SPG
Odds, Lines, and Past Performance:
- UNC Moneyline: +190
- Baylor Moneyline: -239
- Spread: BAY -5.5
- Over/Under: 149
- ATS Record: BAY 17-14-2, UNC 17-16-1
- Over/Under Record: BAY 17-15-1, UNC 20-13-1
Odds courtesy of Draftkings. For the latest odds, click here.
The Pick:
- It was never particularly close for the Bears in the opening round and nobody really expected it to be. They shot over 57.4% from the field against Norfolk State, led by 22 points from Matthew Mayer. However, James Akinjo also had a strong performance, double-doubling with ten points and ten assists.
- On the other side, the Tar Heels absolutely throttled Marquette 95-63. Caleb Love had 23 points on 6-13 shooting from three, Armando Bacot double-doubled with 17 points and ten rebounds, and Brady Manek also double-doubled with 28 points and 11 rebounds. It was a pretty masterful performance, and I’m excited to see Love and Akinjo match up.
- However, one thing to keep an eye on is that, even in a blowout, only two players on the Tar Heels’ bench played any meaningful minutes. This is a team that is incredibly reliant on its starting five, which could be an issue against a Baylor team that is very deep, even without LJ Cryer.
- The Bears will try to keep the game at a modest pace, ranking 167th in adjusted tempo, but the underdogs will want to run-and-gun. They rank 38th in adjusted tempo and 54th in the nation in three-point percentage at 36.2% and taking 22.8 threes a game. They shot 37.1% in the first round on a whopping 35 attempts from deep, so if they are going to have any shot of knocking off the Bears, we’re going to have to see something similar, which could favor the over.
