Las Vegas Sun

March 18, 2024

Sports Betting:

Vegas Play of the Day: North Carolina vs. Kentucky

Kentucky-UNC

James Crisp / AP

Kentucky’s Devin Booker, left, shoots under pressure from North Carolina’s Theo Pinson during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game Saturday, Dec. 13, 2014. Kentucky won 84-70.

We’ve entered the third season of the annual South Point-lined Play of the Day competition, effective July 1.

Starting bankrolls have reset to $10,000, with the maximum bet being to win $1,000 and the minimum wager $300. Ray Brewer won the 2015-2016 season, after Taylor Bern prevailed in 2014-2015. Bern stepped away in the middle of the 2016-2017 season with a 16-12 record and $13,317 bankroll, with Mike Grimala taking his place.

North Carolina minus-2.5 vs. Kentucky: $550 to win $500

You won’t find a more blue-blooded matchup than the regional final between North Carolina and Kentucky this afternoon. Both have had moments of dominance thus far in the tournament. The Tarheels took out a dangerous Butler team and made it look easy, while the Wildcats handled UCLA without much resistance. On the other side, both teams have also looked shaky at times. North Carolina was down in the second half to Arkansas in the second round and Kentucky barely escaped a scrappy Wichita State team.

In the end these are two of the most talented teams in the country and nearly all of the starters today will play in the NBA. It will come down to which team’s superstars can play their best when the lights are the brightest, and I’m going with North Carolina.

Tarheels’ forward Justin Jackson could be the best player in the tournament and has played like it. The junior has averaged 20 points, 6.7 rebounds and 4.3 assists through three games.

The first time these teams met in Las Vegas on Dec. 17, 2016, Kentucky’s Malik Monk scored 47 to lead the Wildcats to a 103-100 win. Jackson scored a respectable 34 points but was outdueled by Monk in the end. Today I think Jackson returns the favor and the Tarheels move on to the Final Four.

Also if you like historical trends, Kentucky has gone only 3-9-1 against the spread in its last 13 meetings with North Carolina.

Current Standings: Grimala (6-9, $8,950), Keefer (39-34-3, $8,381), Granger (13-15-1, $7,590), Brewer (26-27-1, $6,835)

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