{"id":103578,"date":"2016-04-03T00:35:35","date_gmt":"2016-04-03T04:35:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/topbet.eu\/news\/?p=103578"},"modified":"2016-04-04T01:19:46","modified_gmt":"2016-04-04T05:19:46","slug":"north-carolina-tar-heels-vs-villanova-wildcats-predictions-picks-odds-and-betting-preview-ncaa-march-madness-national-championship-game-april-4-2016","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/topbet.eu\/news\/north-carolina-tar-heels-vs-villanova-wildcats-predictions-picks-odds-and-betting-preview-ncaa-march-madness-national-championship-game-april-4-2016.html","title":{"rendered":"North Carolina Tar Heels vs. Villanova Wildcats Predictions, Picks, Odds and Betting Preview &#8211; NCAA March Madness National Championship Game &#8211; April 4, 2016"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The 2016 NCAA Tournament championship game is set, with the two best and most deserving teams left standing. The North Carolina Tar Heels and Villanova Wildcats have stamped their dominance all over this year&#8217;s tournament, and they&#8217;ve done it in their own unique style.\u00a0The Tar Heels have mercilessly pounded their foes inside, while the Wildcats have rained\u00a0fire from deep.<\/p>\n<p>The two teams were outstanding again in blowing out their respective Final Four opponents. But which one\u00a0will come out on top when their styles clash\u00a0in the national championship\u00a0game?\u00a0Get a comprehensive preview\u00a0of the UNC vs. Villanova title game below.<\/p>\n<p>And for more on this awesome matchup, check out our individual team breakdowns of <a href=\"http:\/\/topbet.eu\/news\/villanova-wildcats-ncaa-national-championship-team-predictions-odds-and-preview-2016.html\" target=\"_blank\">Villanova<\/a> and <a href=\"http:\/\/topbet.eu\/news\/north-carolina-tar-heels-ncaa-national-championship-team-predictions-odds-and-preview-2016.html\" target=\"_blank\">North Carolina<\/a> and the three main factors that will win them the national championship.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>March Madness News &amp; Predictions<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<ul>\r\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/topbet.eu\/news\/2016-ncaa-march-madness-sleepers-and-sleeper-picks.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">2016 March Madness Sleepers Predictions and Picks<\/a><\/li>\r\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/topbet.eu\/news\/2016-ncaa-march-madness-longshots-and-best-long-shots-picks.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">2016 March Madness Longshots and Best Long Shots Picks and Predictions<\/a><\/li>\r\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/topbet.eu\/news\/2016-ncaa-march-madness-predictions-picks-odds-and-preview.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">2016 March Madness Preview<\/a><\/li>\r\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/topbet.eu\/news\/2016-ncaa-march-madness-expert-predictions-and-picks.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">2016 NCAA March Madness Expert Picks<\/a><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\n<h2>March Madness UNC\u00a0vs. Villanova\u00a0Preview<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Where:<\/strong>\u00a0NRG Stadium, Houston<\/p>\n<p><strong>When:<\/strong>\u00a0Monday, April 4, 9:19 PM ET<\/p>\n<p><strong>Line:<\/strong>\u00a0North Carolina Tar Heels (<strong>-2.5<\/strong>) vs. Villanova Wildcats (<strong>+2.5<\/strong>); total <strong>150.0<\/strong> \u2013 <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/topbet.eu\/sportsbook\/college-basketball\/ncaa-mens\" target=\"_blank\">view all March Madness lines<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>TV Broadcast:\u00a0<\/strong>TBS<\/p>\n<h3>Betting on the North Carolina Tar Heels<\/h3>\n<p>North Carolina\u2019s dominance throughout this tournament has been something to behold. After disposing of ACC rival Syracuse in the Final Four, the Tar Heels have now won all five tourney games by at least 14 points. And after failing to cover in their first game against FGCU, they\u2019re 4-0 ATS in their last four.<\/p>\n<p><p><a href=\"http:\/\/record.tbaffiliate.com\/_y8k7RB3Ll4xutv7iXV6HvmNd7ZgqdRLk\/14\"><img class=\"size-full wp-image-97846 alignright\" src=\"http:\/\/topbet.eu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/March-Madness-News-Banners_250x130_v2.gif\" alt=\"March-Madness---News-Banners_250x130_v2\" width=\"250\" height=\"130\" \/><\/a><\/p>The Tar Heels just impose their will in the painted area over anyone the face. Big men Brice Johnson and Kennedy Meeks combined for 31 points on 13-of-20 shooting with 17 rebounds against Syracuse.<\/p>\n<p>The Tar Heels as a team grabbed 16 offensive boards and had a big +12 rebounding advantage.\u00a0They\u2019re averaging 14 offensive rebounds per game in the tournament, and should be able to overwhelm\u00a0a Villanova team that has struggled keeping opponents off the boards all season.<\/p>\n<p>Johnson has been a consistently great force throughout the tourney,\u00a0averaging 20 points and 9.6 rebounds per game. The 6-11 senior\u00a0will have the decided length advantage over Villanova\u2019s Kris Jenkins, or whomever Nova puts on him, and should cause problems on both ends of the floor.<\/p>\n<p>The Tar Heels are so dominant inside that they were comfortably in the lead against Cuse even as they went 0-of-12 from three for the first 30 minutes. But Marcus Paige got hot eventually and went 3-of-7 from deep.<\/p>\n<p>Paige is having a strong tourney, averaging close to 14 points per game and shooting 47 percent from three. If they can get that kind of production from their senior guard from the perimeter against Villanova, the Tar Heels offense (No. 1 in adjusted offensive efficiency per <a href=\"http:\/\/kenpom.com\/index.php?s=RankAdjOE\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"broken_link\" rel=\"nofollow\">KenPom.com<\/a>) will be that much more difficult to stop.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/record.tbaffiliate.com\/_y8k7RB3Ll4xutv7iXV6HvmNd7ZgqdRLk\/9\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"broken_link\" rel=\"nofollow\">Create a betting account now<\/a> and cash in on the final NCAA March Madness game of the year.<\/p>\n<h3>Betting on the Villanova Wildcats<\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/topbet.eu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/Josh-Hart-Villanova-Final-Four.jpg\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-103581 size-large\" title=\"UNC-vs-Villanova-Predictions-Picks-March-Madness-2016\" src=\"http:\/\/topbet.eu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/Josh-Hart-Villanova-Final-Four-600x340.jpg\" alt=\"Josh Hart goes for a layup\" width=\"600\" height=\"340\" srcset=\"http:\/\/topbet.eu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/Josh-Hart-Villanova-Final-Four.jpg 600w, http:\/\/topbet.eu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/Josh-Hart-Villanova-Final-Four-250x142.jpg 250w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Villanova just went supernova on the Oklahoma Sooners.<\/p>\n<p>The numbers say it all. 95 points on 1.45 points per possession. A 44-point win, a new record for any Final Four game, despite being just a two-point favorite. 71.4 percent shooting from the field, second-best for a Final Four game. The Wildcats simply played a perfect game.<\/p>\n<p>They surely can&#8217;t\u00a0play much better in the final, but based on their tournament so far, they should still be formidable even if they do drop off. They thrashed their first three opponents by an average of 24 points. They shot 53 percent from three in those games, and still beat No. 1 overall seed Kansas despite shooting just 4-of-18. They went 11-of-18 from downtown against Oklahoma.<\/p>\n<p>That incredible three-point shooting makes the Wildcats a great matchup against a UNC team that was one of the worst teams in the nation in terms of both shooting and defending the three-pointer throughout the season.<\/p>\n<p>As great as Nova\u2019s offense has been, though, their defense has arguably been better. No team has yet to break 70 points on them in the tournament. They\u2019ve also forced double-digit turnovers in all five games, including 33 against their two toughest opponents, Kansas and Oklahoma.<\/p>\n<p>They held KU and OU\u2014two of the best three-point shooting teams in the country\u2014to 24 just percent shooting, and limited Buddy Hield\u2014only the most dangerous scorer in the nation\u2014to nine points. If there&#8217;s any defense that can slow down the UNC machine, it&#8217;s Villanova&#8217;s.<\/p>\n<p>However, 6-11 senior Daniel Ochefu will need to be as close to his best as possible against UNC. Ochefu tweaked his ankle against the Sooners, but appeared to be fine after a brief exit. His effectiveness\u00a0will be vital for the\u00a0Wildcats to\u00a0battle down low against UNC\u2019s relentless rebounders.<\/p>\n<h3>Writer\u2019s Prediction<\/h3>\n<p>Villanova&#8217;s defense slows down UNC enough to claim the national title with a 74-71 win.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/record.tbaffiliate.com\/_y8k7RB3Ll4xutv7iXV6HvmNd7ZgqdRLk\/14\"><img class=\"size-full wp-image-97847 alignright\" src=\"http:\/\/topbet.eu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/March-Madness-News-Banners_620x110_v2.gif\" alt=\"March-Madness---News-Banners_620x110_v2\" width=\"620\" height=\"110\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The 2016 NCAA Tournament championship game is set, with the two best and most deserving teams left standing. The North Carolina Tar Heels and Villanova Wildcats have stamped their dominance<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":103580,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[393,70,9417],"tags":[7284,9907,11946,11948,11947,9899,10903,9918,9917,9914,9898,149,940,1292,148,1276,9906,9849,9900,1170,835,969,974,11939,11940,11941,11942,11943,11944,11945,5400,1012],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v16.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>2016 NCAA Championship Final Predictions, Picks and Preview<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Predictions, odds and betting preview for the North Carolina vs Villanova \u00a0March Madness championship game on April 4, 2016, courtesy of TopBet sportsbook.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link 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