2 Best College Basketball Bets and Player Props for West Virginia vs. North Carolina

We should have a close 6-versus-3 matchup on our hands tonight between the West Virginia Mountaineers and North Carolina Tar Heels. The Mountaineers actually come in as 1.5-point favorites despite playing on the road and technically being the worse seed.

Here are my favorite bets in FanDuel Sportsbook's college basketball betting odds for West Virginia vs. North Carolina.

Betting Picks for West Virginia vs. North Carolina

North Carolina ML (+110)

This game is practically a toss-up between a pair of lockdown defenses. Per Bart Torvik, West Virginia is seventh in adjusted defensive efficiency while North Carolina is ninth. Neither squad is elite offensively, but the Mountaineers are a solid 36th in adjusted offense, and the Tar Heels crack the top 50.

Despite being the 6 seed, West Virginia ranks 9th overall on Bart Torvik, whereas UNC is 22nd. The reality is the Mountaineers are arguably the most underseeded team in the bracket, and they probably should've been among the top 16 seeds that get to host the first two rounds.

Instead, they'll be playing on the Tar Heels' home turf, which opens the door for North Carolina to pull off the "upset."

While WVU is a menace on defense, forcing turnovers at the highest clip in the country, UNC counters this by owning the 23rd-best turnover rate on offense. If they can win the turnover battle against the Mountaineers, they'll have a great chance of emerging victorious.

Additionally, North Carolina's defensive prowess comes from being well-rounded in several areas. On defense, they rank 18th in effective field goal allowed, 14th in two-point percentage, 60th in defensive rebound rate, and 63rd in free throw rate allowed. Although UNC is roughly average in three-point rate allowed, that shouldn't be an issue versus a Mountaineers team that's outside the top 100 in both three-point percentage and three-point rate on offense.

Both Bart Torvik and Massey Ratings project West Virginia to win by one point. North Carolina is a 1.5-point underdog, so backing them to cover the spread is on the table, but getting them at plus odds to win straight up is appealing.

JJ Quinerly Under 21.5 Points (-122)

Admittedly, fading a player who's gone over this number in six of her last eight games might not feel great, but this is a high bar for JJ Quinerly to exceed in what should be a defensive, low-scoring contest.

In addition to UNC playing elite defense, they are also a pace-down matchup. North Carolina ranks just 212th in adjusted tempo, and it's not like West Virginia plays at blazing pace (93rd in adjusted tempo) in the first place.

With that in mind, Quinerly will have a tougher time piecing together an above-average scoring night. She averages 20.8 points per game and has scored 22+ points in just 12 of her 31 games this season (38.7%).

Further, her recent high-scoring performances have been aided by hitting multiple threes -- sometimes as many as three or four triples -- which isn't something we should expect on a regular basis. While Quinerly averages 5.0 three-point attempts per game, she converts just 1.6 made threes per game (32.1%).

Between the tough defensive matchup and slower pace, Quinerly likely needs another outlier performance from three-point land to hit the over, which doesn't look sustainable based on her season-long numbers.

You can also download our FREE college basketball printable bracket.

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The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author's advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.