Sweet 16 Preview: East Region North Carolina vs Indiana

On Friday, one of the East region games in the Sweet 16 will pit the No. 5 seeded Indiana Hoosiers against the No. 1 seeded North Carolina Tar Heels. The current line has North Carolina favored by 5.5 points while the over/under point total is currently sitting on 158.5.

During their past 10 games played, Indiana is 8-2 straight up and 7-3 against the spread. North Carolina in its past 10 games overall is 9-1 SU and 7-3 ATS. The two will play in Philadelphia in the Wells Fargo Center with tip off at 9:57 p.m.

These two teams have storied basketball programs steeped in tradition. The Tar Heels have won seven straight games coming into this one. North Carolina is tied with both Duke and Indiana with five national titles.

North Carolina recorded victories of double-digits over both Florida Gulf Coast University and Providence during last weekend’s two rounds. Brice Johnson a senior forward leads the balanced and deep lineup of the Tar Heels.

Indiana defeated Kentucky in the second round to reach the Sweet 16. The Hoosiers have played better with each game this season behind the talented point guard senior Yogi Ferrell.

The offense has been Indiana’s key to success averaging 82.5 points per game. However, the Hoosiers know that North Carolina’s offense is very potent and outscoring them is going to be difficult to do.

Ferrell scored 38 points while dishing out 14 assists over the first two games of the tournament. Ferrell needs help from Thomas Bryant at center who scored 19 points against Kentucky and Troy Williams a forward averaging 13 points.

Robert Johnson a guard and Juwan Morgan a forward for Indiana are game time decisions due to injuries.

Marcus Paige the senior at point guard has struggled this season, but came through big for North Carolina during the first two games last weekend.

Indiana has a record of 66-33 in its 99 games in the NCAA Tournament. The Hoosiers are 4-0 playing in Philadelphia.

Roy Williams the North Carolina coach has 33 wins in the NCAA Tournament while at North Carolina

Prediction: North Carolina is firing on all cylinders and playing its best basketball of the season with seven straight victories. The Tar Heels have a much more balanced attack than Indiana and will be one of the few teams that can outscore Indiana. Look for a high scoring attack that North Carolina will cover.