Opening Michigan State vs North Carolina Odds – Tar Heels Favored by 3.5 in Second Round

• Michigan State will face North Carolina in the second round of the NCAA Tournament
• The Tar Heels are slight favorites over the Spartans in a de facto home game
• See opening Michigan State vs North Carolina odds and point spread

The second-round matchups at the 2024 NCAA Tournament have started to filter in. The first game of the round of 32 will feature the #8 Michigan State Spartans facing the #1 UNC Tar Heels at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte, NC, a de facto home game for UNC.

The #1 seed in the West Region, the Tar Heels have opened as  favorites over the #9 Spartans in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, but it’s not a big margin.

Michigan State vs North Carolina Odds

UNC is just a 3.5-point “neutral court” favorite in Charlotte, NC. The moneyline and game total are still to be determined. [Editor’s note: DraftKings has opened UNC as a -192 moneyline favorite with MSU at +160. The opening game total is 138.5.]

Odds as of March 21 at FanDuel. Check out the best college basketball betting apps to wager on March Madness. 

Michigan State Demolishes Mississippi State in First Round

Michigan State was ultra-impressive in its first-round matchup with Mississippi State, crushing the Bulldogs 69-51 in a game they also led by seven at halftime. Star guard Tyson Walker had a team-high 19 in the win, but it was MSU’s defense that sealed the victory, holding Mississippi State to 37% from the field while forcing 14 turnovers.

Thursday’s win was an encouraging sign that the Spartans may finally be starting to live up to preseason expectations. Returning most of the key pieces from a team that reached the Sweet 16 last year, MSU was rated #13 at KenPom to start the year and #4 in both the AP and Coaches Polls.

But MSU started the season a sluggish 4-5 and only managed a 10-10 record in Big Ten play. The Spartans bowed out to Purdue in the quarters of the Big Ten Tournament.

Their only game against an ACC opponent this season was a 75-65 neutral-court loss to Duke in Chicago.

North Carolina Too Big for Wagner

UNC, meanwhile, took care of business against #16 Wagner, taking a 12-point lead into halftime and cruising to a 90-62 win. Senior forward Armando Bacot had a monstrous double-double with 20 points and 15 rebounds as UNC more than doubled-up the Seahawks on the glass (41-20).

Armando Bacot MUSCLES one in 💪#MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/FoXDMQ5bOV

— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 21, 2024

Leading scorer RJ Davis (21.4 PPG) slightly exceeded his average with a game-high 22 points on 8-of-13 shooting.

North Carolina (+260) remains the second-favorite to win the West Region in the 2024 Final Four odds, trailing #2 Arizona (+200). Sparty improved to +1100 after beating Mississippi State.

Expected Michigan State vs North Carolina Line Movement

Michigan State is going to have its share of backers the way the Spartans ran over Mississippi State. But I still expect this line to move towards the Tar Heels over the next 48 hours. UNC swept Duke in their two-game season series  – a Blue Devil team that beat MSU by nine – and will be playing in front of a very friendly crowd in Charlotte.