North Carolina Tar Heels -8½
to outlast Gonzaga Bulldogs
Game Time: 03/27/2009 10:07 PM ET Matchup Moves
By: LT Profits Sports Group

Ty Lawson provided a big boost as North Carolina beat LSU by 14 points last Saturday, and his presence makes the Heels almost unbeatable against another running team.We have a lot of respect for the Gonzaga Bulldogs, but their style of play is very similar to their opponents in the Sweet 16, the North Carolina Tar Heels, and frankly, we do not feel there is any team in the country that can out-North Carolina North Carolina.Besides, Gonzaga has yet to cover a spread in this tournament, finally shaking off Akron in the first round and then barely nipping Western Kentucky on Saturday. They are now stepping way up in class here, and the last time that the Zags played a team even remotely close to the Tar Heels talent wise, they got blown out at home by 18 points by Memphis. Sure, they have won 11 straight games since then, but none of those wins were vs. upper echelon teams.The Heels were upset in the ACC Tournament, but that has not affected their play in the Big Dance, as they followed up their 43-point destruction of Radford with what many observers considered to be a surprisingly easy 14-point win over LSU, as the injured Ty Lawson provided the spark they needed. One has to assume that Lawson will only get better here with almost a full week off, and we feel that would make UNC just about unbeatable vs. a team that tries to run with them.Well, Gonzaga loves playing at a fast pace, and unfortunately, we think that any team that tries to run the floor with the Heels is doomed to fail. As much as we love the Zags as a whole, we foresee a double-digit North Carolina win Friday.

Free Pick: North Carolina -8½ (-110)