The Daily Sweat: Is North Carolina back? Tar Heels face great test vs. Tennessee
Hubert Davis' first season as North Carolina's coach ended with a trip to the national championship game. His second season ended a lot sooner than that.
There were a lot of questions about Davis after North Carolina went 20-13 last season and missed the NCAA tournament, becoming the first preseason No. 1 team ever to do so.
Year 3 is a pretty big one, and at least it's starting well.
North Carolina is 5-1, with the only loss coming to a good Villanova team in overtime. UNC also hasn't played the toughest schedule, but that changes on Wednesday night. The Tar Heels play Tennessee in the ACC/SEC Challenge. North Carolina is a small 2.5-point favorite at BetMGM.
Tennessee is a tough, physical defensive team. The Vols lost to Purdue and Kansas at the Maui Invitational, but they're still a team that could win the SEC. They're ranked No. 7 at KenPom. If North Carolina beats the Volunteers, it will be its biggest win since knocking off Duke at the Final Four in 2022 (UNC didn't beat a team all last season that finished in the top 30 at KenPom).
This season looks more like a typical North Carolina team. The Tar Heels are shooting it better from deep. Big man Armando Bacot is off to a great start. The Tar Heels look good, though they don't have a great win yet. Their best win came against an Arkansas team that is struggling out of the gate.
That could change on Wednesday night. Tennessee will push UNC, literally and figuratively. It's a great game to figure out if the Tar Heels are back.
Here's the first look at the sports betting slate for Wednesday:
Duke faces a test as well
The ACC/SEC Challenge forces some great early season matchups, particularly true road games for power teams that might not schedule them otherwise, and Duke gets one at Arkansas. Arkansas is just 4-3. The Razorbacks under Eric Musselman have often started slow and get it together after midseason, but as usual they have a lot of talent. Duke is a 5.5-point favorite but it won't be an easy game. The Blue Devils do look very good, despite a close home loss to Arizona. Duke is tied for the third-best national title odds at +1400 after Purdue (+1000) and Kansas (+1100).
NBA has 7 games
After a fun Tuesday in the NBA as the in-season tournament knockout round was set, there are seven games on Wednesday. The best matchup is a strong 12-5 Philadelphia 76ers team at the 9-9 New Orleans Pelicans. The 76ers are 2.5-point favorites.
Light night in the NHL
Just three games for the NHL. There are a couple of decent road underdogs among them. The 11-6-3 Detroit Red Wings are +170 underdogs at the New York Rangers. And the 10-6-2 Washington Capitals are also +170 at the Los Angeles Kings.
What's the best bet?
In another interesting ACC/SEC Challenge game, Virginia is a 1.5-point favorite vs. Texas A&M. I don't love taking road teams in college basketball, but I haven't liked what I've seen from Virginia yet. Texas A&M is a very good team led by All-American candidate Wade Taylor IV that should compete for the SEC title, and I'll take the Aggies to pull off a huge road win.
