No. 8 North Carolina vs. No. 9 Marquette preview for March Madness first-round matchup

The NCAA Tournament begins on Tuesday, March 15th with the First Four, and then moves on to the first round on Thursday, March 17 and Friday, March 18. No. 8 seed North Carolina will face No. 9 seed Marquette in the first round on Thursday. Here’s an early look at what we can expect from the Tar Heels and Golden Eagles in this year’s March Madness Tournament.

Once the odds from DraftKings Sportsbook are made available for this game, we’ll add that information below. We’ll also add the game time and TV channel once it’s settled.

Game date: Thursday, March 17
Game time: 4:30 p.m.
TV channel: TBS
Location: Fort Worth, Texas

Odds: North Carolina -4

No. 8 North Carolina

The Tar Heels had a successful opening season under Hubert Davis, overcoming some early struggles to eventually round into a dangerous team. North Carolina spoiled Coach K’s final home game and will look to make further headway in the conference tournament. The talent on paper is finally coming together at the right time for this team.

Record: 24-9, 15-5 ACC
KenPom adjusted offensive efficiency: 26
KenPom adjusted defensive efficiency: 64
Against The Spread: 16-16-1
Over Total: 19-14
Odds to win NCAA Championship: +10000

No. 9 Marquette

Marquette enters the field of 68 after battling its way through a tough Big East throughout the season. The Golden Eagles started conference play 0-3 but rattled off seven straight victories afterwards. They spent the rest of the season mostly trading wins with losses.

Justin Lewis led the team with 17.1 points and 7.9 rebounds per game this year. Darryl Morsell was also a solid contributor with 13.5 a night.

Record: 19-12, 11-8 Big East
KenPom adjusted offensive efficiency: 62
KenPom adjusted defensive efficiency: 46
Against The Spread: 16-14-1
Over Total: 15-15-1
Odds to win NCAA Championship: +10000