RED HOT !!!!! FiveStarPick.com is ripping into a 14-2-1 against the spread run and tonight we look to give our members the ATS winners in 4 NCAA Basketball Tournament games.  The focus of today’s preview is the matchup between the North Carolina Tar Heels and the Gonzaga Bulldogs.  Las Vegas sportsbooks list North Carolina (30-4 SU, 13-19 ATS) as a 9.5-point favorites with a total of 162.

Gonzaga (28-5 SU, 15-15 ATS) advanced to its first Sweet 16 since 2006 by beating Akron and Western Kentucky.   In their 83-81 win over the Hilltoppers, the Bulldogs freshman guard Demetri Goodson’s threw up a game-winning shot with 0.9 seconds left.  The Zag’s overcame a last-minute Western Kentucky rally as Steffphon Pettigrew tied it up with 7.2 seconds remaining on the clock. All 5 Gonzaga starters were in double figures, but the Zags failed to cover the 10-point spread.  Matt Bouldin led the Zags with 20 points, eight assists and six rebounds.

UNC almost exited early in last Sunday’s second-round matchup against LSU. The Tigers trailed by 9 at intermission, but came out swinging in the second half and scored on six straight possessions to take the lead.  LSU lead by as many as 5 before Ty Lawson took the game over.  Lawson, who had missed UNC’s three previous games with turf toe, poured in 21 of his 23 points in the second half to lead the Tar Heels to the Sweet 16.  North Carolina was able to cover the spread as a 12-point favorite, 84-70.

These schools met two seasons ago at Madison Square Garden with Gonzaga winning 82-74 as a seven-point underdog.  Gonzaga’s Josh Heytvelt overwhelmed UNC’s Tyler Hansbrough with 19 points, eight rebounds and four blocked shots on 8-of-13 shooting from the floor. Meanwhile, Hansbrough had just nine points, nine boards and four turnovers.  In the point-guard matchup between Ty Lawson and Jeremy Pargo, Lawson had 11 points while Pargo had 16 points. 

So who do YOU think is going to cover this spread?  We would like to hear your thoughts about how to handicap this game, so leave us a Comment by clicking the Comment button below.  Or better yet, why not try our service out for 2-days for only $19.99 and see if our talent for picking College Basketball winners exceeds your expectations?  With over 3400 active members, you owe it to yourself to find out why FiveStarPick.com is the most accurate sports handicapping service on the net.  Our dime bettors were up over $100K in 2008.  Join today and start winning tonight.

Jimmy the Geek – FiveStarPick.com