Against the Odds: The Tar Heels are big favorites over Pitt

Pitt is coming off a loss to Clemson and North Carolina is coming off a loss to Miami. That’s pretty much where the similarities end, as the Panthers will enter tonight’s game at 12-9 and 1-7, in the conference. The Tar Heels, on the other hand, are 19-4 and 7-2. They also are 12th in the AP Poll and 10th in the Coach’s Poll. Not coincidentally, Vegas has made the Heels a huge 19 point favorite for this game.

Fortunately you can watch from the comfort of your own home this evening on ESPN2. The game starts at 7PM and will be played down at Chapel Hill and inside the Dean Dome. If you have never been to the Dean Dome, you will never want to see that shade of blue again. It is simply all over the arena. While the UNC home crowd is not exactly the most rowdy place in college basketball, there is an atmosphere and history down there.

Saying Pitt faces a tall order this evening is like saying Pitt hoops is struggling right now. We just haven’t seen a slide like this in a very long time on the Oakland campus. Kevin Stallings has pretty much exhausted just about every motivational tactic he can think of this season. He’ll have to reach deep to get Pitt to play more like they did when they upset Virginia and came close to knocking off Notre Dame, at the start of ACC play. If they don’t straighten up soon, I can guarantee you that the Heels’ head coach, Roy Williams, will show no sympathy this evening.

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