The Current Betting Odds: Ole Miss Basketball vs. North Carolina Tar Heels Prediction

The Rebels continue preparation for the NCAA Tournament, take on the Tar Heels in the First Round.

Zack Nagy | Mar 20, 2025

Mississippi forward Malik Dia (0) pushes past Auburn forward Chris Moore (5) during the first half of a Southeastern Conference tournament quarterfinal game at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn., Friday, March 14, 2025. / Andrew Nelles / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

In this story:

Ole Miss Rebels

Chris Beard and the No. 6 seeded Ole Miss Rebels will take the floor in Milwaukee (Wisc.) on Friday afternoon for a First Round showdown against No. 11 North Carolina in the NCAA Tournament.

Beard and Co. will take the floor against the "Blue Blood" program with the lights brightest, but there's a comfort level for the Rebels.

Once the initial nerves come down, Ole Miss has been battle tested in a talented Southeastern Conference.

"There's something about the first game. The feeling, the nerves, the newness, the expectations. NCAA Tournament officiating is different. Tournament timeouts and game plan and game setup is different. The venues are different," Beard said prior the First Round.

"In the SEC we’ve been playing in front of great home crowds or very challenging road crowds. Now you get into a much more neutral feel. Both fan bases will have a section and then most of the arena will be filled with fans from other teams just watching the game. There’s a lot of things that go in the NCAA Tournament that’s a little bit different that we’ll try to prepare for."

What are the latest betting odds for the Round 1 matchup? What are the expert models predicting to happen?

How to Watch: Ole Miss Rebels vs. North Carolina Tar Heels

Start Time: 4:05 p.m. ET, March 21
Channel: TNT
Location: Milwaukee (Wisc.)

The Current Betting Odds: Ole Miss vs. North Carolina

Spread:
- Ole Miss: (+2.5)
- North Carolina: (-2.5)

Moneyline:
- Ole Miss: (+110)
- North Carolina: (-130)

Over/Under: 155.5

The Ole Miss Rebels will enter the clash in Milwaukee as 2.5-point underdogs with Vegas favoring the Tar Heels following impressive victory over San Diego State.

The ESPN BPI Prediction: Ole Miss Rebels vs. North Carolina Tar Heels

ESPN Analytics Predictor: North Carolina
BPI Predicted Point Differential: 1.6
Ole Miss Win Probability: 43.7%
North Carolina Win Probability: 56.3%
BPI Matchup Quality: 87.0

What is the ESPN Basketball Power Index?

"The College Basketball Power Index (BPI) is a measure of team strength that is meant to be the best predictor of performance going forward. BPI represents how many points above or below average a team is," according to ESPN.

"Strength of Record (SOR) is a measure of team accomplishment based on how difficult a team's W-L record is to achieve. Game predictions account for opponent strength, pace of play, site, travel distance, day's rest and altitude, and are used to simulate the season 10,000 times to produce season projections. Numbers update daily."

Friday, March 21 (First Round/Round of 64)

(8) Mississippi State vs. (9) Baylor, 12:15 p.m. | CBS
(2) Alabama vs. (15) Robert Morris, 12:40 p.m. | truTV
(3) Iowa State vs. (14) Lipscomb, 1:30 p.m. | TNT
(5) Memphis vs. (12) Colorado State, 2 p.m. | TBS
(1) Duke vs. (16) Mount St. Mary's/American, 2:50 p.m. | CBS
(7) Saint Mary's vs. (10) Vanderbilt, 3:15 p.m. | truTV
(6) Ole Miss vs. (11) North Carolina, 4:05 p.m. | TNT
(4) Maryland vs. (13) Grand Canyon, 4:35 p.m. | TBS
(1) Florida vs. (16) Norfolk State, 6:50 p.m. | TNT
(3) Kentucky vs. (14) Troy, 7:10 p.m. | CBS
(7) Marquette vs. (10) New Mexico, 7:25 p.m. | TBS
(4) Arizona vs. (13) Akron, 7:35 p.m. | truTV
(8) UConn vs. (9) Oklahoma, 9:25 p.m. | TNT
(6) Illinois vs. (11) Xavier/Texas, 9:45 p.m. | TNT
(2) Michigan State vs. (15) Bryant, 10 p.m. | TBS
(5) Oregon vs. (12) Liberty, 10:10 p.m. | truTV