Wagner vs UNC Odds, Prediction: Bet the Underdog?

No. 1 vs. No. 16 matchups have garnered more attention the last few years after teams like UMBC and Fairleigh Dickinson did the impossible.

Before those two matchups happened, No. 1 seeds had never lost to a 16-seed.

16-seeds have nothing to lose as they play free with a ton of confidence. No matter how good or bad the 16-seed is, a risk-free style of basketball is never something teams want to face.

Let's take a look at the Wagner Seahawks vs. UNC Tar Heels odds and make a prediction for their NCAA Tournament game on Thursday, March 21.

Wagner did everything in its power to fumble its First Four matchup against Howard; the Seahawks were up by 17 and ended up holding on to win by three. They allowed the Bison to get not one, not two but three great looks from deep in the final 10 seconds to try and tie the game.

It's safe to say Wagner's legs failed it down the stretch. Can you blame it? The Seahawks have only seven active players, and they won an NCAA Tournament game.

Clearly, they're a massive underdog and probably have no expectation to win against UNC, but do they have enough to cover?

These Seahawks are truly gassed, and their three leaders have played nearly every minute of the last few games. They were the six-seed (out of nine) in the NEC tournament and willed their way to a few wins thanks to their strong defense.

The task will be tall and their legs are surely tired, but the Seahawks are playing with a real edge right now.

North Carolina is hungry after losing to in-state rival NC State in the ACC tournament final.

UNC has one of the most complete defenses in the entire nation and will give Wagner real issues scoring the basketball. I believe that the Tar Heels can name their score in this one, but how long will they allow their big dogs to play?

If the Heels gets up by 25 or more points, they have no reason to keep their best players in the game and risk injury.

In terms of the spread, this will be a massive storyline in this game.

Wagner truly has nothing to lose. The narrative around this game will be to fade Wagner after it nearly blew a big lead.

Plus, people will want to back North Carolina because the Tar Heels should be extremely focused after losing to NC State in the ACC tournament.

We'll hear plenty about fading Wagner because it only has seven players and it's tired. While that's true, do we think Vegas doesn't know this? Clearly they do, and that's baked into the number. This is bait to try and grab the 1-seed and flashy name, so ride with the underdogs here.

Pick: Wagner +25