North Carolina Tar Heels vs. UCLA Bruins: Sweet 16 odds, final score predictions from ESPN, KenPom

As March Madness continues Friday with Sweet 16 action, there’s a big matchup happening in the NCAA Tournament’s East Region as No. 4 seeded UCLA takes on No. 8 North Carolina with a spot in the Elite Eight on the line. Ahead of the game, which will be broadcast live on CBS, predictions and betting odds – including KenPom analytics – are rolling in.

How to watch North Carolina vs. UCLA

Tipoff: 9:39 p.m. ET

Location: Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Channel: CBS

Vegas odds

UCLA is a 2.5-point favorite over North Carolina, according to Vegas Insider. The over-under is set at 141.5 points.

ESPN BPI prediction

Predicted winner: UCLA

Predicted point differential: 5.2

Win probability (for UCLA): 68.9%

Matchup quality: 89.0

ESPN’s College Basketball Power Index (BPI) is a tool that measures team strength and uses that to predict outcomes of future performances. ESPN’s BPI has North Carolina vs. UCLA listed at No. 2 out of four total NCAA Tournament games on Friday in terms of matchup quality.

KenPom prediction

Predicted final score: UCLA 75, North Carolina 70

Win probability (for UCLA): 66%

KenPom is another tool that provides advanced analysis across college basketball. Like ESPN, KenPom projects that UCLA comes away with a victory over North Carolina on Friday.

Tar Heels, Bruins meet with Elite Eight spot on the line

While both North Carolina and UCLA have recorded first and second-round wins in the NCAA Tournament, they now have to earn another victory to remain alive in the Big Dance – but only one of them will be able to do that. With a spot in the Elite Eight on the line, the Tar Heels and Bruins will go to battle Friday night to determine who moves on.

No. 4 UCLA advanced to the Sweet 16 with a dominant 72-56 win over No. 5 Saint Mary’s in the second round, while No. 8 North Carolina upset No. 1 Baylor by a score of 93-86 to make it to this point. As the Bruins coasted their way through their second-round contest, the Tar Heels were able to hand the East Region’s top-seeded Bears a season-ending loss.

The winner of Friday’s contest will advance to the Elite Eight for a meeting with the No. 3 Purdue/No. 15 Saint Peter’s winner.