Louisville opens as a 2-point underdog against North Carolina

Despite being the better seed and owning the better national ranking, Louisville will be an underdog when it takes the court Thursday afternoon against North Carolina in the second ACC Tournament quarterfinal from Greensboro.

The Tar Heels opened as a 2-point favorite over the Cardinals on Wednesday night, a line which has not moved. The two teams split their regular seasons series, with each mounting huge comebacks to win close games on their home floor.

Louisville has won three straight conference tournament championships and 10 straight conference tournament games overall. The last time the Cardinals were an underdog in a league tournament game was the 2012 Big East Tournament semifinal against Notre Dame, a game they wound up winning, 64-50.

Assuming the line holds, this will be the fifth time this season that Louisville will go into a game as an underdog. The Cards lost on the road as dogs against Virginia and UNC, were beaten at home by favored Kentucky, and won at home last Saturday against a favored UVA team.