North Carolina Tar Heels vs North Carolina State Wolfpack Prediction, 12/22/2020 College Basketball Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: North Carolina Tar Heels vs NC State Wolfpack

Date: Tuesday, December 22, 2020

Location: PNC Arena in Raleigh, NC

TV: ACCN

Odds/Point Spread: North Carolina (+1.5)

The NC State Wolfpack (4-1) host the North Carolina Tar Heels (5-2) at PNC Arena on Tuesday. The line on this contest has North Carolina State as 1.5-point favorites. The total has been set at 144.

North Carolina heads into this contest with a win-loss mark of 5-2 for the season. The Tar Heels are shooting 26.6% on three-point attempts (29 of 109) and 66.7% from the free throw line. They are averaging 74.1 points per contest (156th in the nation) on 43.4% from the floor. They lose possession via turnover 15.7 times per game and as a squad are committing 17.9 fouls per contest. As a unit, North Carolina is grabbing 45.4 rebounds per game and is sitting with 89 assists so far this year, which has them ranked 131st in the country in terms of passing the ball. On the defensive end, the Tar Heels are forcing their opponents into 14.0 turnovers per contest and they draw 22.7 fouls. The Tar Heels are giving up an opponent shooting percentage of 40.0% (168 of 420) and they concede 32.7 boards per game as a group. They are ranked 205th in D-1 in giving up assists with 83 conceded for the campaign. They are giving up 33.3% from beyond the arc while they are 114th in the nation in PPG from their opponents (66.6).

The North Carolina Tar Heels played the Kentucky Wildcats and went home with a win by a final score of 75-63 in their last contest. North Carolina ended with a 42.6% FG percentage (26 of 61) and buried 5 out of their 20 shots from beyond the perimeter. When they shot from the free throw line, the Tar Heels converted 18 of 29 tries for a rate of 62.1%. In terms of pulling down rebounds, they compiled 37 with 15 of them being offensive. They also dished out 14 assists in the game as well as earning 2 steals and 3 blocks. In reference to defending, North Carolina let their opponent shoot 42.6% from the floor on 26 of 61. Kentucky distributed 8 assists and 5 steals for the contest. On top of that, the Wildcats collected 40 rebounds (14 offensive, 26 defensive) and had 3 blocked shots. Kentucky finished the game shooting 60.0% from the charity stripe by knocking down 18 of their 30 attempts. They also converted 3 of 13 shots from distance.

Armando Bacot is a player who was a major contributor for the game. He walked away with 14 points on 5 out of 8 shooting. He saw the court for 28 minutes played and collected 8 rebounds. Bacot finished shooting 62.5% from the floor and recorded 2 assists. Another guy that saw the court a lot in the game for the Tar Heels was Caleb Love. He snagged 2 rebounds and also accounted for 6 assists. He shot 28.6% from the floor for this game by going 4-of-14 (11 points). When this game wrapped up, Love was on the hardwood for 30 minutes.

North Carolina State has a mark of 4-1 for the season. North Carolina State has earned 409 pts on the campaign (81.8 per game) and they pull in 34.0 boards per contest. The Wolfpack commit 17.8 fouls every game while shooting 67.1% from the charity stripe. As an offense, the Wolfpack are shooting 49.2% from the floor, which ranks them 70th in college basketball. They are assisting teammates 15.8 times per game (74th in college basketball) and they are turning it over 11.2 times per contest. The Wolfpack on the defensive end are ranked 33rd in D-1 in points per game surrendered with 60.2. They have conceded 11.6 dimes and 35.4 boards every game, which is 106th and 176th in the nation. The North Carolina State defense gives up 30.1% on 3-point shots (22 of 73) and opponents are converting on 64.9% of their foul shots. They are forcing 22.0 turnovers on a nightly basis and allow teams to shoot 41.9% from the field (162nd in college basketball).

When they last stepped on the court, the NC State Wolfpack walked away with a victory by a final of 69-50 when they played the Campbell Fighting Camels. The Wolfpack corralled 28 defensive boards and 8 offensive rebounds for a total of 36 in the matchup. They also turned away 3 tries while getting 9 steals for the matchup. The Fighting Camels earned 17 personal fouls in this matchup which got the Wolfpack to the charity stripe for a total of 12 shots. They were able to bury 8 of the free throw attempts for a percentage of 66.7%. In reference to three-point shots, North Carolina State made 5 of their 19 tries (26.3%). When the game finished, the Wolfpack walked away from this one shooting 28 for 58 from the field which had them shooting 48.3%. The Wolfpack permitted the Fighting Camels to make 19 of their 47 tries from the field which had them at 40.4% in this matchup. They went 11.8% from three-point range by going 2 of 17 and finished the contest at 10 of 17 from the free throw line (58.8%). With respect to rebounding, North Carolina State allowed Campbell to grab 22 in total (1 on the offensive glass).

Jericole Hellems played big minutes for the Wolfpack in the matchup. He knocked down 7 of 12 in the matchup giving him a rate of 58.3%, which had him finishing with 19 points. Hellems snagged 7 rebounds in his 34 minutes and had 5 assists in the game. One more player who came through for North Carolina State was Devon Daniels. He ended up with 12 points in 33 minutes on the court by way of 6 of 13 shooting for the matchup. Daniels ended the game having shot 46.2% from the field in addition to collecting 4 dimes and 8 rebounds.

Who will win tonight's college basketball game against the spread?

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take North Carolina State (-1.5)

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