North Carolina Tar Heels vs Pittsburgh Panthers Prediction, 1/26/2021 College Basketball Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: North Carolina Tar Heels vs Pittsburgh Panthers

Date: Tuesday, January 26, 2021

Location: Petersen Events Center in Pittsburgh, PA

TV: ACCN

Odds/Point Spread: North Carolina (-2)

The North Carolina Tar Heels (10-5) head to Petersen Events Center on Tuesday where they'll meet the Pittsburgh Panthers (8-3). Pittsburgh opens this game as 2-point underdogs. The over/under has been set at 142.5.

North Carolina enters this contest with a mark of 10-5 so far this season. They lose possession via turnover 14.9 times per game and as a group they are committing 17.8 fouls every game. As a unit, North Carolina is pulling down 43.5 boards per game and has accumulated 222 assists for the year, which has them ranked 56th in college basketball in terms of passing. The Tar Heels are connecting on 31.0% on 3-point shots (78 of 252) and 67.7% from the charity stripe. They currently have an average of 74.5 pts per game (121st in college hoops) while hitting 43.1% from the floor. When they are on defense, the Tar Heels are able to force 14.1 turnovers per game while drawing 19.2 fouls. The Tar Heels defensively are allowing a field goal percentage of 42.7% (379 of 888) and they surrender 32.1 rebounds per contest as a group. They currently rank 235th in college basketball in allowing assists with 185 relinquished so far this year. They are conceding 35.7% on three-point shots while they are 177th in D-1 in points per game allowed (70.2).

The North Carolina Tar Heels took the court against the NC State Wolfpack and notched a win by a score of 86-76 in their last contest. North Carolina ended the contest having earned a 54.4% FG percentage (37 of 68) and buried 4 out of their 11 shots from beyond the perimeter. From the free throw line, the Tar Heels made 8 of their 18 shots for a percentage of 44.4%. In relation to pulling down rebounds, they earned 38 with 10 of them being offensive. They also doled out 18 assists in the game in addition to having 6 steals and 4 rejections. Pertaining to defending, North Carolina allowed 54.4% from the floor on 37 of 68 shooting. North Carolina State totaled 9 dimes and had 10 steals for this contest. Furthurmore, the Wolfpack grabbed 26 rebounds (7 offensive, 19 defensive) and got 4 blocked shots. North Carolina State finished 61.5% at the free throw line by burying 8 of 13 attempts. They also made 6 of their 18 attempts from 3-point land.

Armando Bacot is one player who played a role for the game. He accumulated 17 points on 8 out of 12 shooting. He was on the hardwood for 28 minutes and also pulled down 8 rebounds. Bacot finished the game at 66.7% from the field and also earned 2 dimes. An additional guy that was a major factor in the matchup for the Tar Heels was Day'Ron Sharpe. He collected 10 boards and also collected 2 dimes. He finished the game shooting 61.5% from the field for the contest by hitting 8-of-13 (16 points). When the final whistle was blown, Sharpe was on the court for 24 minutes.

Pittsburgh has a record of 8-3 for the season. The Panthers commit 18.1 fouls per contest and they connect on 64.8% from the charity stripe. They are assisting teammates 16.0 times per game (56th in Division 1) and they are giving up possession 13.4 times per game. Pittsburgh has earned 817 points so far this year (74.3 per game) and they pull in 42.3 boards per contest. As an offense, the Panthers are shooting 43.5% from the field, which ranks 229th in the nation. The Panthers defensively are ranked 95th in college hoops in points allowed per contest with 67.0. They have given up 14.7 dimes and 35.3 rebounds on a nightly basis, which is ranked 287th and 188th in college hoops. The Pittsburgh defense gives up 28.6% on shots from behind the 3-point line (79 of 276) and opponents are converting on 67.6% of their foul shots. They are able to force 13.6 turnovers on a nightly basis and have let teams shoot 39.7% from the floor (44th in college basketball).

The last time they took the court, the Pittsburgh Panthers took a loss by a score of 76-75 against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons. The Panthers earned 20 defensive boards and 9 offensive rebounds for a total of 29 in this matchup. They turned away 2 shots while getting 11 steals in the matchup. The Demon Deacons had 22 fouls in this matchup which took the Panthers to the charity stripe for a total of 23 tries. They were able to knock down 16 of the free throws for a rate of 69.6%. When talking about shooting from distance, Pittsburgh converted 5 of 12 tries (41.7%). When the final whistle blew, the Panthers finished shooting 27 out of 59 from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 45.8%. The Panthers permitted the Demon Deacons to make 26 out of their 56 attempts from the field which left them with a shooting percentage of 46.4% for the contest. They finished shooting 46.9% from beyond the arc by going 15 of 32 and finished the contest at 9 out of 12 at the free throw line (75.0%). With respect to team rebounding, Pittsburgh allowed Wake Forest to collect 27 in all (6 on the offensive side).

Justin Champagnie was important for the Panthers for the game. He converted 7 of 12 in this contest for a rate of 58.3%, which got him 17 points. Champagnie collected 8 rebounds in his 38 minutes played and had 2 dimes for this game. One more player who came through for Pittsburgh was Abdoul Karim Coulibaly. He racked up 15 points in 25 minutes played via 4 out of 6 from the floor for this contest. Coulibaly finished going 66.7% from the floor and also earning 2 assists and 4 boards.

So what is Tonights Parlay prediction?

Parlay's Pundit's Pick: Take North Carolina (-2) and under 142.5 points

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