Michigan Wolverines vs North Carolina Tar Heels Prediction, 12/21/2022 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Michigan Wolverines vs North Carolina Tar Heels

Date: Wednesday, December 21, 2022

Location: Spectrum Center in Charlotte, NC

TV: ESPN

The North Carolina Tar Heels (8-4) welcome the Michigan Wolverines (7-3) at Spectrum Center on Wednesday.

The Michigan Wolverines stepped onto the hardwood against Lipscomb and walked away with a win by a score of 83-75 in their last contest. Michigan finished the game having earned a 50.0% FG percentage (31 of 62) and buried 7 of their 19 shots from downtown. At the free throw line, the Wolverines buried 14 of 23 shots for a percentage of 60.9%. In relation to grabbing boards, they earned 36 with 11 of them being on the offensive end. They also recorded 9 assists in this game while forcing 12 turnovers and having 4 steals. In reference to defending, Michigan allowed their opponent to shoot 41.8% from the field on 28 out of 67 shooting. Lipscomb recorded 14 dimes and had 4 steals for this game. In addition, Lipscomb totaled 33 boards (10 offensive, 23 defensive), but wasn't able to record a block. Lipscomb ended up shooting 90.9% from the free throw line by converting 10 of their 11 shots. They also converted 9 out of their 30 tries from beyond the arc. In regard to personal fouls, the Wolverines ended up finishing with 10 and Lipscomb finished the game with 17 personal fouls.

Kobe Bufkin is one player who was a major contributor for this contest. He ended up scoring 22 points on 8 out of 9 shooting. He was on the hardwood for 34 mins and grabbed 4 rebounds. He ended up shooting 88.9% from the field and also recorded 1 assist.

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Michigan will take the court with a win-loss record of 7-3 this year. They turn it over 9.3 times per game and as a basketball team are committing 14.6 fouls on a nightly basis. As a unit, Michigan is collecting 36.3 rebounds per contest and has racked up 136 dimes so far this year, which has them ranked 280th in D-1 in terms of passing. The Wolverines are shooting 35.7% on shots from beyond the arc (82 of 230) and 66.3% from the charity stripe. They have an average of 77.4 points per contest (88th in Division 1) while shooting 46.0% from the field.

When they are on defense, the Wolverines are forcing their opponents into 11.8 turnovers per contest and they draw 17.5 fouls. They surrender 34.1% from 3-point land while they are 250th in college hoops in points per game from their opponents (71.3). The Wolverines defense is allowing a shooting percentage of 42.8% (266 of 621) and they relinquish 38.1 rebounds per contest as a unit. They are ranked 128th in D-1 in giving up assists with 132 surrendered for the year.

The last time they took the court, the North Carolina Tar Heels walked away with a victory by a final of 89-84 against Ohio State. Regarding rebounding, North Carolina allowed Ohio State to collect 37 in total (12 offensive). They finished 37.5% from 3-point land by connecting on 9 of 24 and ended up shooting 7 out of 14 at the free throw line (50.0%). The Tar Heels allowed Ohio State to bury 34 out of their 74 attempts from the floor which gave them a rate of 45.9% for the game. Overall, the Tar Heels went 32 out of 72 from the field which gave them a rate of 44.4%. Pertaining to shooting from downtown, North Carolina buried 6 out of 28 attempts (21.4%). They were able to knock down 19 of the free throw tries for a percentage of 70.4%. Ohio State committed 22 personal fouls for the matchup which got the Tar Heels to the charity stripe for a total of 27 attempts. They also turned it over 13 times, while recording 7 steals in the game. The Tar Heels corralled 31 defensive rebounds and 14 offensive rebounds for a total of 45 for this contest.

Armando Bacot ended up being a factor for the Tar Heels for this contest. He scored 28 points in his 37 minutes on the court and earned 3 dimes for this game. He made 11 out of 19 in this contest for a field goal rate of 57.9%, and had 15 rebounds.

North Carolina has a mark of 8-4 so far this year. The Tar Heels have committed 16.5 fouls per game and they go 75.0% from the free throw line. They are earning an assist 13.0 times per contest (224th in Division 1) and they cough up possession 11.7 times per game. North Carolina has scored 979 pts this year (81.6 per contest) and they average 40.4 rebounds per game. As an offensive unit, the Tar Heels are shooting 45.6% from the field, which is 141st in the country.

The Tar Heels are ranked 309th in college hoops in PPG allowed with 74.4. They are able to force 12.2 turnovers per game and have allowed teams to shoot 43.0% from the floor (197th in D-1). The North Carolina defense concedes 34.6% on shots from beyond the arc (99 of 286) and their opponents are knocking down 66.7% of their foul shots. They have relinquished 13.5 dimes and 35.7 boards every game, which is 248th and 257th in those categories on the defensive end.

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Michigan

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