North Carolina Tar Heels vs North Carolina State Wolfpack Prediction, 2/26/2022 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: North Carolina Tar Heels vs NC State Wolfpack

Date: Saturday, February 26, 2022

Location: PNC Arena in Raleigh, NC

TV: ESPN

PNC Arena is the location where the NC State Wolfpack (11-17) will attempt to beat the North Carolina Tar Heels (20-8) on Saturday.

The North Carolina Tar Heels faced Louisville and went home with a win by a final score of 70-63 in their last game. North Carolina finished the contest with a 49.1% field goal percentage (26 of 53) and made 7 out of their 25 shots from beyond the perimeter. From the charity stripe, the Tar Heels buried 11 of their 13 attempts for a rate of 84.6%. When discussing hauling in rebounds, they earned a total of 29 with 5 of them being offensive. They also recorded 12 assists in this contest in addition to forcing 13 turnovers and getting 9 steals. Pertaining to defense, North Carolina allowed the other team to go 45.0% from the floor on 27 of 60 shooting. Louisville recorded 10 assists and had 8 steals for the matchup. In addition, Louisville totaled 28 rebounds (8 offensive, 20 defensive), but didn't notch a rejection. Louisville ended up shooting 40.0% when shooting free throws by converting 2 of 5 shots. They also converted 7 out of their 28 shots from beyond the arc. When talking about fouls, the Tar Heels walked away with 10 and Louisville totaled 12 fouls.

Brady Manek is one player who played a role in this matchup. He walked away from this one shooting 50.0% from the field and dished out 2 assists. He played for 33 mins and also snagged 3 rebounds. He accounted for 17 points on 6 out of 12 shooting.

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North Carolina will enter this matchup with a win-loss record of 20-8 on the season. They currently have an average of 77.5 points per game (40th in Division 1) on 45.7% from the floor. The Tar Heels are connecting on 37.6% on shots from distance (236 of 628) and 75.8% from the free throw line. As a team, North Carolina is pulling down 39.4 boards per game and has earned 409 dimes for the season, which has them ranked 59th in college basketball in terms of passing. They cough up possession 12.1 times per game and as a basketball team they commit 14.7 fouls per game.

On the defensive end, the Tar Heels have forced 10.2 turnovers per contest while drawing 16.7 personal fouls. They are currently ranked 244th in college hoops in allowing assists with 365 conceded on the campaign. The Tar Heels defense is allowing a FG percentage of 43.4% (756 of 1,743) and they surrender 32.3 rebounds per game as a squad. They are surrendering 34.6% on 3-point attempts and they are 259th in college hoops in opponents points per game (72.1).

When they last played, the NC State Wolfpack walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 69-61 against Boston College. When talking about rebounds, North Carolina State allowed Boston College to grab 25 in total (5 offensive). They went 33.3% from behind the 3-point line by going 5 of 15 and finished the contest at 8 of 12 at the free throw line (66.7%). The Wolfpack permitted Boston College to knock down 28 of 53 tries from the field which gave them a rate of 52.8% for the game. When all was said and done, the Wolfpack shot 23 for 54 from the field which had them sitting at 42.6%. In the matter of shots from distance, North Carolina State made 9 of their 23 tries (39.1%). They were able to knock down 6 of the free throws for a rate of 75.0%. Boston College earned 14 personal fouls for the contest which got the Wolfpack to the free throw line for 8 attempts. They gave up possession of the ball 16 times, while earning 5 steals for the game. The Wolfpack pulled down 18 defensive boards and 11 offensive rebounds totaling 29 in this contest.

Terquavion Smith ended up being important for the Wolfpack for the game. He scored 21 points in his 28 minutes of playing time and had 2 dimes in the matchup. He knocked down 8 out of 18 for the matchup giving him a rate of 44.4%, and totaled 7 rebounds.

North Carolina State has a mark of 11-17 this season. On the offensive side of the court, the Wolfpack are connecting on 41.7% from the field, which has them ranked 302nd in the nation. North Carolina State has earned 2,046 points for the year (73.1 per contest) and they snag 35.4 rebounds per contest. They are earning an assist 11.5 times per contest (290th in Division 1) and they are giving up possession 10.4 times per game. The Wolfpack are responsible for committing 16.3 personal fouls per game and they connect on 72.1% from the free throw line.

The North Carolina State defense concedes 36.6% on shots from behind the 3-point line (205 of 560) and opponents are connecting on 73.5% of their free throw attempts. They have relinquished 14.4 assists and 36.8 boards per game, which ranks them 297th and 302nd in those categories on the defensive end. The Wolfpack on the defensive end are ranked 304th in college hoops in points given up per game with 74.1. They are forcing 13.0 TO's per game and have allowed teams to shoot 46.5% from the floor (329th in college basketball).

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take North Carolina

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