Charleston Southern Buccaneers vs North Carolina Tar Heels Prediction, 12/29/2023 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Charleston Southern Buccaneers vs North Carolina Tar Heels

Date: Friday, December 29, 2023

Location: Dean E. Smith Center in Chapel Hill, NC

TV: ESPN

The Charleston Southern Buccaneers (4-8) are on their way to Dean E. Smith Center on Friday where they will meet the North Carolina Tar Heels (8-3).

The Charleston Southern Buccaneers faced off with Kentucky Christian and took home the win by a score of 103-79 in their last contest. Regarding personal fouls, the Buccaneers ended up with 9 and Kentucky Christian racked up 14 personal fouls. They knocked down 10 of 27 tries from distance. Kentucky Christian ended up going 75.0% at the charity stripe by knocking down 9 of 12 attempts. Additionally, Kentucky Christian grabbed 26 rebounds (4 offensive, 22 defensive), but didn't notch a rejection. Kentucky Christian doled out 16 assists and had 5 steals in this contest. When talking about defending, Charleston Southern allowed the other team to shoot 44.8% from the floor on 30 of 67 shooting. They also dished out 17 assists for this game in addition to forcing the other team into 10 turnovers and getting 5 steals. Regarding rebounding, they collected 37 with 8 of them being offensive. At the free throw line, the Buccaneers made 17 of their 19 attempts for a rate of 89.5%. Charleston Southern finished the game with a 55.2% FG percentage (37 of 67) and made 12 of 23 shots from distance.

R.J. Johnson is a player who was a factor in this matchup. He left the arena with 21 points on 7 of 10 shooting. He was on the hardwood for 21 minutes played and pulled down 2 boards. He finished the contest at 70.0% from the field and dished out 3 dimes.

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Charleston Southern enters this game with a win-loss mark of 4-8 so far this year. They average 71.8 points per game (254th in D-1) while hitting 45.5% from the field. The Buccaneers are shooting 35.9% on shots from downtown (89 of 248) and 72.8% from the free throw line. As a team, Charleston Southern is pulling in 33.7 boards per contest and has tallied 143 dimes on the campaign, which has them ranked 284th in Division 1 in terms of passing. They cough up possession 12.3 times per contest and as a unit are committing 16.6 fouls per contest.

On defense, the Buccaneers are able to force 9.8 turnovers per game while drawing 15.6 personal fouls. They are currently ranked 77th in D-1 in giving up assists to their opponents with 133 relinquished for the year. The Buccaneers defense is allowing and opponent field goal percentage of 45.0% (323 of 717) and they concede 35.2 rebounds per game as a unit. They give up 30.6% on shots from beyond the arc and they are ranked 249th in college basketball in points per game allowed (73.6).

For their last game, the North Carolina Tar Heels walked away with a victory by a final of 81-69 when they played Oklahoma. In relation to how they attacked the glass, North Carolina permitted Oklahoma to pull down 34 in total (8 on the offensive glass). They shot 30.4% from distance via 7 out of 23 and ended up shooting 16 of 24 from the charity stripe (66.7%). The Tar Heels permitted Oklahoma to make 23 of their 57 attempts from the floor which had them shooting 40.4% for this contest. Overall, the Tar Heels ended up shooting 26 for 60 from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 43.3%. When discussing three-point attempts, North Carolina converted 9 of 22 tries (40.9%). They were able to knock down 20 of the free throw tries for a rate of 76.9%. Oklahoma committed 20 personal fouls for the contest which got the Tar Heels to the charity stripe for a total of 26 attempts. They also gave up possession of the ball 9 times, while earning 10 steals for the contest. The Tar Heels earned 27 defensive boards and 7 offensive rebounds for a total of 34 in the matchup.

RJ Davis was important for the Tar Heels for the matchup. He had 23 points in his 35 minutes on the hardwood and added 5 assists in this game. He made 7 out of 18 for the contest giving him a rate of 38.9%, and totaled 4 rebounds.

North Carolina has a mark of 8-3 for the campaign. When it comes to offense, the Tar Heels are shooting 45.7% from the floor, which ranks 140th in the nation. North Carolina has 930 points this year (84.5 per contest) and they average 37.7 rebounds per game. They are earning an assist 13.8 times per game (164th in the nation) and they lose possession via turnover 10.6 times per game. The Tar Heels commit 17.1 personal fouls per game and they hit 76.1% from the free throw line.

The North Carolina defense surrenders 32.6% on shots from behind the 3-point line (89 of 273) and their opponents are connecting on 73.3% of their shots from the charity stripe. They have allowed 11.7 dimes and 35.3 total boards per game, which has them ranked 111th and 202nd in the country. The Tar Heels on defense are ranked 271st in D-1 in points given up per game with 74.5. They are forcing 12.9 TO's per game and have allowed teams to shoot 42.6% from the field (180th in the nation).

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take North Carolina

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