North Carolina Tar Heels vs Kentucky Wildcats Prediction, 12/16/2023 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: North Carolina Tar Heels vs Kentucky Wildcats

Date: Saturday, December 16, 2023

Location: State Farm Arena in Atlanta, GA

TV: ESPN+

The North Carolina Tar Heels (7-2) are on their way to State Farm Arena on Saturday where they will take on the Kentucky Wildcats (7-2).

The North Carolina Tar Heels took the court against Connecticut and took a loss by a final of 87-76 in their last contest. North Carolina wrapped up the game with a 44.4% field goal percentage (28 out of 63) and converted 7 of their 20 three-point attempts. When they shot from the free throw line, the Tar Heels buried 13 of 22 shots for a rate of 59.1%. When talking about grabbing rebounds, they compiled 29 with 8 of them being of the offensive variety. They also distributed 18 assists in the matchup in addition to forcing the other team into 6 turnovers and having 3 steals. With respect to defense, North Carolina allowed the other team to shoot 51.5% from the field on 34 of 66 shooting. Connecticut distributed 25 assists and had 5 steals in this game. Furthermore, Connecticut snagged 39 boards (8 offensive, 31 defensive), but wasn't able to put a block in the stat sheet. Connecticut finished the game at 56.3% when shooting free throws by making 9 of 16 shots. They also knocked down 10 of 31 attempts from distance. Regarding fouls, the Tar Heels left the arena with 13 while Connecticut finished the game with 18 fouls.

RJ Davis is a guy who was a major contributor for the contest. He scored 26 points on 8 of 17 shooting. He played for 38 minutes and also snagged 4 rebounds. He finished 47.1% from the field and also dished out 1 assist.

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North Carolina will play this game with a mark of 7-2 this season. They are averaging 85.1 points per outing (24th in college hoops) on 45.8% from the field. The Tar Heels are hitting 35.9% on shots from distance (69 of 192) and 75.8% from the charity stripe. As a team, North Carolina is collecting 38.8 rebounds per game and has accounted for 131 assists on the campaign, which is 205th in Division 1 in terms of passing the rock. They turn the ball over 10.1 times per contest and as a squad are committing 16.4 personal fouls every game.

On defense, the Tar Heels are able to force 12.2 turnovers per game and they draw 21.7 fouls. They give up 32.6% from 3-point land and they are 250th in Division 1 in opponents points per game (73.7). The Tar Heels defense is giving up a field goal percentage of 43.0% (242 of 563) and they surrender 33.9 boards per game as a group. They currently rank 93rd in college hoops in giving up assists to their opponents with 108 surrendered on the year.

When they last stepped on the hardwood, the Kentucky Wildcats walked away with a victory by a final of 81-66 when they played Penn. When discussing how they rebounded, Kentucky allowed Penn to snag 29 in all (5 on the offensive glass). They finished shooting 32.1% from three-point range by going 9 of 28 and ended up shooting 5 of 9 from the free throw line (55.6%). The Wildcats allowed Penn to knock down 26 of 57 tries from the field which left them with a rate of 45.6% for this game. When the final whistle blew, the Wildcats shot 34 for 69 from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 49.3%. In reference to 3-point shots, Kentucky converted 8 of their 20 tries (40.0%). They were able to make 5 of them for a percentage of 50.0%. Penn had 15 personal fouls for this game which took the Wildcats to the free throw line for a total of 10 attempts. They also turned it over 10 times, while recording 9 steals in the game. The Wildcats collected 26 defensive rebounds and 11 offensive boards totaling 37 in this game.

Aaron Bradshaw ended up being a factor for the Wildcats for this contest. He earned 17 points in his 29 minutes of playing time, but didn't get an assist. He knocked down 7 out of 12 in the game giving him a rate of 58.3%, and had 11 rebounds.

Kentucky has a mark of 7-2 for the campaign. The Wildcats commit 14.1 fouls per game and they hit 72.7% from the free throw line. They are assisting teammates 19.6 times per contest (8th in D-1) and they cough up possession 8.9 times per game. Kentucky has tallied 815 points so far this year (90.6 per contest) and they collect 37.8 rebounds per game. As an offensive unit, the Wildcats are shooting 50.4% from the field, which ranks 19th in college hoops.

The Kentucky defense gives up 32.7% on 3-pointers (81 of 248) and their opponents are connecting on 69.1% of their shots from the charity stripe. They have allowed 14.6 dimes and 36.2 rebounds on a nightly basis, which ranks 303rd and 240th in those categories. The Wildcats on the defensive side of the court are 220th in college basketball in PPG given up with 72.4. They are forcing 14.7 turnovers per game and have let teams shoot 41.8% from the floor (143rd in college basketball).

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take North Carolina

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