North Carolina Tar Heels vs Virginia Cavaliers Prediction, 3/9/2023 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: North Carolina Tar Heels vs Virginia Cavaliers

Date: Thursday, March 9, 2023

Location: Greensboro Coliseum in Greensboro, NC

TV: ESPN+

Odds/Point Spread: North Carolina (+3)

The North Carolina Tar Heels (19-12) are hitting the road to Greensboro Coliseum on Thursday where they will go up against the Virginia Cavaliers (23-6). North Carolina opens as 3-point underdogs. The over/under is set at 128.5.

The North Carolina Tar Heels took the court against Duke and took a loss by a score of 62-57 in their last contest. North Carolina finished with a 30.4% FG percentage (17 of 56) and buried 5 of their 23 shots from distance. From the free throw line, the Tar Heels made 18 of their 21 attempts for a rate of 85.7%. When talking about hauling in rebounds, they earned 38 with 9 of them being on the offensive end. They also doled out 8 assists in this matchup as well as forcing the other team into 8 turnovers and having 4 steals. Pertaining to defense, North Carolina allowed the other team to shoot 37.9% from the field on 22 of 58 shooting. Duke totaled 4 assists and had 6 steals in this matchup. Moreover, Duke collected 37 rebounds (10 offensive, 27 defensive), but didn't record a block for the team. Duke finished shooting 77.8% at the charity stripe by knocking down 14 of 18 tries. They also knocked down 4 out of their 13 shots from distance. When talking about fouls, the Tar Heels ended up walking away with 16 while Duke totaled 15 fouls.

RJ Davis is one guy who was a contributor in this contest. He was able to score 17 points on 6 of 13 shooting. He was on the hardwood for 38 mins and pulled down 6 boards. He ended up going 46.2% from the field and also totaled 3 dimes.

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North Carolina heads into this contest with a win-loss record of 19-12 on the campaign. They are averaging 76.5 points per contest (70th in college basketball) while shooting 43.2% from the field. The Tar Heels are shooting 30.9% on shots from downtown (216 of 700) and 74.3% from the free throw line. As a team, North Carolina is pulling down 39.9 rebounds per contest and is sitting with 370 assists on the year, which has them ranked 282nd in Division 1 in terms of passing the ball. They turn the ball over 10.9 times per contest and as a group they commit 17.0 fouls per game.

On the defensive end, the Tar Heels have forced 10.5 turnovers per game while drawing 18.9 fouls. They rank 58th in college hoops in allowing assists with 347 conceded for the campaign. The Tar Heels defense is allowing a field goal percentage of 43.2% (828 of 1,915) and they concede 34.6 boards per game as a squad. They are relinquishing 33.1% on 3-pointers and they rank 220th in college basketball in opponents points per game (71.3).

In their last game, the Virginia Cavaliers went home victorious with a score of 75-60 against Louisville. The Cavaliers pulled down 15 defensive boards and 5 offensive boards totaling 20 in this contest. They also coughed up the ball 7 times, while getting 8 steals in this contest. Louisville was called for 13 personal fouls in the matchup which took the Cavaliers to the free throw line for 14 tries. They were able to knock down 11 of the free throw attempts for a percentage of 78.6%. In regard to shooting from downtown, Virginia made 6 of their 18 attempts (33.3%). Overall, the Cavaliers ended up going 29 for 50 from the field which gave them a rate of 58.0%. The Cavaliers permitted Louisville to convert 20 out of 46 attempts from the field which left them with a rate of 43.5% for the contest. They went 26.7% from 3-point land via 4 of 15 and ended up shooting 16 of 20 at the charity stripe (80.0%). In reference to how they attacked the glass, Virginia permitted Louisville to snag 23 in all (8 on the offensive side).

Armaan Franklin ended up having an impact for the Cavaliers for the game. He earned 16 points in his 29 mins on the hardwood and earned 5 assists for the contest. He knocked down 5 of 8 for this contest for a field goal rate of 62.5%, and tallied 4 rebounds.

Virginia has a record of 23-6 so far this year. The Cavaliers are committing 14.0 fouls per contest while shooting 70.0% from the free throw line. Their rate of earning assists is at 16.1 times per game (21st in D-1) and they turn it over 8.6 times per game. Virginia has accumulated 1,977 points on the year (68.2 per contest) and they pull down 32.0 boards per game. When it comes to offensive execution, the Cavaliers are hitting on 45.0% from the field, which is ranked 169th in college hoops.

The Virginia defense concedes 34.4% on shots from distance (205 of 596) and their opponents are connecting on 75.1% of their free throw attempts. They have relinquished 11.5 dimes and 31.8 rebounds on a nightly basis, which is 94th and 55th in college hoops. The Cavaliers are ranked 9th in college basketball in points given up per game with 60.5. They are forcing 12.4 TO's every game and allow teams to shoot 41.9% from the floor (69th in college basketball).

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Virginia (-3)

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