Notre Dame Fighting Irish vs North Carolina Tar Heels Prediction, 1/7/2023 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Notre Dame Fighting Irish vs North Carolina Tar Heels

Date: Saturday, January 7, 2023

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

TV: ESPN2

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish (8-7) are hitting the road to Dean E. Smith Center on Saturday where they will attempt to beat the North Carolina Tar Heels (9-5).

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish played Boston College and took a loss by a final of 70-63 in their last contest. Regarding personal fouls, the Fighting Irish left the arena with 17 while Boston College totaled 12 personal fouls. They made 2 of their 12 attempts from beyond the arc. Boston College walked away from this one shooting 63.2% at the charity stripe by knocking down 12 of their 19 attempts. Additionally, Boston College snagged 37 rebounds (7 offensive, 30 defensive), but couldn't earn a rejection. Boston College earned 17 dimes and had 1 steal for the contest. In terms of defending, Notre Dame allowed 51.9% from the field on 28 of 54 shooting. They also doled out 10 assists for this game as well as forcing the opposition into 9 turnovers and earning 5 steals. In terms of grabbing rebounds, they earned 26 with 6 of them being of the offensive variety. At the free throw line, the Fighting Irish made 5 of their 10 attempts for a rate of 50.0%. Notre Dame ended with a 40.0% FG percentage (24 of 60) and made 10 of their 29 shots from beyond the perimeter.

Dane Goodwin is a player who played a role in the game. He racked up 16 points on 6 of 12 shooting. He played for 35 mins and also collected 6 boards. He finished 50.0% from the floor and distributed 2 dimes.

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Notre Dame steps onto the court with a win-loss record of 8-7 for the campaign. They have an average of 69.7 points per contest (233rd in Division 1) while hitting 45.9% from the field. The Fighting Irish are shooting 37.7% on shots from downtown (133 of 353) and 78.3% from the free throw line. As a unit, Notre Dame is pulling down 30.7 boards per game and has totaled 179 dimes for the campaign, which has them ranked 255th in D-1 in terms of passing the ball. They are turning it over 9.3 times per contest and as a basketball team they are committing 12.2 fouls per game.

On the defensive end, the Fighting Irish have forced 8.7 turnovers every game while drawing 13.5 personal fouls. They are currently ranked 222nd in D-1 in allowing assists with 188 relinquished so far this year. The Fighting Irish defensively are giving up a FG percentage of 46.1% (401 of 869) and they relinquish 33.3 rebounds per contest as a basketball team. They surrender 31.8% on 3-pointers and they rank 183rd in college hoops in opponents PPG (68.5).

The last time they took the hardwood, the North Carolina Tar Heels walked away with a victory by a final of 88-79 against Wake Forest. The Tar Heels pulled down 21 defensive rebounds and 7 offensive rebounds totaling 28 in the game. They turned the ball over 9 times, while getting 9 steals for the contest. Wake Forest had 18 fouls for this game which got the Tar Heels to the charity stripe for a total of 24 attempts. They were able to make 19 of the free throw attempts for a percentage of 79.2%. When discussing shooting from downtown, North Carolina buried 9 of their 24 tries (37.5%). Overall, the Tar Heels shot 30 out of 58 from the floor which had them at 51.7%. The Tar Heels allowed Wake Forest to make 28 of their 57 attempts from the field which had them at 49.1% in this contest. They shot 47.6% from 3-point land by shooting 10 of 21 and walked away from this one shooting 13 out of 20 at the charity stripe (65.0%). When it comes to how they attacked the glass, North Carolina permitted Wake Forest to collect 29 in total (7 offensive).

RJ Davis ended up being important for the Tar Heels in this contest. He buried 9 out of 14 for the game giving him a field goal percentage of 64.3%, and had 4 rebounds. He earned 27 points in his 38 mins on the court and added 4 dimes in the matchup.

North Carolina has a mark of 9-5 so far this season. The Tar Heels are responsible for committing 16.6 personal fouls every game and they connect on 73.9% from the charity stripe. They are earning an assist 13.1 times per contest (222nd in D-1) and they are turning it over 11.6 times per contest. North Carolina has totaled 1,133 pts this year (80.9 per contest) and they pull in 40.2 rebounds per game. As an offensive unit, the Tar Heels are hitting on 45.7% from the floor, which is ranked 131st in the nation.

The North Carolina defense concedes 33.8% on shots from distance (113 of 334) and their opponents are making 67.9% of their free throw attempts. They have allowed 13.2 assists and 35.6 rebounds per contest, which ranks 228th and 256th in college hoops. The Tar Heels defensively are ranked 318th in college basketball in points allowed per contest with 74.6. They are forcing 11.7 TO's per game and have let teams shoot 43.1% from the field (199th in D-1).

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Notre Dame

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