UC Riverside Highlanders vs North Carolina Tar Heels Prediction, 11/17/2023 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: UC Riverside Highlanders vs North Carolina Tar Heels

Date: Friday, November 17, 2023

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

TV: ESPN

The North Carolina Tar Heels (2-0) are hosting the UC Riverside Highlanders (1-2) at Dean E. Smith Center on Friday.

The UC Riverside Highlanders played Portland and took a loss by a score of 76-65 in their last game. In reference to personal fouls, the Highlanders ended up finishing with 20 while Portland totaled 17 personal fouls. They also made 4 of 13 shots from long range. Portland finished the game shooting 88.9% at the charity stripe by making 24 of 27 shots. Moreover, Portland grabbed 39 rebounds (11 offensive, 28 defensive), but didn't notch a block. Portland recorded 16 assists and had 5 steals in this game. Concerning defense, UC Riverside allowed 45.3% from the field on 24 of 53 shooting. They also recorded 13 dimes in this contest in addition to forcing the opposition into 17 turnovers and getting 6 steals. In terms of pulling down boards, they earned 30 with 13 of them being offensive. When they shot from the free throw line, the Highlanders made 9 of their 16 tries for a rate of 56.3%. UC Riverside walked away from the game with a 33.3% FG percentage (23 out of 69) and made 10 of their 35 3-point shots.

Barrington Hargress is one player who played a role in this contest. He walked away from this one shooting 55.6% from the floor and distributed 3 assists. He played 27 minutes and also grabbed 1 rebound. He totaled 17 points on 5 of 9 shooting.

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UC Riverside will enter this matchup with a record of 1-2 so far this season. They average 64.7 points per outing (317th in Division 1) while connecting on 33.0% from the field. The Highlanders are hitting 28.9% on 3-point shots (28 of 97) and 66.7% from the free throw line. As a team, UC Riverside is pulling down 35.3 rebounds per game and has racked up 42 dimes this year, which is 161st in the nation in terms of passing the rock. They lose possession by turning the ball over 6.3 times per contest and as a unit they are committing 17.7 fouls every game.

When they are on the defensive end, the Highlanders are forcing 13.7 turnovers per contest and they draw 17.3 personal fouls. They give up 41.7% on shots from downtown and they are 275th in college basketball in PPG allowed (75.7). The Highlanders defensively are giving up a field goal percentage of 47.0% (79 of 168) and they surrender 42.3 rebounds per contest as a basketball team. They rank 314th in college hoops in allowing assists to the opposition with 48 relinquished this year.

The last time they took the court, the North Carolina Tar Heels walked away with a victory by a final of 90-68 against Lehigh. In regard to cleaning up the glass, North Carolina allowed Lehigh to collect 28 in all (7 on the offensive side). They shot 39.4% from beyond the perimeter by connecting on 13 of 33 and finished the contest at 3 of 4 from the free throw line (75.0%). The Tar Heels permitted Lehigh to knock down 26 out of their 71 attempts from the floor which had them at 36.6% for the matchup. Overall, the Tar Heels walked away from this one shooting 31 for 67 from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 46.3%. In reference to shots from beyond the perimeter, North Carolina converted 5 of their 17 attempts (29.4%). They were able to knock down 23 of them for a rate of 82.1%. Lehigh earned 22 personal fouls in the matchup which got the Tar Heels to the charity stripe for a total of 28 tries. They gave up possession of the ball 10 times, while recording 9 steals in the matchup. The Tar Heels pulled down 35 defensive boards and 15 offensive boards totaling 50 for the matchup.

Armando Bacot ended up being a major contributor for the Tar Heels in this matchup. He knocked down 8 of 14 in this game for a field goal percentage of 57.1%, and accumulated 20 rebounds. He totaled 22 points in his 26 mins of playing time and totaled 1 assist for the matchup.

North Carolina has a mark of 2-0 for the campaign. The Tar Heels are responsible for committing 9.5 fouls per contest and they connect on 74.5% from the charity stripe. They are assisting teammates 14.5 times per game (151st in the nation) and they are turning it over 10.5 times per game. North Carolina has 176 points for the year (88.0 per game) and they average 44.5 rebounds per game. As an offense, the Tar Heels are connecting on 49.2% from the floor, which is 79th in D-1.

The Tar Heels defensively are ranked 187th in D-1 in PPG surrendered with 69.0. They are forcing 11.5 turnovers on a nightly basis and have let teams shoot 39.4% from the field (122nd in college hoops). The North Carolina defense allows 33.3% on shots from behind the 3-point line (18 of 54) and their opponents are making 85.7% of their foul shots. They have given up 10.0 assists and 32.5 boards every game, which has them ranked 87th and 102nd in college hoops.

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take North Carolina

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