Wake Forest Demon Deacons vs North Carolina Tar Heels Prediction, 1/4/2023 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Wake Forest Demon Deacons vs North Carolina Tar Heels

Date: Wednesday, January 4, 2023

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

TV: ACCN

The Wake Forest Demon Deacons (10-4) are headed to Dean E. Smith Center on Wednesday where they will go up against the North Carolina Tar Heels (9-5).

The Wake Forest Demon Deacons stepped onto the hardwood against Virginia Tech and took home the win by a score of 77-75 in their last game. When discussing fouls, the Demon Deacons finished with 16 and Virginia Tech accumulated 24 fouls. They buried 6 of 21 attempts from three-point range. Virginia Tech shot 78.9% from the charity stripe by making 15 of their 19 attempts. Additionally, Virginia Tech grabbed 36 rebounds (7 offensive, 29 defensive), but didn't record a block for the team. Virginia Tech dished out 14 assists and had 5 steals for the game. Pertaining to defense, Wake Forest allowed 45.8% from the field on 27 of 59 shooting. They also distributed 12 assists in this matchup while creating 13 turnovers and earning 5 steals. In the matter of pulling down rebounds, they collected 35 with 12 of them being on the offensive end. When they shot from the charity stripe, the Demon Deacons knocked down 20 of 26 tries for a percentage of 76.9%. Wake Forest walked away from the game with a 36.5% FG percentage (23 of 63) and converted 11 of 28 shots from downtown.

Tyree Appleby is a guy who was a factor for this contest. He totaled 24 points on 5 out of 10 shooting. He played for 40 minutes played and grabbed 1 board. He walked away from this one shooting 50.0% from the floor and also recorded 7 assists.

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Wake Forest steps onto the court with a mark of 10-4 for the campaign. They have an average of 75.6 pts per contest (115th in college basketball) while connecting on 45.7% from the field. The Demon Deacons are hitting 35.6% on shots from downtown (119 of 334) and 75.6% from the charity stripe. As a unit, Wake Forest is pulling down 35.6 rebounds per contest and has tallied 177 dimes so far this season, which ranks 260th in college basketball in terms of passing the rock. They turn the ball over 13.4 times per game and as a group they are committing 15.9 fouls every game.

When they are on the defensive end, the Demon Deacons are able to force 13.9 turnovers per contest while drawing 18.7 personal fouls. They are conceding 32.6% on 3-point attempts while they are 239th in the country in opponents PPG (71.1). The Demon Deacons are giving up an opponent shooting percentage of 43.3% (357 of 825) and they relinquish 33.6 boards per contest as a team. They rank 143rd in college hoops in giving up assists to their opponents with 169 surrendered this season.

When they last stepped on the court, the North Carolina Tar Heels went home defeated by a final of 76-74 against Pittsburgh. The Tar Heels were able to corral 29 defensive boards and 7 offensive rebounds for a total of 36 in the game. They turned the ball over 11 times, while earning 5 steals for this game. Pittsburgh earned 14 personal fouls for the contest which took the Tar Heels to the free throw line for 21 shots. They were able to bury 17 of them for a rate of 81.0%. In relation to shooting from 3-point land, North Carolina knocked down 7 out of 22 attempts (31.8%). When this game wrapped up, the Tar Heels ended up shooting 25 out of 58 from the floor which gave them a rate of 43.1%. The Tar Heels allowed Pittsburgh to knock down 29 of 63 tries from the floor which gave them a percentage of 46.0% in the game. They finished 20.0% from three-point range by going 5 out of 25 and ended up going 13 of 17 at the charity stripe (76.5%). With respect to rebounds, North Carolina allowed Pittsburgh to get 30 in all (5 on the offensive side).

Armando Bacot ended up being important for the Tar Heels in the matchup. He made 8 of 14 in this contest giving him a rate of 57.1%, and accumulated 13 rebounds. He accumulated 22 points in his 37 minutes on the hardwood and had 3 assists in this contest.

North Carolina has a mark of 9-5 on the season. The Tar Heels have committed 16.6 personal fouls every game and they shoot 73.9% from the charity stripe. Their rate of earning assists is at 13.1 times per game (223rd in the nation) and they turn it over 11.6 times per game. North Carolina has 1,133 pts for the season (80.9 per contest) and they grab 40.2 rebounds per game. When it comes to offense, the Tar Heels are shooting 45.7% from the field, which is 130th in the nation.

The Tar Heels are ranked 317th in D-1 in points given up per game with 74.6. They are forcing their opponents into 11.7 TO's per game and have allowed teams to shoot 43.1% from the floor (200th in D-1). The North Carolina defense concedes 33.8% on 3-pointers (113 of 334) and opponents are making 67.9% of their foul shots. They have surrendered 13.2 assists and 35.6 boards every game, which has them ranked 224th and 256th in college basketball.

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Wake Forest

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