Duke Blue Devils vs North Carolina Tar Heels Prediction, 2/3/2024 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Duke Blue Devils vs North Carolina Tar Heels

Date: Saturday, February 3, 2024

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

TV: ESPN

The North Carolina Tar Heels (17-4) welcome the Duke Blue Devils (16-4) at Dean E. Smith Center on Saturday.

The Duke Blue Devils played Virginia Tech and walked away with a win by a score of 77-67 in their last contest. Duke finished the contest with a 55.4% field goal percentage (31 out of 56) and converted 9 of 17 three-point attempts. From the free throw line, the Blue Devils knocked down 6 of 10 shots for a percentage of 60.0%. Pertaining to grabbing rebounds, they compiled a total of 35 with 8 of them being offensive. They also recorded 19 assists in the game as well as creating 4 turnovers and earning 1 steal. When discussing the defense, Duke allowed 44.8% from the floor on 26 of 58 shooting. Virginia Tech doled out 15 dimes and had 4 steals for the contest. Additionally, Virginia Tech pulled down 19 rebounds (3 offensive, 16 defensive), but wrapped up the game with no rejections. Virginia Tech finished the game shooting 75.0% when shooting free throws by converting 9 of 12 attempts. They knocked down 6 out of their 22 shots from downtown. With respect to fouls, the Blue Devils ended up walking away with 18 and Virginia Tech recorded 10 fouls.

Ryan Young is a guy who came through in this contest. He was able to score 10 points on 5 of 6 shooting. He played 15 mins and also pulled down 5 rebounds. He finished the game shooting 83.3% from the field and also earned 2 assists.

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Duke heads into this matchup with a record of 16-4 for the year. They cough up possession 9.4 times per contest and as a unit they commit 15.9 fouls per contest. As a team, Duke is pulling in 35.9 rebounds per contest and has totaled 320 assists for the year, which has them ranked 73rd in college basketball in terms of passing the ball. The Blue Devils are shooting 38.7% on three-point shots (167 of 432) and 73.4% from the charity stripe. They are averaging 81.0 pts per contest (40th in Division 1) while connecting on 48.2% from the field.

On the defensive end, the Blue Devils are forcing 12.3 turnovers per game while drawing 17.5 personal fouls. They are ranked 137th in college basketball in allowing assists to the opposition with 255 relinquished this season. The Blue Devils defense is allowing a FG percentage of 43.3% (491 of 1,135) and they concede 31.7 rebounds per game as a squad. They are surrendering 33.7% on 3-point attempts while they are 78th in the nation in opponents PPG (67.2).

In their last game, the North Carolina Tar Heels took a defeat with a final score of 74-73 when they faced Georgia Tech. The Tar Heels were able to collect 25 defensive rebounds and 14 offensive boards for a total of 39 for the contest. They gave up possession of the ball 11 times, while recording 8 steals in this matchup. Georgia Tech committed 17 personal fouls for this game which took the Tar Heels to the free throw line for a total of 17 attempts. They were able to convert 9 of them for a rate of 52.9%. When talking about shots from distance, North Carolina buried 8 of 28 tries (28.6%). When the final whistle blew, the Tar Heels shot 28 for 77 from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 36.4%. The Tar Heels permitted Georgia Tech to knock down 25 of their 61 tries from the field which gave them a rate of 41.0% in this contest. They shot 45.0% from three-point range by connecting on 9 of 20 and finished the contest at 15 out of 17 at the free throw line (88.2%). When discussing attacking the glass, North Carolina permitted Georgia Tech to snag 38 in total (7 on the offensive glass).

RJ Davis pitched in for the Tar Heels for the game. He tallied 28 points in his 36 minutes on the hardwood and tallied 4 dimes for the matchup. He buried 11 out of 24 for the matchup for a rate of 45.8%, and added 5 rebounds.

North Carolina has a win-loss mark of 17-4 on the campaign. The Tar Heels are committing 16.8 personal fouls per game while shooting 75.4% from the free throw line. Their rate of assisting teammates is at 14.0 times per game (129th in D-1) and they lose possession via turnover 10.7 times per contest. North Carolina has accumulated 1,735 pts so far this year (82.6 per game) and they collect 41.6 rebounds per contest. On the offensive side of the court, the Tar Heels are shooting 45.1% from the floor, which ranks them 156th in college hoops.

The North Carolina defense allows 29.9% on 3-pointers (143 of 479) and their opposition knocks down 74.2% of their free throw attempts. They allow 10.1 dimes and 34.1 boards per contest, which is 15th and 139th in those categories. The Tar Heels defensively are ranked 112th in the country in PPG surrendered with 69.2. They are forcing their opponents into 11.7 TO's per game and have let teams shoot 39.8% from the floor (23rd in D-1).

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Duke

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