Florida Gators vs North Carolina Tar Heels Prediction, 12/17/2024 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Florida Gators vs North Carolina Tar Heels

Date: Tuesday, December 17, 2024

Location: Spectrum Center in Charlotte, NC

TV: ESPN+

The North Carolina Tar Heels (6-4) will try to beat the Florida Gators (10-0) at Spectrum Center on Tuesday.

The Florida Gators stepped onto the hardwood against Arizona State and went home with a win by a final score of 83-66 in their last contest. Florida ended the contest with a 47.8% field goal percentage (32 out of 67) and converted 10 of their 30 3-point attempts. From the free throw line, the Gators buried 9 of their 10 tries for a rate of 90.0%. Regarding hauling in boards, they compiled 43 with 10 of them being offensive. They also recorded 17 dimes in this matchup while creating 11 turnovers and earning 7 steals. When it comes to the defense, Florida allowed 37.1% from the floor on 23 out of 62 shooting. Arizona State earned 9 assists and had 7 steals in this game. On top of that, Arizona State collected 25 rebounds (5 offensive, 20 defensive), but wasn't able to record a rejection. Arizona State finished the game shooting 68.4% from the free throw line by making 13 of 19 attempts. They buried 7 of 25 tries from three-point range. With respect to fouls, the Gators walked away with 19 while Arizona State accumulated 11 fouls.

Walter Clayton Jr. is a guy who was important in the game. He walked away from this one shooting 44.4% from the floor and recorded 3 dimes. He saw the court for 33 mins played and pulled down 3 rebounds. He was able to score 25 points on 8 of 18 shooting.

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Florida heads into this one with a mark of 10-0 so far this season. They currently have an average of 86.2 pts per game (17th in college hoops) on 47.3% from the field. The Gators are hitting 33.6% on three-point shots (97 of 289) and 73.0% from the free throw line. As a unit, Florida is grabbing 43.4 rebounds per game and has accounted for 157 dimes for the year, which ranks 141st in the country in terms of passing the rock. They are giving up possession 10.3 times per contest and as a squad they are committing 15.7 fouls per contest.

On the defensive end, the Gators are able to force 13.7 turnovers every game and they draw 17.1 fouls. They are surrendering 30.0% on 3-point attempts and they are ranked 46th in college hoops in PPG allowed (65.1). The Gators defense is giving up a field goal percentage of 38.2% (234 of 612) and they relinquish 33.1 rebounds per contest as a team. They rank 17th in college basketball in giving up assists to their opponents with 96 surrendered this season.

The last time they took the court, the North Carolina Tar Heels went home victorious with a score of 93-67 against La Salle. In the matter of rebounding, North Carolina allowed La Salle to pull down 31 in total (11 on the offensive glass). They finished 34.5% from distance by going 10 of 29 and walked away from this one shooting 5 of 11 from the free throw line (45.5%). The Tar Heels allowed La Salle to make 26 out of 73 attempts from the field which gave them a rate of 35.6% in this game. When all was said and done, the Tar Heels ended up shooting 36 for 67 from the field which had them at 53.7%. When discussing shooting from 3-point land, North Carolina buried 10 of 31 tries (32.3%). They were able to convert 11 of them for a percentage of 47.8%. La Salle had 16 fouls in this matchup which got the Tar Heels to the charity stripe for a total of 23 shots. They gave up possession of the ball 10 times, while earning 8 steals in this game. The Tar Heels corralled 33 defensive rebounds and 12 offensive boards for a total of 45 in this game.

Cade Tyson was important for the Tar Heels in the game. He converted 9 of 14 for the game giving him a rate of 64.3%, and added 5 rebounds. He scored 23 points in his 21 minutes on the hardwood and earned 1 assist in this matchup.

North Carolina has a win-loss mark of 6-4 so far this year. When it comes to offense, the Tar Heels are shooting 46.9% from the floor, which has them ranked 114th in Division 1. North Carolina has accounted for 868 points this season (86.8 per contest) and they average 39.5 boards per contest. They are dishing out assists 14.6 times per contest (150th in the nation) and they lose possession by turning the ball over 10.9 times per game. The Tar Heels commit 17.8 personal fouls every game and they connect on 75.5% from the charity stripe.

The Tar Heels on the defensive end are ranked 332nd in Division 1 in PPG given up with 78.7. They are forcing 11.6 turnovers per game and have let teams shoot 42.0% from the floor (139th in D-1). The North Carolina defense allows 34.3% on 3-point shots (93 of 271) and opponents are connecting on 75.7% of their free throw attempts. They concede 13.8 dimes and 36.9 boards on a nightly basis, which has them ranked 244th and 292nd in those categories.

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take North Carolina

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