Michigan State Spartans vs North Carolina Tar Heels Prediction, 3/23/2024 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Michigan State Spartans vs North Carolina Tar Heels

Date: Saturday, March 23, 2024

Location: Spectrum Center in Charlotte, NC

TV: CBS

Odds/Point Spread: Michigan State (+4)

Spectrum Center is where the North Carolina Tar Heels (28-7) will compete against the Michigan State Spartans (20-14) on Saturday in the 2nd round of the NCAA Tournament. Michigan State opens this game as 4-point dogs from oddsmakers. The over/under is set at 138.5.

The Michigan State Spartans faced Mississippi State and walked away with a win by a score of 69-51 in their last game. When talking about fouls, the Spartans left the arena with 15 while Mississippi State recorded 11 fouls. They also converted 6 of their 27 attempts from distance. Mississippi State finished the contest at 50.0% when shooting free throws by making 5 of their 10 tries. Additionally, Mississippi State grabbed 24 rebounds (10 offensive, 14 defensive), but didn't have a block. Mississippi State totaled 13 assists and had 9 steals for this game. With regard to the defense, Michigan State allowed the other team to shoot 37.0% from the field on 20 out of 54 shooting. They also distributed 14 assists in the matchup while creating 14 turnovers and getting 7 steals. Regarding rebounding, they earned 34 with 11 of them being on the offensive end. At the charity stripe, the Spartans made 5 of their 6 shots for a percentage of 83.3%. Michigan State wrapped up the contest with a 50.0% field goal percentage (27 out of 54) and knocked down 10 of their 23 shots from 3-point land.

Tyson Walker is someone who was a major factor for the matchup. He ended up scoring 19 points on 7 out of 12 shooting. He played for 34 minutes and also totaled 3 rebounds. He finished 58.3% from the field and also distributed 2 dimes.

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Michigan State comes into this game with a win-loss record of 20-14 for the season. They are turning it over 10.0 times per game and as a team are committing 16.5 fouls every game. As a unit, Michigan State is pulling in 34.6 rebounds per contest and has racked up 552 dimes this season, which is 23rd in D-1 in terms of passing the rock. The Spartans are shooting 36.2% on shots from 3-point land (221 of 610) and 70.7% from the free throw line. They are averaging 73.0 pts per contest (192nd in D-1) on 46.2% from the field.

On the defensive end, the Spartans have forced 12.6 turnovers on a nightly basis while drawing 16.9 personal fouls. They are 204th in Division 1 in giving up assists with 426 surrendered on the season. The Spartans defensively are giving up a FG percentage of 41.1% (772 of 1,878) and they surrender 33.6 boards per contest as a basketball team. They are relinquishing 32.4% on three-point shots while they are 21st in the country in PPG allowed (65.5).

The last time they took the court, the North Carolina Tar Heels got the win with a final of 90-62 when they faced Wagner. Regarding cleaning the glass, North Carolina permitted Wagner to pull down 20 in all (7 offensive). They shot 38.9% from behind the 3-point line by connecting on 7 out of 18 and ended up going 9 of 15 from the charity stripe (60.0%). The Tar Heels permitted Wagner to make 23 of 58 attempts from the field which gave them a rate of 39.7% for the game. When the final whistle blew, the Tar Heels ended up shooting 33 out of 60 from the field which had them sitting at 55.0%. Pertaining to shooting from 3-point land, North Carolina knocked down 9 of their 18 tries (50.0%). They were able to bury 15 of those for a percentage of 78.9%. Wagner earned 13 fouls in this contest which got the Tar Heels to the charity stripe for a total of 19 tries. They also coughed up the ball 9 times, while earning 4 steals for the game. The Tar Heels recorded 29 defensive rebounds and 12 offensive boards for a total of 41 for the matchup.

RJ Davis was important for the Tar Heels in this matchup. He had 22 points in his 33 minutes on the court and totaled 2 assists for the matchup. He converted 8 out of 13 in this game for a field goal percentage of 61.5%, and accumulated 2 rebounds.

North Carolina has a win-loss record of 28-7 this season. On the offensive side of the court, the Tar Heels are shooting 45.2% from the field, which ranks them 138th in the country. North Carolina has accumulated 2,860 pts on the year (81.7 per game) and they average 41.2 rebounds per contest. Their rate of dishing out assists is at 14.5 times per game (99th in college basketball) and they turn it over 10.3 times per contest. The Tar Heels are responsible for committing 16.5 fouls per contest while shooting 75.4% from the charity stripe.

The Tar Heels on the defensive end are ranked 113th in Division 1 in points given up per game with 70.0. They have forced 10.6 TO's per game and allow teams to shoot 40.7% from the floor (26th in college basketball). The North Carolina defense gives up 31.6% on shots from behind the 3-point line (245 of 775) and their opponents are knocking down 74.1% of their foul shots. They surrender 10.1 assists and 33.4 boards per game, which is ranked 10th and 104th in college basketball.

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take North Carolina (-4)

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