North Carolina Tar Heels vs Pittsburgh Panthers Prediction, 1/2/2024 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: North Carolina Tar Heels vs Pittsburgh Panthers

Date: Tuesday, January 2, 2024

Location: Petersen Events Center in Pittsburgh, PA

TV: ESPN

The North Carolina Tar Heels (8-3) are headed to Petersen Events Center on Tuesday where they will attempt to beat the Pittsburgh Panthers (9-3).

The North Carolina Tar Heels played Oklahoma and notched a win by a score of 81-69 in their last game. North Carolina wrapped up the game having earned a 43.3% FG percentage (26 out of 60) and converted 9 of 22 3-pointers. At the free throw line, the Tar Heels converted 20 of their 26 attempts for a rate of 76.9%. Concerning grabbing boards, they earned a total of 34 with 7 of them being offensive. They also recorded 9 assists for the game in addition to forcing the other team into 18 turnovers and having 10 steals. With respect to the defense, North Carolina allowed the other team to shoot 40.4% from the field on 23 out of 57 shooting. Oklahoma distributed 6 dimes and had 3 steals for this contest. On top of that, Oklahoma grabbed 34 boards (8 offensive, 26 defensive), but didn't notch a block. Oklahoma finished shooting 66.7% at the charity stripe by making 16 of their 24 tries. They buried 7 of their 23 attempts from three-point range. In reference to personal fouls, the Tar Heels ended up walking away with 18 and Oklahoma accounted for 20 personal fouls.

RJ Davis is one guy who played a role for this game. He ended up finishing with 23 points on 7 of 18 shooting. He was on the hardwood for 35 mins played and also pulled down 4 boards. He walked away from this one shooting 38.9% from the floor and also recorded 5 assists.

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North Carolina comes into this one with a win-loss mark of 8-3 on the campaign. They are turning it over 10.6 times per game and as a unit are committing 17.1 fouls per contest. As a unit, North Carolina is pulling down 37.7 rebounds per game and has accumulated 152 assists on the season, which is 257th in the country in terms of passing. The Tar Heels are shooting 36.1% on shots from 3-point land (86 of 238) and 76.1% from the free throw line. They average 84.5 points per game (25th in the country) while shooting 45.7% from the field.

On the defensive end, the Tar Heels are able to force 12.9 turnovers on a nightly basis and they draw 21.3 personal fouls. They are 53rd in Division 1 in allowing assists with 129 conceded so far this year. The Tar Heels defensively are allowing a FG percentage of 42.6% (295 of 692) and they relinquish 35.3 rebounds per contest as a basketball team. They are giving up 32.6% on shots from beyond the arc while they are 271st in D-1 in points per game allowed (74.5).

When they last stepped on the court, the Pittsburgh Panthers got the victory with a final of 62-48 when they faced IPFW. The Panthers earned 33 defensive boards and 13 offensive rebounds for a total of 46 for this game. They turned the ball over 13 times, while getting 6 steals in this matchup. IPFW had 16 fouls in this game which took the Panthers to the charity stripe for a total of 17 attempts. They were able to convert 12 of those for a percentage of 70.6%. In reference to shots from distance, Pittsburgh buried 2 out of their 20 attempts (10.0%). When the final whistle blew, the Panthers finished shooting 24 for 66 from the field which had them at 36.4%. The Panthers permitted IPFW to bury 20 of 59 attempts from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 33.9% for the contest. They finished 19.2% from downtown by shooting 5 of 26 and ended up shooting 3 of 6 from the charity stripe (50.0%). When talking about attacking the glass, Pittsburgh allowed IPFW to collect 30 in all (4 on the offensive side).

Guillermo Diaz Graham pitched in for the Panthers for the game. He scored 13 points in his 30 mins on the court and accounted for 3 dimes for the game. He buried 5 out of 8 for this contest for a field goal rate of 62.5%, and had 8 rebounds.

Pittsburgh has a record of 9-3 on the season. When it comes to executing on offense, the Panthers are shooting 44.9% from the floor, which is 177th in the country. Pittsburgh has totaled 973 points for the year (81.1 per game) and they pull in 42.4 rebounds per contest. They are earning an assist 15.8 times per game (72nd in the country) and they are turning it over 9.7 times per contest. The Panthers commit 14.8 fouls per game and they connect on 68.4% from the charity stripe.

The Pittsburgh defense allows 25.8% on three-point shots (74 of 287) and opponents are converting on 74.1% of their free throw shots. They give up 11.6 dimes and 32.3 boards per contest, ranking them 98th and 64th in D-1. The Panthers on defense are ranked 32nd in college hoops in points given up per game with 63.4. They are able to force 11.9 TO's per game and have let teams shoot 39.0% from the floor (34th in college basketball).

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take North Carolina

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