Notre Dame Fighting Irish vs North Carolina Tar Heels Prediction, 3/5/2024 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Notre Dame Fighting Irish vs North Carolina Tar Heels

Date: Tuesday, March 5, 2024

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

TV: ESPN

Dean E. Smith Center is the location where the North Carolina Tar Heels (23-6) will try to defeat the Notre Dame Fighting Irish (12-17) on Tuesday.

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish played Clemson and took home the win by a score of 69-62 in their last game. Concerning fouls, the Fighting Irish ended up finishing with 11 and Clemson finished the game with 15 fouls. They made 5 of their 28 tries from distance. Clemson ended up shooting 78.6% at the charity stripe by knocking down 11 of their 14 attempts. In addition, Clemson grabbed 32 rebounds (5 offensive, 27 defensive), but wasn't able to record a block. Clemson totaled 10 assists and had 2 steals for the matchup. In terms of defending, Notre Dame allowed the other team to shoot 39.0% from the floor on 23 out of 59 shooting. They also distributed 11 dimes for the contest while creating 7 turnovers and having 6 steals. With respect to rebounding, they earned 31 with 2 of them being of the offensive variety. At the free throw line, the Fighting Irish made 11 of their 14 shots for a rate of 78.6%. Notre Dame wrapped up the game having earned a 42.1% FG percentage (24 of 57) and made 10 out of their 28 three-point attempts.

Markus Burton is one player who was a factor for this game. He finished with 21 points on 8 out of 16 shooting. He played 35 minutes played and also collected 6 boards. He walked away from this one shooting 50.0% from the field and earned 4 assists.

Get all of our NCAA Basketball Best Bets Picks

Notre Dame heads into this game with a record of 12-17 on the season. They average 63.6 points per outing (353rd in the country) while shooting 40.6% from the field. The Fighting Irish are connecting on 31.2% on shots from 3-point land (221 of 708) and 73.7% from the charity stripe. As a team, Notre Dame is snagging 36.3 boards per game and has accounted for 292 dimes for the year, which has them ranked 354th in the country in terms of passing the ball. They turn it over 12.7 times per contest and as a unit are committing 14.7 fouls per game.

On defense, the Fighting Irish have forced 10.3 turnovers per game and they draw 14.4 personal fouls. They rank 98th in D-1 in giving up assists with 352 surrendered for the campaign. The Fighting Irish defense is giving up a field goal percentage of 41.7% (692 of 1,660) and they surrender 33.9 rebounds per game as a basketball team. They concede 32.8% on 3-pointers and they are ranked 24th in the nation in opponents points per game (65.4).

The last time they took the court, the North Carolina Tar Heels got the victory with a final of 79-70 against North Carolina State. The Tar Heels collected 26 defensive boards and 4 offensive rebounds for a total of 30 in the game. They gave up possession of the ball 7 times, while getting 4 steals for the contest. North Carolina State was called for 21 personal fouls in this contest which took the Tar Heels to the charity stripe for a total of 27 tries. They were able to make 23 of them for a clip of 85.2%. In reference to shots from distance, North Carolina made 6 of 16 tries (37.5%). In all, the Tar Heels shot 25 out of 53 from the field which gave them a rate of 47.2%. The Tar Heels allowed North Carolina State to make 25 of their 60 attempts from the floor which had them sitting at 41.7% for the contest. They went 47.4% from distance by hitting 9 of 19 and walked away from this one shooting 11 of 16 from the free throw line (68.8%). When talking about attacking the glass, North Carolina allowed North Carolina State to collect 28 overall (7 on the offensive glass).

Harrison Ingram pitched in for the Tar Heels in the matchup. He converted 8 of 14 in this matchup giving him a field goal percentage of 57.1%, and tallied 6 rebounds. He earned 22 points in his 36 mins on the court, but didn't record an assist.

North Carolina has a win-loss mark of 23-6 for the year. As an offensive unit, the Tar Heels are hitting on 44.8% from the field, which is 169th in D-1. North Carolina has totaled 2,362 points on the season (81.4 per contest) and they collect 40.8 boards per contest. Their rate of dishing out assists is at 14.4 times per contest (110th in the nation) and they lose possession via turnover 10.4 times per game. The Tar Heels are committing 16.9 fouls per contest and they hit 75.3% from the free throw line.

The North Carolina defense gives up 31.2% on 3-point shots (205 of 658) and opponents are connecting on 74.5% of their free throw attempts. They surrender 10.2 assists and 34.1 boards per contest, which has them ranked 11th and 147th in the country. The Tar Heels on defense are ranked 128th in college hoops in points given up per game with 70.4. They have forced 10.9 TO's every game and have allowed teams to shoot 40.6% from the floor (30th in college basketball).

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Notre Dame

Get $60 worth of FREE premium member picks. No Obligation. No Salesman. No Credit Card. Fast Sign up with Instant Access Click Here