Pittsburgh Panthers vs North Carolina Tar Heels Prediction, 3/15/2024 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Pittsburgh Panthers vs North Carolina Tar Heels

Date: Friday, March 15, 2024

Location: Capital One Arena in Washington, DC

TV: ESPN+

Capital One Arena is where the North Carolina Tar Heels (25-6) will try to defeat the Pittsburgh Panthers (21-10) on Friday.

The Pittsburgh Panthers faced off with North Carolina State and walked away with a win by a score of 81-73 in their last contest. Pittsburgh finished the game with a 50.0% FG percentage (32 out of 64) and converted 8 out of their 20 shots from beyond the arc. At the charity stripe, the Panthers made 9 of 12 attempts for a percentage of 75.0%. Regarding getting rebounds, they compiled 31 with 10 of them being of the offensive sort. They also recorded 16 assists for this contest in addition to forcing the opposition into 10 turnovers and getting 5 steals. When it comes to defending, Pittsburgh allowed their opponent to shoot 46.4% from the field on 26 out of 56 shooting. North Carolina State dished out 12 dimes and had 3 steals in the game. Additionally, North Carolina State snagged 33 rebounds (9 offensive, 24 defensive), but didn't have a block. North Carolina State finished the game shooting 75.0% at the free throw line by making 12 of their 16 shots. They also knocked down 9 of 23 attempts from 3-point land. Regarding fouls, the Panthers ended up with 11 and North Carolina State totaled 14 fouls.

Carlton Carrington is one player who came through in the game. He totaled 23 points on 8 out of 15 shooting. He saw the court for 39 minutes and totaled 5 rebounds. He shot 53.3% from the floor and totaled 6 assists.

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Pittsburgh heads into this contest with a record of 21-10 this season. They cough up possession 9.1 times per contest and as a unit they commit 15.4 fouls every game. As a unit, Pittsburgh is pulling in 37.3 boards per game and is sitting with 431 assists on the season, which is 153rd in college basketball in terms of passing the ball. The Panthers are hitting 35.7% on three-point shots (299 of 837) and 70.1% from the charity stripe. They currently have an average of 75.8 points per contest (114th in college hoops) while going 43.7% from the field.

On defense, the Panthers are forcing 11.0 turnovers per contest while drawing 16.9 fouls. They are ranked 99th in college basketball in allowing assists with 381 surrendered so far this season. The Panthers defense is allowing a field goal percentage of 43.0% (744 of 1,731) and they concede 33.2 boards per game as a team. They are surrendering 31.0% on shots from beyond the perimeter while they are 59th in the country in PPG allowed (67.5).

In their last game, the North Carolina Tar Heels got the victory with a final of 84-79 when they faced Duke. The Tar Heels were able to collect 26 defensive rebounds and 11 offensive rebounds totaling 37 in this matchup. They also coughed up the ball 12 times, while recording 6 steals for the contest. Duke was called for 16 fouls for this contest which took the Tar Heels to the charity stripe for 18 attempts. They were able to knock down 15 of the free throw tries for a rate of 83.3%. Pertaining to shots from distance, North Carolina knocked down 7 out of their 15 attempts (46.7%). When the game finished, the Tar Heels finished 31 for 62 from the floor which gave them a rate of 50.0%. The Tar Heels allowed Duke to bury 26 of 60 tries from the field which left them with a shooting percentage of 43.3% in the game. They finished 39.1% from three-point range by shooting 9 of 23 and ended up shooting 18 out of 24 from the free throw line (75.0%). Concerning attacking the glass, North Carolina allowed Duke to get 27 in all (7 on the offensive glass).

Cormac Ryan was important for the Tar Heels for this contest. He accumulated 31 points in his 34 mins on the hardwood and had 1 assist for the game. He made 8 of 12 for this contest for a field goal rate of 66.7%, and had 2 rebounds.

North Carolina has a record of 25-6 this season. When it comes to offensive execution, the Tar Heels are hitting on 45.0% from the field, which ranks 161st in the country. North Carolina has 2,530 points this season (81.6 per contest) and they collect 40.9 rebounds per contest. Their rate of earning assists is at 14.3 times per game (108th in the nation) and they are turning it over 10.4 times per contest. The Tar Heels are committing 16.8 personal fouls every game and they go 75.2% from the free throw line.

The North Carolina defense allows 31.3% on three-point shots (219 of 700) and their opponents are knocking down 74.1% of their shots from the free throw line. They have relinquished 10.1 dimes and 34.1 rebounds per contest, which is ranked 11th and 145th in the country. The Tar Heels defensively are ranked 120th in college hoops in points given up per game with 70.1. They are forcing 10.8 TO's per game and have let teams shoot 40.4% from the floor (20th in the country).

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take North Carolina

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