UCLA Bruins vs North Carolina Tar Heels Prediction, 12/21/2024 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: UCLA Bruins vs North Carolina Tar Heels

Date: Saturday, December 21, 2024

Location: Madison Square Garden in New York, NY

TV: CBS

Madison Square Garden is where the North Carolina Tar Heels (6-5) will take on the UCLA Bruins (10-1) on Saturday.

The UCLA Bruins played Prairie View A&M and took home the win by a score of 111-75 in their last contest. With respect to personal fouls, the Bruins ended up with 20 and Prairie View A&M had 23 personal fouls. They buried 10 of 21 attempts from beyond the perimeter. Prairie View A&M finished the contest at 70.8% when shooting free throws by knocking down 17 of 24 shots. Moreover, Prairie View A&M collected 20 boards (5 offensive, 15 defensive), but wrapped up the game with no rejections. Prairie View A&M distributed 16 assists and had 8 steals for this game. When talking about defense, UCLA allowed their opponent to shoot 47.1% from the field on 24 of 51 shooting. They also recorded 26 assists for this contest while creating 16 turnovers and having 6 steals. With respect to rebounding, they earned 38 with 12 of them being on the offensive end. At the charity stripe, the Bruins buried 29 of their 37 attempts for a percentage of 78.4%. UCLA walked away from the contest having earned a 59.0% field goal percentage (36 out of 61) and converted 10 of their 21 3-pointers.

Dylan Andrews is a player who was a major contributor for this game. He accumulated 21 points on 8 out of 12 shooting. He was on the court for 32 minutes and also collected 3 boards. He finished the contest at 66.7% from the floor and also recorded 6 assists.

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UCLA enters this contest with a mark of 10-1 for the season. They are turning it over 10.9 times per contest and as a team they are committing 17.4 fouls every game. As a team, UCLA is snagging 35.0 rebounds per contest and has earned 183 assists so far this year, which ranks 72nd in the country in terms of passing. The Bruins are connecting on 34.7% on 3-pointers (78 of 225) and 69.5% from the free throw line. They currently have an average of 78.8 pts per contest (112th in Division 1) while connecting on 48.1% from the field.

On the defensive end of the court, the Bruins are able to force 18.5 turnovers per game and they draw 19.1 fouls. They give up 29.1% on shots from distance and they are 5th in the nation in PPG from their opponents (56.8). The Bruins are giving up an opponent shooting percentage of 38.9% (215 of 552) and they concede 30.6 boards per game as a squad. They are ranked 86th in college in allowing assists to the opposition with 128 relinquished this year.

When they last stepped on the hardwood, the North Carolina Tar Heels took a defeat with a final score of 90-84 against Florida. With respect to rebounding, North Carolina permitted Florida to pull down 43 in all (14 on the offensive side). They shot 34.4% from 3-point land by hitting 11 of 32 and finished the game at 19 of 27 from the free throw line (70.4%). The Tar Heels permitted Florida to make 30 out of their 65 attempts from the field which had them sitting at 46.2% in the game. At the conclusion of this game, the Tar Heels went 33 for 72 from the floor which gave them a rate of 45.8%. In relation to 3-point shots, North Carolina buried 5 of 28 tries (17.9%). They were able to make 13 of those for a rate of 68.4%. Florida committed 20 fouls in this matchup which got the Tar Heels to the charity stripe for a total of 19 tries. They turned the ball over 10 times, while recording 11 steals for the game. The Tar Heels snagged 22 defensive boards and 8 offensive boards for a total of 30 in this game.

RJ Davis was important for the Tar Heels in the matchup. He buried 10 of 19 for this contest for a field goal rate of 52.6%, and had 8 rebounds. He tallied 29 points in his 36 mins of playing time and had 1 assist for the contest.

North Carolina has a record of 6-5 so far this year. When it comes to offensive execution, the Tar Heels are shooting 46.8% from the floor, which ranks 111th in the nation. North Carolina has accounted for 952 pts for the season (86.5 per game) and they average 39.2 rebounds per contest. They are assisting teammates 14.2 times per game (182nd in college) and they turn it over 10.8 times per contest. The Tar Heels are committing 18.3 personal fouls every game while shooting 75.0% from the charity stripe.

The North Carolina defense concedes 34.3% from downtown (104 of 303) and opponents are connecting on 75.0% of their shots from the free throw line. They allow 13.8 dimes and 37.7 boards every game, which has them ranked 246th and 318th in those categories on the defensive end. The Tar Heels on defense are ranked 343rd in the nation in points given up per game with 79.7. They have forced 12.1 turnovers on a nightly basis and allow teams to shoot 42.3% from the floor (149th in college).

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take UCLA

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