Wake Forest Demon Deacons vs North Carolina Tar Heels Prediction, 1/22/2024 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Wake Forest Demon Deacons vs North Carolina Tar Heels

Date: Monday, January 22, 2024

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

TV: ESPN

Odds/Point Spread: Wake Forest (+9)

Dean E. Smith Center is the location where the North Carolina Tar Heels (15-3) will meet the Wake Forest Demon Deacons (13-5) on Monday. Wake Forest opens as 9-point underdogs from Vegas oddsmakers. The total has been set at 154.5.

The Wake Forest Demon Deacons stepped onto the hardwood against Louisville and earned the victory with a final of 90-65 in their last game. Wake Forest wrapped up the contest having earned a 50.0% FG percentage (31 of 62) and buried 18 of their 35 3-point shots. At the charity stripe, the Demon Deacons knocked down 10 of 12 tries for a rate of 83.3%. In regard to getting rebounds, they compiled a total of 34 with 4 of them being on the offensive end. They also doled out 20 assists for this game in addition to forcing the other team into 7 turnovers and earning 3 steals. With regard to defending, Wake Forest allowed the other team to go 45.8% from the floor on 27 out of 59 shooting. Louisville doled out 12 assists and had 4 steals in this matchup. In addition, Louisville snagged 24 rebounds (2 offensive, 22 defensive), but didn't have a block. Louisville ended up going 81.8% from the free throw line by converting 9 of their 11 tries. They also converted 2 out of their 11 attempts from long range. Regarding fouls, the Demon Deacons ended up finishing with 11 while Louisville finished the game with 13 fouls.

Hunter Sallis is one guy who was important for the game. He ended up walking away with 19 points on 7 out of 13 shooting. He was on the court for 33 mins and also grabbed 5 boards. He finished shooting 53.8% from the field and also distributed 5 assists.

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Wake Forest will enter this matchup with a win-loss record of 13-5 for the campaign. They lose possession via turnover 11.4 times per game and as a squad they commit 15.6 fouls every game. As a unit, Wake Forest is snagging 35.1 boards per game and has 231 assists for the campaign, which is 252nd in the nation in terms of passing the ball. The Demon Deacons are hitting 39.3% on three-point shots (163 of 415) and 80.1% from the charity stripe. They currently have an average of 81.1 points per contest (45th in the nation) while hitting 47.7% from the field.

Defensively, the Demon Deacons are forcing their opponents into 12.2 turnovers per contest while drawing 17.8 fouls. They are 13th in college basketball in giving up assists with 184 surrendered this year. The Demon Deacons defense is allowing a field goal percentage of 42.6% (457 of 1,074) and they relinquish 32.9 rebounds per contest as a basketball team. They give up 32.9% on shots from beyond the perimeter and they are 130th in Division 1 in PPG allowed (69.8).

When they last stepped on the court, the North Carolina Tar Heels walked away with a victory by a final of 76-66 against Boston College. The Tar Heels collected 33 defensive boards and 10 offensive rebounds for a total of 43 in this game. They gave up possession of the ball 11 times, while recording 3 steals for the matchup. Boston College committed 20 personal fouls in the game which got the Tar Heels to the free throw line for a total of 26 shots. They were able to bury 21 of the free throw tries for a rate of 80.8%. When talking about shots from beyond the arc, North Carolina converted 5 of 17 tries (29.4%). When this game wrapped up, the Tar Heels finished the game shooting 25 out of 56 from the floor which had them at 44.6%. The Tar Heels permitted Boston College to bury 19 of their 55 attempts from the floor which gave them a rate of 34.5% in this game. They finished 17.6% from beyond the arc by shooting 3 of 17 and walked away from this one shooting 25 of 29 from the free throw line (86.2%). When discussing rebounding, North Carolina allowed Boston College to snag 27 overall (5 offensive).

RJ Davis pitched in for the Tar Heels for the contest. He made 5 of 14 for the game for a field goal rate of 35.7%, and earned 6 rebounds. He accumulated 16 points in his 35 minutes on the hardwood and accumulated 4 dimes in this game.

North Carolina has a mark of 15-3 so far this season. The Tar Heels have committed 16.7 personal fouls every game and they connect on 76.2% from the free throw line. They are dishing out assists 14.4 times per contest (123rd in the country) and they lose possession by turning the ball over 10.5 times per game. North Carolina has totaled 1,502 points this year (83.4 per game) and they grab 41.2 rebounds per contest. As an offense, the Tar Heels are hitting on 45.5% from the field, which ranks them 150th in college basketball.

The North Carolina defense gives up 29.1% on 3-pointers (122 of 419) and their opposition knocks down 74.3% of their foul shots. They concede 10.5 dimes and 34.1 boards per contest, ranking them 26th and 141st in Division 1. The Tar Heels on defense are ranked 119th in the country in PPG allowed with 69.3. They are forcing 11.7 TO's per game and have let teams shoot 39.8% from the floor (31st in the nation).

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take North Carolina (-9)

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