North Carolina Tar Heels vs Notre Dame Fighting Irish Prediction, 1/4/2025 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: North Carolina Tar Heels vs Notre Dame Fighting Irish

Date: Saturday, January 4, 2025

Location: Purcell Pavilion in South Bend, IN

TV: ESPN+

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish (7-6) host the North Carolina Tar Heels (8-6) at Purcell Pavilion on Saturday.

The North Carolina Tar Heels took the court against Louisville and took a loss by a final of 83-70 in their last contest. In the matter of personal fouls, the Tar Heels ended up with 29 and Louisville finished the game with 21 personal fouls. They also made 6 of their 26 tries from downtown. Louisville finished shooting 64.1% when shooting free throws by knocking down 25 of 39 tries. In addition, Louisville snagged 40 boards (8 offensive, 32 defensive), but finished the game with no rejections. Louisville distributed 14 dimes and had 4 steals in this game. Concerning defense, North Carolina allowed the other team to go 44.8% from the floor on 26 out of 58 shooting. They also doled out 11 assists for the matchup while forcing 8 turnovers and having 4 steals. When talking about rebounding, they collected 36 with 6 of them being offensive. From the free throw line, the Tar Heels buried 18 of their 23 shots for a percentage of 78.3%. North Carolina walked away from the game having earned a 40.0% field goal percentage (24 out of 60) and buried 4 out of their 16 shots from beyond the perimeter.

Ian Jackson is a guy who was a major contributor for this game. He finished shooting 46.7% from the floor and also dished out 1 assist. He played for 35 mins played and also collected 4 rebounds. He walked away with 23 points on 7 out of 15 shooting.

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North Carolina comes into this one with a record of 8-6 on the campaign. They are averaging 85.4 points per contest (20th in Division 1) while connecting on 47.1% from the floor. The Tar Heels are shooting 31.6% on shots from downtown (105 of 332) and 74.6% from the free throw line. As a unit, North Carolina is pulling down 38.5 rebounds per game and has accounted for 198 assists so far this year, which is 145th in the nation in terms of passing. They are losing possession via turnover 11.1 times per contest and as a team are committing 19.3 fouls per game.

On the defensive end, the Tar Heels are able to force 11.6 turnovers per game while drawing 20.0 fouls. They are conceding 34.7% on 3-point attempts while they are 337th in D-1 in PPG from their opponents (79.6). The Tar Heels defensively are giving up a shooting percentage of 43.0% (390 of 906) and they surrender 36.5 rebounds per game as a team. They are 284th in college in allowing assists to the opposition with 198 surrendered so far this season.

When they last stepped on the court, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish took a loss by a score of 86-75 when they faced Georgia Tech. The Fighting Irish were able to corral 14 defensive boards and 14 offensive rebounds totaling 28 in the matchup. They gave up possession of the ball 10 times, while earning 3 steals for the game. Georgia Tech committed 14 fouls in this matchup which took the Fighting Irish to the free throw line for 14 shots. They were able to convert 12 of those for a rate of 85.7%. When it comes to shots from beyond the perimeter, Notre Dame made 9 out of their 21 attempts (42.9%). When this game wrapped up, the Fighting Irish ended up going 27 for 62 from the field which gave them a percentage of 43.5%. The Fighting Irish permitted Georgia Tech to convert 30 of their 53 tries from the field which gave them a rate of 56.6% for the matchup. They finished 40.0% from beyond the arc by shooting 8 of 20 and ended up going 18 of 25 from the charity stripe (72.0%). With respect to how they attacked the glass, Notre Dame allowed Georgia Tech to get 26 in total (6 on the offensive side).

Tae Davis was important for the Fighting Irish in the matchup. He totaled 27 points in his 34 minutes of playing time and earned 3 assists for the contest. He converted 9 of 16 in the game for a rate of 56.3%, and accounted for 7 rebounds.

Notre Dame has a record of 7-6 on the season. The Fighting Irish commit 15.4 personal fouls every game while shooting 75.0% from the charity stripe. Their rate of dishing out assists is at 13.2 times per game (248th in college) and they lose possession via turnover 10.6 times per game. Notre Dame has accounted for 985 pts for the year (75.8 per game) and they snag 36.5 boards per contest. On the offensive side of the court, the Fighting Irish are shooting 47.2% from the field, which has them ranked 92nd in the nation.

The Fighting Irish on the defensive side of the court are 166th in the nation in points given up per game with 70.6. They are forcing 9.8 turnovers per game and have allowed teams to shoot 42.7% from the field (166th in college hoops). The Notre Dame defense surrenders 30.2% on shots from distance (98 of 324) and opponents are converting on 73.2% of their foul shots. They relinquish 14.8 assists and 32.8 boards every game, which is ranked 293rd and 113th in D-1.

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take North Carolina

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