North Carolina Tar Heels vs Pittsburgh Panthers Prediction, 1/28/2025 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: North Carolina Tar Heels vs Pittsburgh Panthers

Date: Tuesday, January 28, 2025

Location: Petersen Events Center in Pittsburgh, PA

TV: ESPN+

The North Carolina Tar Heels (13-8) are on their way to Petersen Events Center on Tuesday where they will compete against the Pittsburgh Panthers (13-6).

The North Carolina Tar Heels faced Boston College and walked away with a win by a score of 102-96 in their last game. In regard to fouls, the Tar Heels ended up walking away with 13 and Boston College recorded 22 fouls. They converted 14 of their 24 tries from distance. Boston College finished shooting 71.4% at the charity stripe by converting 10 of 14 shots. On top of that, Boston College collected 20 rebounds (5 offensive, 15 defensive), but didn't notch a rejection. Boston College distributed 20 dimes and had 6 steals in this game. In relation to the defense, North Carolina allowed the other team to shoot 54.5% from the floor on 36 of 66 shooting. They also recorded 16 assists in this game while forcing the opposition into 8 turnovers and having 4 steals. In the matter of grabbing boards, they collected 34 with 11 of them being on the offensive end. At the charity stripe, the Tar Heels knocked down 26 of their 33 shots for a rate of 78.8%. North Carolina wrapped up the game with a 55.6% field goal percentage (35 out of 63) and buried 6 of their 16 three-point shots.

RJ Davis is a guy who was a major contributor for this contest. He accounted for 22 points on 6 out of 11 shooting. He was on the court for 39 minutes played and pulled down 5 rebounds. He finished the contest at 54.5% from the field and dished out 5 assists.

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North Carolina enters this one with a record of 13-8 this season. They currently have an average of 82.5 pts per game (30th in Division 1) while connecting on 47.0% from the floor. The Tar Heels are hitting 32.3% on three-point attempts (153 of 474) and 75.0% from the charity stripe. As a team, North Carolina is grabbing 37.8 rebounds per contest and has tallied 303 assists this year, which is 114th in Division 1 in terms of passing. They lose possession by turning the ball over 10.9 times per game and as a unit they are committing 18.0 personal fouls per contest.

On the defensive end, the Tar Heels are forcing 11.4 turnovers every game and they draw 18.3 fouls. They rank 208th in D-1 in giving up assists with 273 surrendered for the season. The Tar Heels are giving up a field goal percentage of 42.3% (570 of 1,347) and they relinquish 35.8 boards per game as a team. They are giving up 32.6% on shots from beyond the arc and they are ranked 303rd in college hoops in points per game allowed (76.4).

The last time they took the hardwood, the Pittsburgh Panthers walked away with a victory by a final of 77-73 when they played Syracuse. In reference to how they cleaned up the glass, Pittsburgh permitted Syracuse to grab 45 in all (17 on the offensive side). They went 34.4% from distance by connecting on 11 of 32 and finished the game at 8 out of 13 from the free throw line (61.5%). The Panthers allowed Syracuse to bury 27 out of their 67 tries from the floor which had them shooting 40.3% in this contest. When the final whistle blew, the Panthers ended up shooting 28 for 61 from the floor which had them shooting 45.9%. In relation to shots from 3-point land, Pittsburgh converted 6 out of 18 attempts (33.3%). They were able to bury 15 of those for a percentage of 71.4%. Syracuse was called for 18 fouls in the game which took the Panthers to the free throw line for 21 attempts. They also coughed up the ball 3 times, while recording 6 steals for the contest. The Panthers collected 22 defensive boards and 9 offensive rebounds totaling 31 for the matchup.

Jaland Lowe ended up having an impact for the Panthers in this game. He recorded 22 points in his 34 mins of playing time and had 6 dimes for the matchup. He made 8 out of 19 for the matchup for a rate of 42.1%, and had 2 rebounds.

Pittsburgh has a mark of 13-6 so far this year. As an offense, the Panthers are connecting on 47.2% from the field, which is ranked 69th in college. Pittsburgh has tallied 1,524 points for the campaign (80.2 per game) and they pull in 34.8 boards per game. Their rate of dishing out assists is at 14.1 times per contest (155th in the country) and they lose possession by turning the ball over 10.1 times per game. The Panthers are responsible for committing 16.6 fouls per contest and they shoot 78.6% from the charity stripe.

The Pittsburgh defense allows 33.3% on 3-point shots (150 of 450) and their opponents are making 70.7% of their free throw attempts. They have given up 12.1 assists and 34.6 total rebounds per game, which ranks 95th and 191st in Division 1. The Panthers are ranked 171st in college in points given up per game with 70.9. They are forcing 12.4 TO's per game and have let teams shoot 42.4% from the field (123rd in D-1).

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Pittsburgh

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