Stanford Cardinal vs North Carolina Tar Heels Prediction, 1/18/2025 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Stanford Cardinal vs North Carolina Tar Heels

Date: Saturday, January 18, 2025

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

TV: ESPN+

The North Carolina Tar Heels (12-6) will try to beat the Stanford Cardinal (11-6) at Dean E. Smith Center on Saturday.

The Stanford Cardinal played Wake Forest and went home with a loss by a final score of 80-67 in their last contest. When it comes to fouls, the Cardinal ended up finishing with 22 while Wake Forest had 12 fouls. They also converted 3 out of their 11 tries from long range. Wake Forest finished the game shooting 79.2% from the free throw line by making 19 of 24 attempts. Moreover, Wake Forest grabbed 28 boards (9 offensive, 19 defensive), but wasn't able to record a rejection. Wake Forest distributed 8 assists and had 8 steals for this contest. When it comes to defense, Stanford allowed 50.0% from the floor on 29 of 58 shooting. They also dished out 15 assists for the matchup in addition to creating 6 turnovers and earning 4 steals. In the matter of hauling in boards, they collected a total of 26 with 5 of them being on the offensive end. When they shot from the charity stripe, the Cardinal made 11 of 14 tries for a percentage of 78.6%. Stanford finished with a 44.4% FG percentage (24 of 54) and knocked down 8 out of their 24 3-pointers.

Oziyah Sellers is one player who came through for this game. He accumulated 16 points on 5 out of 11 shooting. He was on the court for 36 mins and grabbed 1 rebound. He ended up going 45.5% from the floor and dished out 1 assist.

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Stanford will enter this game with a win-loss record of 11-6 this year. They turn it over 10.2 times per contest and as a team they commit 17.6 fouls per game. As a unit, Stanford is pulling down 35.1 rebounds per game and has tallied 245 dimes on the season, which ranks 165th in the nation in terms of passing the rock. The Cardinal are shooting 33.7% on three-point attempts (143 of 424) and 77.1% from the charity stripe. They are averaging 76.5 points per outing (145th in college) while going 44.2% from the field.

When they are on the defensive end, the Cardinal are forcing 12.1 turnovers on a nightly basis while drawing 17.1 personal fouls. They give up 32.9% on 3-point shots and they are ranked 184th in the nation in PPG from their opponents (71.2). The Cardinal are giving up and opponent field goal percentage of 45.4% (425 of 937) and they relinquish 31.9 rebounds per contest as a team. They are ranked 13th in college in giving up assists to their opponents with 161 surrendered on the season.

The last time they took the hardwood, the North Carolina Tar Heels took home the win by a final score of 79-53 against California. The Tar Heels corralled 33 defensive rebounds and 9 offensive rebounds for a total of 42 in this matchup. They also coughed it up 10 times, while getting 7 steals in this matchup. California had 9 personal fouls for this game which took the Tar Heels to the free throw line for a total of 13 attempts. They were able to make 12 of them for a rate of 92.3%. With regard to shooting from distance, North Carolina converted 5 out of their 14 tries (35.7%). When the final whistle blew, the Tar Heels finished shooting 31 out of 65 from the field which had them shooting 47.7%. The Tar Heels permitted California to bury 24 out of their 69 attempts from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 34.8% for this contest. They shot 12.0% from 3-point land via 3 out of 25 and finished the game at 2 of 5 from the charity stripe (40.0%). In regard to rebounding, North Carolina allowed California to snag 33 overall (11 offensive).

Ian Jackson was important for the Tar Heels for the matchup. He buried 8 of 15 for the matchup giving him a rate of 53.3%, and had 7 rebounds. He earned 20 points in his 33 mins on the court and had 1 assist for the game.

North Carolina has a mark of 12-6 for the season. The Tar Heels commit 18.2 fouls every game while shooting 74.6% from the charity stripe. Their rate of assisting teammates is at 14.2 times per game (155th in the nation) and they turn it over 11.3 times per game. North Carolina has accounted for 1,493 points for the year (82.9 per game) and they grab 38.5 boards per contest. As an offensive team, the Tar Heels are connecting on 47.2% from the field, which is ranked 73rd in college hoops.

The Tar Heels on the defensive end are ranked 296th in the nation in points given up per game with 76.1. They are forcing 11.6 turnovers on a nightly basis and allow teams to shoot 41.7% from the field (98th in college). The North Carolina defense surrenders 31.9% on shots from distance (146 of 457) and opponents are knocking down 73.0% of their shots from the charity stripe. They surrender 12.8 dimes and 36.4 total rebounds per game, which is 168th and 280th in college hoops.

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take North Carolina

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