North Carolina vs James Madison 11/20/22 College Basketball Picks, Predictions, Odds

The James Madison Dukes and the North Carolina Tar Heels meet in college basketball action from the Dean Smith Center on Sunday.

The James Madison Dukes will try to build on their 95-69 win over Howard last time out. Vado Morse leads JMU in scoring and assists with 15.8 PPG and 3.8 APG while Takai Molson has 13.5 PPG with 3.5 RPG. Terrence Edwards has 13.5 PPG with a team-high 5.8 RPG and 3.8 APG and Noah Friedel has 12.5 PPG with 5.8 RPG of his own to cap off the scoring in double figures for JMU so far this season. As a team, James Madison is averaging 105.3 PPG on 58.6% shooting from the field, 54.1% from three and 75.8% from the foul line this season.

The North Carolina Tar Heels will try to build on a 72-66 win over Gardner-Webb last time out. Caleb Love leads the Tar Heels in scoring and assists with 20.7 PPG and 3.3 APG along with 5.7 RPG while Armando Bacot has 18 PPG with a team-high 8 RPG to lead the Tar Heels on the glass this season. R.J. David has 14 PPG and 5.7 RPG and Pete Nance has 10.3 PPG to cap off the scoring in double figures for the Tar Heels up to this point in the year. As a team, North Carolina is averaging 81 PPG on 48.2% shooting from the field, 27.3% from three and 76.4% from the foul line this season.

James Madison is 4-0 ATS in their last 4 games following a win and 8-1 ATS in their last 9 games following a win by 20+ points while the over is 5-1 in their last 6 games overall. North Carolina is 6-1 ATS in their last 7 games against a team with a winning percentage above .600 and 9-3-1 ATS in their last 13 games following an ATS loss while the under is 7-2-1 in their last 10 home games against a team with a winning road record.

I get the case to be made for either side here as this is going to be a massive step up for JMU considering what they’ve faced this season, but UNC also hasn’t blown anyone away up to this point and they’ve been terrible at covering the number out of the gate. That being said, I like the over here as we saw what UNC can do against a formidable offensive opponent when they hung 102 on Charleston, but a lot of that was because they had to fight from behind. Not sure that game script happens here, but I think this one’s labeled for points. Give me the over.