The North Carolina Tar Heels will travel to PNC Arena to take on the NC State Wolfpack this Saturday afternoon in College Basketball action.
The North Carolina Tar Heels won their 2nd straight game and improved to 20-8 on the season after defeating the Louisville Cardinals, 70-63, this past Monday. North Carolina was outstanding defensively down the stretch against Louisville and was able to pull away for the victory after closing out the final 6:26 of regulation on a 10-3 run. North Carolina shot 49.1% from the field & 28.0% from beyond the arc while allowing Louisville to shoot 45.0% from the field & 25.0% from beyond the arc. Leading the way for the Tar Heels was Caleb Love who had 16 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists, & 1 block.
On the season, North Carolina is averaging 77.5 ppg on 45.7% shooting from the field. The Tar Heels are averaging 8.4 three-pointers per game on 37.6% shooting from beyond the arc. Offensively, North Carolina has been led by Armando Bacot (15.9 ppg, 12.3 rpg, 1.5 apg, 1.7 bpg), Caleb Love (15.3 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 3.8 apg, 1.2 spg), Brady Manek (13.8 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 1.7 apg), & R.J. Davis (13.5 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 3.3 apg, 1.0 apg).
Defensively, North Carolina is allowing their opponents to average 72.1 ppg on 43.4% shooting from the field. The Tar Heels have a rebound margin of 7.1 and a turnover margin of -1.9.
The NC State Wolfpack dropped to 11-17 on the season after being defeated by the Boston College Eagles, 69-61, this past Wednesday. NC State trailed by a 33-31 margin at halftime and could not fight back after the Eagles took a 55-44 lead with 7:24 left in regulation. NC State shot 42.6% from the field & 39.1% from beyond the arc while allowing Boston College to shoot 52.8% from the field & 33.3% from beyond the arc. Leading the way for the Wolfpack was Terquavion Smith who had 21 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 block, & 1 steal.
On the season, NC State is averaging 73.1 ppg on 41.7% shooting from beyond the arc. The Wolfpack are averaging 8.2 three-pointers per game on 33.8% shooting from beyond the arc. Offensively, NC State has been led by Dereon Seabron (18.0 ppg, 8.6 rpg, 3.2 apg, 1.4 spg), Terquavion Smith (15.8 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 2.0 apg, 1.4 spg), Jericole Hellems (13.4 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 1.4 apg, 1.1 spg), & Casey Morsell (7.4 ppg, 3.5 rpg).
Defensively, NC State is allowing their opponents to average 74.1 ppg on 46.5% shooting from the field. The Wolfpack have a rebound margin of -1.5 and a turnover margin of 2.5.
The Tar Heels are 7-1 ATS in their last 8 games vs. NC State & 5-2 ATS in their last 7 Saturday games. The Wolfpack are 1-7 ATS in their last 8 games and just 3-13 ATS in their last 16 home games.
NC State has lost 7 of their last 8 games and have really struggled on the defensive end this season as the Wolfpack come into this game ranked just 297th in scoring offense, 322nd in defensive FG%, & 264th in rebound margin. North Carolina can also struggle on the defensive end as the Tar Heels rank just 252nd in scoring defense, however, the Tar Heels have been outstanding offensively, ranking t-39th in scoring offense and have been great on the boards, ranking 15th in rebound margin. North Carolina was able to defeat NC State by a 100-80 margin earlier this season and as I expect another high-scoring, Tar Heel blowout, I’m taking North Carolina to cover this large road spread. Good Luck!