North Carolina vs Ohio State 12/17/22 College Basketball Picks, Predictions, Odds

The North Carolina Tar Heels and the Ohio State Buckeyes meet in college basketball action from Madison Square Garden on Saturday afternoon.

The North Carolina Tar Heels will try to build on their 100-67 win over the Citadel last time out. Caleb Love is averaging a team-high 18 PPG along with 4.2 RPG and 3.4 APG to lead the Tar Heels in the scoring and assists department up to this point in the season while Armando Bacot has 16.4 PPG with a team-high 11.3 RPG to lead the Tar Heels on the glass, averaging a double-double per game. R.J. Davis has 15.2 PPG with 5.2 RPG and 3 APG while Pete Nance has 13 PPG to cap off the group of double-digit scorers for North Carolina up to this point in the season. Leaky Black also has 6.3 PPG and 5.6 RPG for the Tar Heels this season. As a team, North Carolina is averaging 80.9 PPG on 45.7% shooting from the field, 31.5% from behind the arc and 75.4% from the foul line this season.

The Ohio State Buckeyes will be out to build on their 67-66 win over Rutgers in their last game. Zed Key is leading the Buckeyes in scoring and rebounding with 14.3 PPG along with 8.7 RPG while Brice Sensabaugh has 14.1 PPG with 3.2 RPG. Justice Sueing has 12.7 PPG with 4.8 RPG and Sean McNeil has 10 PPG to cap off the group of double-digit scorers for Ohio State up to this point while Isaac Likekele has a team-high 3.1 APG this season. As a team, Ohio State is averaging 79 PPG on 48.1% shooting from the field, 37% from three and 77.5% from the foul line this season.

North Carolina is 6-1 ATS in their last 7 games following an ATS win and 1-4-1 ATS in their last 6 games against a team with a winning percentage above .600 while the over is 16-5-1 in their last 22 Saturday games. Ohio State is 1-8 ATS in their last 9 games following a win and 1-5 ATS in their last 6 games against a team with a winning percentage above .600 while the under is 5-1-1 in their last 7 Saturday games.

I get the case to be made for either side here, but I’m leaning towards UNC. The Tar Heels have had trouble in spots taking the step up in competition, but I just don’t think the Buckeyes have the makeup to be able to compete with the Tar Heels for a full 40 minutes. I just look up and down this roster and feel that talent-wise, the Tar Heels have an edge in every matchup. If we were getting a handful of points with Ohio State I could potentially get on board, but at a pick ‘em? I have to side with the Tar Heels.