.jpg "Michigan-at-North-Carolina-(ESPN)")
The North Carolina Tar Heels are hoping to have a better result when they take on the other big state school in Michigan. North Carolina got crushed by Michigan State on Sunday night, losing to the Spartans by 18 points in one of the championship games of the Phil Knight Invitational. In the ACC/Big Ten Challenge, they will be taking on the Michigan Wolverines. Michigan is looking to score a big win over a highly ranked opponent, but the odds will be heavily stacked against the Wolverines.
This war on the floor will go down Wednesday, November 29, 2017, at 7:30 p.m. ET at the Dean E. Smith Center in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The game will be televised live on ESPN. We'll have NCAA basketball odds at BookMaker.eu available for this and every game on the college basketball Wednesday schedule.
Opening College Basketball Odds at BookMaker.eu
The Tar Heels have scored some nice victories already this season. North Carolina knocked off Northern Iowa and Stanford by double digits before the Phil Knight Invitational and played very well in its first two games out there. UNC cruised in a big win over Portland and crushed Arkansas in its next game. However, Michigan State suffocated North Carolina with its defense in the final, holding the Tar Heels to just 24.6 percent shooting from the floor and 1-18 from the three-point line.
Michigan is just getting back stateside after playing in the Maui Invitational. The Wolverines secured fifth place in the tournament with wins over Chaminade and VCU, but a loss to LSU in their first game might come back to hurt them later on. Michigan was a decent-sized favorite in that game and a win would have given the school a feather in its cap. Fortunately, this schedule will provide other opportunities as Michigan will play UCLA and Texas in the next few weeks after this one.
Players to Watch
North Carolina is looking to defend its national title and needs leaders like Luke Maye and Joel Berry II to come up big this season. Maye had been solid all season long prior to the game against Michigan State, but got destroyed down low. He went just 3-13 from the floor and could only manage to grab six rebounds in 32 minutes of action. It was by far his worst performance of the season and one of the worst of his career.
The more concerning matter has been the play of Berry. He was expected to be a big part of this team’s success as a senior, but is off to his worst start yet. Berry is hitting just 35.7 percent of his field goals this season and was terrible out in Portland. Against Arkansas and Michigan State, he went just 5-23 from the floor. He really needs to turn it around or UNC is going to have some real problems in ACC play.
Matchup to Watch
Michigan has an older team that has three upperclassmen each averaging more than 30 minutes per game. Charles Matthews has been the star in the early going and has fit in well with this team. He had to sit out last season after transferring to Ann Arbor from Kentucky, but got the chance to practice with the team last year and it is obvious this team has some chemistry.
Matthews is hitting 56.5 percent of his field goals and was great out in Maui. His 12 assists against VCU were huge against a team that relies on pressure defense and he only committed one turnover.
Free College Basketball ATS Picks
North Carolina is sure to be a double-digit favorite in this one as the Tar Heels will be out for revenge in front of a rowdy home crowd. I look for UNC to bounce back and get a nice cover here.
College Basketball Odds: North Carolina 82, Michigan 66
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