Although it doesn’t have the same intensity as the one on Tobacco Road, the rivalry between the North Carolina Tar Heels and the NC State Wolfpack is still pretty serious. That’s especially the case for NC State. The Wolfpack live in the shadow of their in-state rivals in nearly every sport and love to beat them whenever they get the chance. NC State already got a win on the gridiron this year, but a road win in the Dean Dome would be cause for raucous celebration in Raleigh.
This war on the floor will go down Saturday, January 27, 2018, at 12 p.m. ET at the Dean E. Smith Center in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The game will be televised live on CBS. We'll have NCAA basketball odds at BookMaker.eu available for this and every game on the college basketball Saturday schedule.
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The Wolfpack have already shocked one of the ACC’s blue bloods this season. NC State was a 12.5-point home underdog to Duke three weeks ago, but got a double-digit victory over the Blue Devils. Turnovers played a large part in that one as Duke’s 16 turnovers led to the team having less scoring opportunities than their counterparts.
On the whole, NC State has not been a good team outside of Raleigh. The Wolfpack are 5-2 ATS at home this season, but are 1-5 ATS in their road and neutral site games. Their offense just has not been good on the road and the under has gone 4-2 away from home.
Road woes seem to be contagious in the state. North Carolina has been a remarkably different team at home than they have been away. The Tar Heels are 1-3 SU and 0-3-1 ATS in conference play, with the one win coming against a Notre Dame team that did not have Bonzie Colson. However, things have been different at home, where UNC is 4-0 SU and 3-1 ATS in ACC action.
The offense has been lights out in Chapel Hill. UNC has seen just one its nine home games go under the total in the Dean Dome this season.
Key Stat
It seems like UNC leads the country in rebounding every single year. Roy Williams teaches his guys how to protect the glass and grab missed shots from day one. Although UNC typically doesn’t have the tallest players, the school has plenty of guys between 6’7 and 6’10 that can hold their own down low.
This season, the Tar Heels are grabbing over 43 rebounds a night. Luke Maye is leading the charge with over 10 rebounds a game, but it’s been a collective effort. The team’s seven leading players in terms of minutes each are averaging at least 3.4 rebounds per game. Numbers like that are absurd.
Player to Watch
Without Dennis Smith to lead the way, the Wolfpack have been looking for another player to carry the load for this team. Allerik Freeman has tried to fill that role, but so far has been unable to come close to matching Smith’s production.
The problem with Freeman is that he is a volume scorer. He has taken 68 more field goals than the next closest person on the team, and that’s a problem when you are hitting just a third of your shots. NC State’s other three players in double figures are averaging at least 54 percent from the field. Freeman needs to not be so quick to fire away, and instead become more of a distributor.
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Omer Yurtseven and Lennard Freeman will need to defend the glass for NC State to have a chance here. Both of these players are talented and very efficient shooters, but it’s going to be hard for them to stop UNC’s frontcourt.
College Basketball Odds: North Carolina 81, NC State 72
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