No. 11 North Carolina meets No. 22 UCLA in the new college basketball showcase, CBS Sports Classic in Brooklyn, NY Saturday. The Tar Heels come off a disappointing last second loss at Texas while the Bruins enter off their second big win beating Gonzaga after dispatching then No. 1 Kentucky.
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HOW THE NORTH CAROLINA TAR HELS WILL COVER THE SPREAD
North Carolina has scored at least 78 points in all games except its road contest at Northern Iowa that saw Roy Williams’s kids fall by a 71-67 final count. That includes a 89-81 victory against No. 2 Maryland on December 1 when senior guard Marcus Paige made his season debut following recovery from a broken hand.
In three games Paige has scored 53 points while hitting better than 56 percent of his shots from beyond the arc.
North Carolina ranks No. 3 in the country in adjusted offensive efficiency and the Tar Heels play at a very fast pace with balance inside and out. The return of Paige to the lineup alongside Joel Hicks and the versatile Justin Jackson gives them solid scoring from the perimeter.
But North Carolina will play the rest of December without big body Kennedy Meeks, who injured his foot in the loss at Texas. His 12 points and better than seven rebounds will now put more focus on senior star Brice Johnson, who scores 13 points per game and leads the team in rebounding with over nine per contest. Forward Isaiah Hicks is another solid rebounder and shooter inside that will now play more minutes.
The Tar Heels outside shooting has improved to 36 percent from downtown thanks to Paige, and they will welcome a fast pace against UCLA as they likely hit near 80 points once again.
HOW THE UCLA BRUINS WILL COVER THE SPREAD
UCLA is not as strong on the boards or defensively as North Carolina, but the Bruins have skilled shooters. They can match-up inside with big man Tony Parker a senior double-double force alongside 7-footer Thomas Welsh with both hitting better than 60 percent of their shots.
Welsh had 21 points and 11 rebounds in the win over Kentucky. He gives them the solid rim protector and rebounder with Jonah Bolden another solid rebounder off the bench. Bryce Alford runs the efficient offense and leads the team in scoring at 17 points per game while back court mate Isaac Hamilton adds 14 per game including a team high 20 at Gonzaga.
Freshman point guard Aaron Holiday is playing over 30 minutes per game and scoring 10 points per with four assists and nearly two steals per contest to give the Bruins more quickness and speed on the break.
Nine days after knocking off No. 1 Kentucky, the Bruins went to Gonzaga last Saturday and dispatched their nemesis from last season, 71-67. Gonzaga’s defense and interior players are strong, so that impressive true road win shows the talented Bruins ability.
ANALYSIS AND ODDS PREDICTION
The Tar Heels will be laying a mid-single digit price in a game that should have plenty of pace and scoring in transition. UCLA held on to beat a talented UNLV team this season 77-75 but were then were ripped by current No. 2 Kansas the next night in Maui.
This looks like another entertaining and higher-scoring game with solid sharp shooting and less defensive resistance.
North Carolina 83, UCLA 81
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