College Basketball Odds - North Carolina vs. Davidson Game Preview

The Davidson Wildcats were a perennial sight in the NCAA Tournament when they were a member of the Southern Conference. They finished atop the conference 11 times from 2000-2014 and made a run into the Elite Eight thanks to superstar Steph Curry back in 2008.

During conference realignment, Davidson made the move to a tougher conference, the Atlantic 10. Although the Wildcats won the conference in 2015, they finished 20-12 last season and didn’t make the NCAA Tournament. They aren’t off to a good start this year either and now the North Carolina Tar Heels are coming to town.

This war on the floor will go down Friday, December 1, 2017, at 8 p.m. ET at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte, North Carolina. The game will be televised live on ESPN2. We'll have NCAA basketball odds at BookMaker.eu available for this and every game on the college basketball Friday schedule.

Opening College Basketball Odds at BookMaker.eu

Davidson will be 3-2 heading into this game with double digit losses to Nevada and Appalachian State. The loss to the Mountaineers was particularly bad as the Wildcats were a double digit favorite in that game. This team is 2-2 ATS at this point and will almost certainly be a double digit underdog in this game.

North Carolina is 5-1 at the moment with a game against Michigan on Wednesday before it takes on Davidson on Friday. The Tar Heels started the season strong with five straight wins and were 3-1 ATS before the final of the Phil Knight Invitational. There, the Tar Heels played Michigan State and got smoked. UNC had one of its worst offensive showings of the Roy Williams era and lost 63-45 and didn’t come close to covering the spread.

Matchup to Watch

Any time a name brand like North Carolina takes on a smaller school like Davidson, size is a big issue. That’s the case again here as the Tar Heels have a ton of size in the front court and the Wildcats must find a way to effectively counter it.

Peyton Aldridge is the Wildcats leading rebounder, but is only 6’8 and doesn’t have the strength of Luke Maye. Davidson’s second leading rebounder is Icelandic guard Jon Axel Gudmundsson, who doesn’t strike much fear in the hearts of front courts with his frame.

Meanwhile, the Tar Heels have two young talents in Sterling Manley and Garrison Brooks. Both are freshmen who aren’t playing many minutes now, but are cleaning up the boards when they are on the court.

Currently, UNC is averaging eight more rebounds per game than Davidson.

Last Meeting

When these teams met last season in Chapel Hill, the Tar Heels got the won, but couldn’t get the cover. Davidson’s Jack Gibbs had a huge night, dropping 30 on North Carolina and went 5-10 from beyond the arc. He and Aldridge were mainly responsible for the team covering. Aside from Gibbs, the rest of Davidson went just 3-19 from behind the three-point line.

North Carolina experienced a lot of turnover this season, but Davidson lost its main man in Gibbs too. The Tar Heels are reloading with Maye, Theo Pinson, and Joel Berry II as the main contributors, while Davidson is relying on Aldridge and Gudmundsson.

Free College Basketball ATS Picks

The Tar Heels will be playing this game on just one day of rest, while the Wildcats will have plenty of time to prepare for their opponent.

This is Davidson’s Super Bowl. The Wildcats will relish the opportunity to take on the team that all of their players probably wanted to join in high school and show Roy Williams what they have.

That’s why I like Davidson to get the cover in this one. This team will be far more motivated than North Carolina, who has another game two days after this one.

College Basketball Odds: North Carolina 80, Davidson 73

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