This week, the North Carolina Tar Heels will play their last non-conference game before the rigors of ACC play start. North Carolina has faired pretty well despite playing some decent opponents in its non-conference slate and will play Wofford on Wednesday night before this one tips off. The Tar Heels will be facing the Ohio State Buckeyes in the first game of the CBS Sports Classic in the Big Easy. Ohio State hired Chris Holtmann away from Butler in the offseason and is looking to return to the Big Dance after a two-year absence.
This war on the floor will go down Saturday, December 23, 2017, at 1:30 p.m. ET at Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, Louisiana. 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.
Opening College Basketball Odds at BookMaker.eu
Outside of a 1-2 record against some of the best teams in the country out in Portland, Ohio State has had a pretty good start to its season. The Buckeyes have won five in a row, including wins and covers against conference rivals Wisconsin and Michigan. Under has been a great bet in Ohio State games this season. Each of its last four games has finished under the total, and the under is 9-2 overall.
North Carolina has covered each of its last three games and also has a nice win and a cover over Michigan. The Tar Heels have been able to score a ton of points playing in Chapel Hill this season, but have struggled to find the bottom of the net away from home. Under is 4-2 in UNC’s games away from home this season.
Matchup to Watch
The Tar Heels have been one of the best rebounding teams in the country since Roy Williams stepped foot on campus. UNC was the best rebounding team in the nation last season, and is following that up nicely yet again this year.
North Carolina’s rebounding efforts are led by Luke Maye, but everyone has gotten involved. The Tar Heels have a deep rotation and are averaging 45 rebounds per game, fourth-best in the nation.
Whereas most teams have to give up the glass against UNC, Ohio State has the bigs to be able to challenge. The Buckeyes have two forwards that are great rebounders despite giving up a lot of size to most opponents. Keita Bates-Diop and Jae’Sean Tate are combining to grab almost 15 rebounds per game.
Key Stat
UNC lost a lot of talent from last year’s national championship team. The Tar Heels are slowly coming together as a unit this year, but one area where they have really struggled is their perimeter defense.
The Tar Heels have not been good at closing out shooters and defending the three-point line. They are allowing opponents to hit 38.1 percent of their threes this season, and that number is one of the worst in the country. To be fair, UNC has faced some of the best shooting teams in the country, but this team is too talented to struggle.
Free College Basketball ATS Picks
Bates-Diop and Tate are the keys to victory for Ohio State. The Buckeyes aren’t that good of a three-point shooting team, so they will need to be able to marginalize the Tar Heels in the paint.
As for North Carolina, it’s time to feed the hot hand. Kenny Williams has shot the lights out from distance this season, hitting 54.5 percent of his threes. Additionally, Maye has showed a nice touch for a big man, and is hitting 48.3 percent of his treys.
I like Ohio State to cover the number in this one. The Buckeyes have showed some feistiness, and the Tar Heels have showed some weakness early in the year.
College Basketball Odds: North Carolina 79, Ohio State 77
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