The North Carolina Tar Heels have not been as dominant this season as it has hoped, but hopes to peak at the right time as March Madness approaches. North Carolina picked up a huge home win this week over arch-nemesis Duke and hopes to stay rolling in a game early next week against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.
While Notre Dame has traditionally been a formidable foe, the team has struggled this year and will have a really tough time keeping this one close as it must play on the road. North Carolina has been inconsistent for much of the season but will still be a heavy favorite to capture this victory.
At 7 p.m. ET, tune into ESPN for live television coverage of this NCAA basketball game on Monday, February 12, 2018, at the Dean E. Smith Center.
We'll have NCAA basketball odds at BookMaker.eu available for this and every game on the college basketball Monday schedule.
Odds Analysis
Notre Dame is 14-10 straight up and 8-13 against the spread. The Fighting Irish has only covered in three of nine attempts on the road this season. Notre Dame is 3-5 against the spread as the underdog on the year.
North Carolina is 18-7 straight up and 13-10-1 against the spread. The Tar Heels have done a nice job at home, covering in nine of their 12 contests. The Tar Heels have gone 11-8 against the spread as the favorite this season.
Key Stat
43.4. That’s the number of rebounds the Tar Heels accumulate per game, which is the best total in the country. North Carolina has a bevy of players who contribute and is led by Luke Maye, who is hauling in 10.3 boards per contest. Theo Pinson adds 6.1 rebounds per contest while five other players add 3.0 boards per game.
North Carolina 46.4 percent from the field, which isn’t as good as some of the elite offenses, but the extra possessions because of the rebounds helps the Tar Heels put up 82.8 points per contest.
On the flip side, Notre Dame is only averaging 36.5 rebounds per game, which is one of the lowest marks in the conference. The Fighting Irish need to either rebound much better than normal or come up with a lot of turnovers in order to stay close.
If North Carolina gets extra shots and cleans up Notre Dame’s errant attempts with regularity, it will be extremely tough for the Fighting Irish to pull off the upset.
Injury Report
Benzie Colson — Notre Dame’s star broke his foot in early January and is going to be out through the end of this month. It’s a huge absence in this one, as the presence of Colson would have at least given the Fighting Irish a chance to pull the upset.
Without him, the Fighting Irish are missing a guy who affected the game in a variety of ways. Colson is averaging 21.4 points, 10.4 rebounds, 2.4 blocks and 2.0 steals per game so clearly it was a huge blow when he went down.
Notre Dame has lost seven of its past eight games, and while a tough slate of competition is one reason, a big factor was the loss of Colson.
Free NCAA Men’s Basketball ATS Picks
North Carolina may be hard to predict from game to game but the talent gulf in this one is too large to forecast a close one. Take the Tar Heels to make quick work of Notre Dame. However, garbage time late could put the spread at risk.
Check to see where it comes in, but the Fighting Irish may be able to pull off a backdoor cover. The “under” should be a consideration on the scoring total as the pace could slow in the final minutes.
NCAA Men’s Basketball Odds: North Carolina 76, Notre Dame 64
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