The North Carolina Tar Heels were the No. 1 team in the country until a four-game slide dropped them completely out of the national rankings. The Heels have regained their winning form with three straight wins and payouts, the latest in overtime over Ohio State after tying the game late in regulation. UNC looks to continue the run of success with a matchup against the Michigan Wolverines on Wednesday in the Jumpman Invitational in Charlotte. While it’s a neutral site contest, the Heels have a short distance to travel for this game giving them a possible home court edge that could be significant since they haven’t lost a home game this season.
This war on the floor will go down Wednesday, December 21, 2022 at 7 p.m. ET at Spectrum Center in Charlotte, NC. The game will be televised live on ESPN. We'll have NCAA basketball odds at BookMaker.eu available for this and every game on the college basketball schedule.
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Odds Analysis
Just like their counterpart on Wednesday, the Wolverines have been streaky at the start of the season. They won their first three and five of six with close wins over Eastern Michigan, Ohio and Jackson State. They went 2-4 ATS in those games. While they lost their next two games the Wolverines showed they could be a tough out in the Big Ten. They lost to then No. 3 Virginia 70-68 and No. 19 Kentucky 73-69 covering the closing line in both games. A 90-75 win over Minnesota in their Big Ten opener ended the slide and the Wolverines held on to beat Lipscomb 83-75 following an eight day break. Michigan enters this game 7-3 SU and 5-5 ATS.
Teams will experience ups and downs over the course of a long season, but no team has gone through what UNC has just a month and a half into the campaign. The preseason No. 1 showed why with five straight wins to open the season, though the Heels earned just one payout in that span. Four straight losses, two to ranked Indiana and Alabama, dropped them out of the rankings. After nine games the Tar Heels were 5-4 SU and 1-7-1 ATS. Apparently that last loss to Virginia Tech was a wakeup call. The Heels covered the 13.5-point line beating Georgia Tech and won their last three going 3-0 ATS.
Michigan Wolverines
With starting point guard Jaelin Llewellyn out for the season after a knee injury in the loss to Kentucky, the Wolverines needed someone to step up. Dug McDaniel did his part in the 90-75 rout of Minnesota scoring 15 points with seven assists making all three three-point attempts in his first start. Another backcourt player had a game to hold off Lipscomb. With all the attention on McDaniel, Kobe Bufkin had a breakout with increased playing time. Bufkin made 8 of 9 shots leading four starters in double figures with 22 points.
In a game that was much closer than most expected, UM failed to cover the 14.5-point spread and trailed by four with just over four minutes to play. But McDaniel came through when needed scoring all seven of his points over the final 3½ minutes. The offense hit another level the last two games scoring at least 83 points cashing the OVER twice.
North Carolina Tar Heels
Coming within three points of winning a national championship last season and returning three of their top four scorers, the Tar Heels were a legitimate pick for No. 1 in the country. They started the season looking the part winning their first five games, though there were signs that things weren’t as good as the end result. The Heels failed to cover the spread in their first three games beating Gardner-Webb 72-66 as a 22.5-point home favorite. Maybe their win over Ohio State is a turning point in UNC’s season.
Trailing by a bucket with less than two seconds to play, Pete Nance hit a turnaround jumper to tie it. The Heels then outscored OSU 10-5 in the extra session to win their third straight. The guys tasked with handling the scoring did. Armando Bacot scored 28 points on 11 of 19 shooting and Caleb Love added 22 points. R.J. Davis chipped in with 21 points, eight rebounds and four assists. The trio averages nearly 50 points between them accounting for over 60 percent of UNC’s offense. The Heels cashed the OVER in two straight and three of their last four games.
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We saw Michigan’s reserves give the team a lift in its last outing and depth is certainly an issue for UNC behind the trio of Bacot, Love and Davis. However, those three are damn good giving UNC an edge in the paint and on the perimeter, which is why I’m backing the Heels in this neutral site matchup.
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