The Gonzaga Bulldogs and North Carolina Tar Heels represent two of college basketball’s better teams as they gets set for a rematch of the 2017 National Title game on Saturday night. Gonzaga will try to rebound off their first loss of the year, dropping them out of the top spot in the AP rankings while UNC will try and hold on to an undefeated home record against its most difficult opponent to date.
Can the Bulldogs bounce back after their recent loss to Tennessee and get a big win on the road or will the home team come away victorious with a key victory of their own after losing to Michigan the last time they faced a top-10 program?
BookMaker Sportsbook has you covered for all the most up-to-date betting lines and live betting opportunities for this game as two elites battle it out. This contest should be one of the most exciting of the weekend given the offensive powerhouses at play.
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Gonzaga Bulldogs vs. North Carolina Tar Heels
Date and Time: Saturday, December 15, 2018, 7 p.m. ET
Location: Dean E. Smith Center, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
College Basketball Odds: Check Back Later
Bulldogs vs. Tar Heels TV Coverage: ESPN2
The Tar Heels are one of the top offensive teams in the country. They’re scoring 93 PPG and shooting 49-percent from the floor and 35.3-percent from beyond the arc. While those numbers are strong, their biggest advantage on most teams is their ability to rebound.
With an average of 46 rebounds—many of which coming on the offensive side of the ball—they’re affording themselves plenty of chances.
UNC comes into play having easily topped UNCW at home in their last contest, but the Tar Heels lost to Michigan 84-67 immediately preceding that. North Carolina wasn’t able to keep it close against Michigan, faltering in the second half while shooting just 12-for-37. In that game, nobody scored more than 12 points.
It was a poor performance against a tough opponent, but it also came on the road. UNC has been far better at home.
As far as the roster goes, UNC has plenty of talent. Cameron Johnson leads the team in scorer with 15.7 PPG. Fellow guard Coby White is second at 15.3. The senior Johnson and freshman White make a strong pair on the outside. They typically start in a two-guard starting set and provide most of the offense on the outside though Kenny Williams and Seventh Woods each do well controlling the ball and finding the open man.
Inside the paint, the Tar Heels have the trio of Luke Maye, Nassir Little and Garrison Brooks. All three can score when open and provide quality rebounding. None of them are particularly dominate defensive players—at least in terms of blocking—but the rebounds are big for this team. Maye, for instance, has 9.3 RPG on his own.
On the other side of this matchup, the Zags can really compete inside the paint against UNC with the tandem of Rai Hachimura and Brandon Clarke.
The Bulldogs are coming off their first loss of the season, falling to a fellow top-10 team in Tennessee. Gonzaga wasn’t playing at home, but it was a neutral floor. The Zags got the win against Duke in a similar situation earlier in the ear, but the Vols go the best of them.
Despite the loss, Hachimura and Clarke each had 21 points. The front court lead the team in scoring—as it typically does, but didn’t get enough support on the perimeter.
Speaking of the perimeter, Zach Norvell Jr. and Josh Perkins are the key names outside. Norvell is a monster with 17.6 PPG while Perkins is the one that sets up his teammates. He has 8.4 APG. Norvell was okay against Tennessee, but Perkins was unable to score though he did get his normal share of assists.
While the backcourt is strong, too, the front court with Hachimura scoring 22.2 PPG and Clarke putting up 16.9 leads the way. Clarke is also an excellent blocker with 3.3 BPG, nearly as many as UNC has as a team. The rebounds, on the other hand, aren’t quite there like they are for the Tar Heels.
Live Betting
Keep an eye on the backcourt in this one. Cameron Johnson is the key to the UNC offense, but he managed just five points in 30 minutes on the court against Michigan. Aside from that game, he’s scored at least 10 in every game and at least 17 in all but three.
Johnson needs to be a central factor in this game. Not only is he a good shooter, but he provides rebounds and steals on the outside. Meanwhile, Perkins was a non-factor shooting the ball for Gonzaga in their lone loss. His ability to bounce back and contribute more than just assists will be huge. Watch for the play of those two while following all the live betting opportunities for this game and all the weekend college hoops action at BookMaker.eu.
Key Player
Hachimura is the team’s leading scorer and star inside the paint, but Clarke is the key player in this game due to his ability to block and rebound.
Hacimura, Norvell, Perkins and even Corey Kispert see more time on the floor than Clarke, but the modestly tall Clarke is perhaps the most athletic player in the frontcourt.
The Tar Heels are a great rebounding team. The Bulldogs on the year have outshot UNC both overall and inside the paint. They’ve even better from the free-throw line. That means if they can nab as many opportunities as UNC they should get the win. That’s where Clarke comes in both blocking the Tar Heels and keeping pace with Maye and company on the boards.
Clarke has two double-doubles in his last three games, just missing one against Tennessee by a single rebound. He’s had at least eight boards in each of his last four games. Perhaps just as notably, in the Zags upset win over Duke, Clarke had a season high six blocks. He had two in the loss to Tennessee.
Bulldogs vs. Tar Heels Live Betting
The Bulldogs and Tar Heels can each rake up the points. They’re ranking amongst the top teams in the nation in PPG and are both top four in KenPom’s offensive rankings.
Look for a higher scoring game with plenty of back and forth. The Gonzaga frontcourt will be a challenge for the Tar Heels to beat, but UNC has the edge rebounding the ball and that could very well be the difference in this contest. Count on North Carolina winning the battle of the boards and look for their outside scoring behind a big game from Johnson to carry them to the narrowest of victories at home.
UNC comes into this game having 10 days to prepare for Gonzaga while the Bulldogs are playing the Tar Heels less than a week after their first loss. That could come into play as well.
Be sure to check out all of the live betting at BookMaker.eu for this weekend’s college basketball action.
NCAA Basketball Score Prediction: North Carolina 88, Gonzaga 87
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