NCAAB: Irish vs Tar Heels Predictions
College hoops betting action sees the Notre Dame Fighting Irish taking on the North Carolina Tar Heels on Monday January 5 at the Dean E. Smith Center in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Cappers Picks provides free NCAAB handicapping tips all season long.
The Irish are off to a hot start but if you are going to challenge in the ACC you have to be able to win on the road in the Triangle.
Bet on College Hoops
#13 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (14-1) vs. #20 North Carolina Tar Heels (11-3)
Monday January 5
7:00PM
Dean E. Smith Center – Chapel Hill, NC
ESPN
NCAAB Betting Lines: North Carolina -8
NCAAB Betting Total: n/a
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This will be a tough test.
Notre Dame
I think most would have pegged Notre Dame for the middle of the pack in the ACC but so far they have been great.
They have won 10 in a row and only a one point loss to Providence separates them from a perfect record so far.
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I still think they are going to find it difficult to compete against opponents that have potent front lines but in a lot of cases you can win if you have the best guard on the floor and they almost always have that in the form of Jerian Grant, who is a legitimate player of the year candidate.
Grant is averaging 18ppg while also pacing the team in assists.
The Irish are not shy on scorers with 3 others averaging more than 13ppg but they lack bigs and the depth that some other top programs have.
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Right now Pat Connaughton is leading the team with an impressive 8.2 rebounds per game but he is only 6’5”.
Normally the Irish have at least one reliable inside player but that is not the case this season…Zach Auguste is just not a banger.
North Carolina
It is hard to tell just what this North Carolina team is right now.
They have played some pretty good games in beating Ohio State and hanging fairly well with Kentucky but they have also lost to Iowa at home and to Butler, games which force you to reconsider whether this team could make it to a Final Four.
This team definitely has the talent and size to do so but their best player, PG Marcus Paige, is having a terrible season. A team has to be really good to overcome that kind of handicap.
Coming into the season Paige was a POY candidate but he has been awful, shooting just 37% from the field.
What has saved the Tar Heels is that their bigs got the message that they needed to step up and Brice Johnson and Kennedy Meeks have done just that.
The combo down low is averaging 23 points and 16 rebounds per game and they have desperately needed those contributions.
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You have to think Paige will come around but we are a third of the way in at this point.
NCAAB Handicapping Trends:
- Under is 17-5 in ND last 22 Mon. games.
- UNC are 11-5 ATS in their last 16 Mon. games.
NCAAB Prediction: Notre Dame +8
I was really surprised the spread is so high on this one. It will invite some action on Notre Dame so you might want to wait on making a play because I think UNC will win at home.
NCAAB Score prediction: North Carolina 77 – Notre Dame 72
As it stands you have go with the Irish plus the points. This is a really good scoring team.
Check out our Updated College Basketball Betting Odds.
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