North Carolina (16-10) at NC State (20-7)
When: Sunday, February 19th 2023
Where: PNC Arena,
Raleigh, NC
Time: 1:00 ET | TV: ESPN
Opening Odds: NC State -2/152
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The North Carolina Tar Heels began the season as the No. 1 team in the country, but now they are playing to save their postseason chances in the final few weeks of the regular season. The Tar Heels will look for a win against a ranked team when they visit the 23rd-ranked North Carolina State Wolfpack Sunday afternoon in Raleigh. It’s a big game in the ACC standings for both teams, who have been struggling of late. The Tar Heels recorded an 80-69 win in Chapel Hill against the Wolfpack earlier this season. North Carolina connected on 36-of-39 free throws, while the Wolfpack went 12-for-12.
NC State just ended a 1-2 road trip with a 75-72 loss at Syracuse after winning at Boston College and losing at then-No. 8 Virginia. The Wolfpack, who are 13-1 at home, will play their next three games at PNC Arena. Since the win against NC State, North Carolina has gone 2-4 including an 80-72 home loss to No. 15 Miami on Monday. The Tar Heels are an impressive 36-5 against the Wolfpack dating back to 2004, but the home team is 5-1 ATS in the last six meetings.
In the win against NC State earlier this season, North Carolina’s Armando Bacot became the school’s career leader in rebounds and double-doubles. He recorded 23 points and 18 rebounds, giving him 61 double-doubles and raising his rebound total to 1,221, two more than Tyler Hansbrough. In Monday’s loss to Miami FL, Bacot had just 12 points and four rebounds and fouled out. RJ Davis led the way with 23 points and Leaky Black had nine rebounds. North Carolina was a dismal 5-of-31 from beyond the arc in that game and are dead last in the ACC in 3-point shooting at 30.6 percent.
NC State guard Terquavion Smith was taken off the court on a stretcher during the first meeting with North Carolina after a foul by Black. The officials gave Black a Flagrant 2 foul and ejected him from the game. Wolfpack senior guard Jarkel Joiner scored 18 points against the Tar Heels and is coming off the fifth triple-double in program history. His 15 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists against Syracuse on Tuesday were not enough. Five players scored 68 of the Wolfpack’s 72 total points.
The Tar Heels are in a bad shooting slump right now and I don’t see them turning it around on Sunday. They are one of the worst 3-point shooting teams in the country and their defense isn’t very good either. The Wolfpack are very good at home and should come away with a victory and cover here.
Pick: NC State -2
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