The Ohio State Buckeyes and the North Carolina Tar Heels will square off on Saturday at the CBS Sports Classic in Atlanta. Both teams enter the game in strong form, with the Tar Heels holding a 10–1 record and the Buckeyes sitting at 8–2. Who will come out on top in this neutral-site matchup on the hardwood? Continue reading to find out who I like as I make my Ohio State vs North Carolina prediction.
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North Carolina has built an impressive 10–1 record, riding a four-game win streak and showing strength on the glass with 42.1 rebounds per game. The Tar Heels possess a formidable frontcourt anchored by freshman Caleb Wilson, who averages 19.5 points and 10.4 rebounds per game. Fellow big man Henri Veesaar is contributing 16.9 points and 9.1 rebounds per outing. There’s also optimism around the possible return of senior guard Seth Trimble from injury, which would bolster UNC’s backcourt for this high-profile game.
Ohio State enters off a thrilling double-overtime win over West Virginia and a loss to Illinois in one of their first conference games. The Buckeyes’ offense is prolific, averaging 87.6 points per game, led by Bruce Thornton at 21.8 points per contest with support from John Mobley Jr. and Christoph Tilly. Despite this scoring ability, Ohio State has faced challenges defensively against high-level competition and will need to improve that facet of their game to overcome Carolina’s size and interior presence.
This game is being played at a neutral venue in Atlanta. It will be interesting to see what the crowd looks like for this contest. We could still see a good chunk of fans from both of these programs. But it's also possible that Kentucky Wildcats fans make up a huge amount of the fans in attendance, as this game is the second leg of a double-header that also features the Wildcats.
Score Projection: North Carolina 76 – Ohio State 71
Win Probability: North Carolina 63%, Ohio State 37%
I'm going with North Carolina to win and cover the spread as a favorite against Ohio State in Atlanta. The size of the Heels is too much for most teams to deal with and I think that will be the case in this game as well. I'll lay the points with the Tar Heels, who will improve to 11-1 on the year and inch closer to the top 10 with a win.
Jay Sanin is the GM and Head of Sports at ATS.io. He has been writing about sports gambling since 2013, handicapping tens of thousands of sporting events. He plays sides and totals aggressively across most sports and is more selective in player prop markets. He does his own modeling across most sports, and his family is jealous of how much time he spends on his precious spreadsheets.
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