The North Carolina Tar Heels (6-5) travel to face off against the UCLA Bruins (10-1) on Saturday, December 21st. This game will be played at Madison Square Garden in New York and televised on CBS. UCLA is coming off a win in their previous game, while North Carolina is looking to get back on track from a loss to the Florida. Tip-off is set for 3:00 ET.

North Carolina Tar Heels vs UCLA Bruins

The Tar Heels Look To Bounce Back From A Loss

North Carolina fell to 6-5 on the season after a 90-84 home loss to the Gators on Tuesday. The Tar Heels were +3.5 point underdogs and failed to cover the spread. The total points for the game hit 174, surpassing the pre-game O/U line of 167.5.

UNC struggled early, trailing 46-34 at halftime, but showed resilience by scoring 50 points in the 2nd half. However, they couldn’t tighten up defensively, allowing 44 points to the Gators after the break.

The Bruins Look To Bounce Back From A Loss

UCLA improved to 10-1 on the season with a dominant 111-75 win over Prairie View A&M on Tuesday. The Bruins were heavy favorites at -34 and covered the spread, while the game’s total points of 186 exceeded the over/under line of 146.5.

Leading 53-36 at halftime, UCLA continued their strong play in the second half, outscoring the Panthers 58-39 to seal the win.

Tar Heels Offense Breakdown

North Carolina put up 84 points in their last game, shooting 45.8% from the field. They struggled from beyond the arc, hitting just 5 of 28 attempts for a 17.9% rate, while their two-point shooting was strong at 63.6% (28/44).

RJ Davis led the way with 29 points and 8 rebounds, shooting 52.6% overall. Will Richard added 22 points, connecting on 3 of 5 threes and shooting 80% from the field.

Bruins Offense Breakdown

UCLA’s offense was firing on all cylinders in their last game, putting up 111 points with a field goal percentage of 59% and an effective field goal percentage of 67.2%. They shot 65% from two-point range and 47.6% from beyond the arc, hitting 10 threes. At the free-throw line, they connected on 78.4% of their attempts, going 29-for-37.

Jordan Tillmon led the way with 24 points, hitting 6 of 7 from three-point range. Dylan Andrews added 21 points and 6 assists, shooting 3 of 4 from deep. UCLA finished with 26 assists as a team, with 12 offensive rebounds contributing to their impressive offensive performance.

Tar Heels Team Defense

North Carolina’s defense struggled in their latest game, giving up 90 points on 45% shooting from the field. The Tar Heels allowed their opponent to hit 63% of their two-point attempts, with 28 makes on 44 tries.

From beyond the arc, North Carolina held their opponent to just 5 made threes on 28 attempts, a 17% shooting performance. At the free-throw line, they allowed 13 points on 19 attempts. The Tar Heels also gave up 13 offensive rebounds.

Bruins Team Defense

North Carolina’s defense struggled in their last game, giving up 90 points on 45% shooting from the field. They allowed 63% shooting from two-point range, with the opposing team hitting 28 of their 44 attempts.

From beyond the arc, the Tar Heels held their opponent to just 17% shooting, as they made only 5 of 28 three-point attempts. However, North Carolina sent them to the line 19 times, where they converted 13 free throws. The Tar Heels also gave up 13 offensive rebounds.

Tar Heels vs Bruins Trends

• Across their ten previous road games, North Carolina has an ATS mark of 7-3. Their straight up record in these matchups was 7-3 while averaging 75 points per game.
• In their last ten games at home, the Bruins have a straight up record of 5-5 while going 6-3-1 vs. the spread. The team averaged 68 points per game in this stretch.
• Spanning across their last three games as the betting underdog, the Tar Heels have gone 1-2 vs the spread. Their overall record in these games was 0-3.
• In their last five games as the betting favorite, the Bruins have a strong straight up record of 5-0. In addition, their ATS record was 3-2 in these scenarios.

Tar Heels vs Bruins Prediction

The Bruins is our pick to not only win with a projected score of 75-72. But we also favor them to cover the spread. Our bet is on the Bruins at -1.5.

Regarding the over/under, the current line is set at 150.5, and our model predicts the Tar Heels and Bruins to score a combined 147 points. We recommend betting on the under.

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All odds are courtesy of Action247 Sportsbook. Good luck!!

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* All odds are provided by Action247 Sportsbook and all odds subject to change.**All views expressed are my own. My picks are my own and are not a guarantee, bet at your own risk.Action247 does not warrant the accuracy of completeness of the information, text, graphics, links or other items contained within these post.