The SMU Mustangs (11-3) travel to face off against the North Carolina Tar Heels (9-6) on Tuesday, January 7th. This game will be played at Dean E. Smith Center in Chapel Hill and televised on ACCN. North Carolina is coming off a win in their previous game, while SMU is looking to get back on track from a loss to the Duke. Tip-off is set for 9:00 ET.

SMU Mustangs vs North Carolina Tar Heels

The Mustangs Look To Bounce Back From A Loss

SMU Mustangs Recent Game/Games

SMU fell to 11-3 on the season after an 89-62 home loss to Duke on Saturday. The Mustangs entered the game as +8 underdogs and failed to cover the spread.

After trailing 41-32 at halftime, SMU struggled in the 2nd half, scoring just 30 points while allowing 48. The total points for the game hit 151, going over the 148.5 O/U line.

The Tar Heels Look To Bounce Back From A Loss

North Carolina improved to 9-6 on the season with a narrow 74-73 win over Notre Dame on Saturday. The Tar Heels went into the game as 4-point favorites but didn’t cover the spread. The total points for the game were 147, falling short of the 155.5 O/U line.

UNC led 39-32 at halftime but allowed 41 points in the second half while scoring 35 of their own. Despite the win, the Tar Heels will need to tighten up defensively as they move forward.

Mustangs Offense Breakdown

SMU struggled offensively in their last game, shooting just 34.3% from the field and 23.8% from three-point range. Their effective field goal percentage was 38.8%, and they hit only 44% of their free throws, going 11-for-25 from the line.

Cooper Flagg led the way with 24 points and 11 rebounds, shooting 58.3% overall and hitting both of his three-point attempts. Boopie Miller added 21 points, connecting on 3-of-5 from deep, while Tyrese Proctor contributed 14 points, shooting 57.1% from beyond the arc.

Tar Heels Offense Breakdown

North Carolina put up 74 points in their last game, shooting 52.9% from the field with an effective field goal percentage of 58.8%. They were dominant inside, hitting 70% of their two-point attempts (21/30), while struggling from beyond the arc, connecting on just 6 of 21 threes (28.6%).

Ian Jackson led the way with 27 points and 6 rebounds, shooting 61.1% overall, though he was just 2 of 7 from three. Markus Burton added 23 points in 23 minutes, despite missing all 3 of his three-point attempts. Braeden Shrewsberry hit 4 threes, finishing with 16 points and 6 rebounds.

Mustangs Team Defense

Even with SMU holding their opponent to just 34% shooting from the field, the Mustangs still gave up 89 points. They allowed 18 two-point buckets on 46 attempts, a 39% shooting rate.

From beyond the arc, SMU’s defense limited their opponent to 5 threes on 21 attempts, a 23% success rate. At the free-throw line, their opponent shot 44%, hitting 11 of 25. SMU also gave up 21 offensive rebounds.

Tar Heels Team Defense

Even though the Mustangs held their opponent to just 34% shooting from the field, they still gave up 89 points. The defense allowed 23 field goals on 67 attempts, with their opponent shooting 39% on two-pointers, making 18 of 46.

From beyond the arc, the Mustangs’ defense limited their opponent to 5 made threes on 21 attempts, a 23% shooting performance. However, they sent their opponent to the free-throw line 25 times, where they made 11 free throws, shooting 44%. SMU also gave up 21 offensive rebounds.

Mustangs vs Tar Heels Trends

• Across their last three road contests, SMU has been good against the spread posting a mark of 2-1. Their overall mark in these games was 2-1, while averaging 83 points per game.
• Although North Carolina has a straight up record of 6-4 in their last ten home games, they have not held up as well vs the spread going 5-5. The team averaged 76 points per game in these games.
• Looking back on the team’s last three games as the underdog, the Mustangs have a straight up record of 0-3. Their record vs the spread in these games was 0-3.
• As the betting favorite, the Tar Heels have an ATS mark of just 3-7 in their last ten games. North Carolina posted a straight up mark of 8-2 in these matchups.

Mustangs vs Tar Heels Prediction

We’re calling a win for the Tar Heels, with a final score of 77-69, and we’re taking them to cover the spread. Our recommendation is to bet on the Tar Heels at -6.5.

Right now, the over/under line for the game is sitting at 166.5 and given that our model is projecting 146 points between the teams, we like the under.

---

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

---

* 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.