The #25 North Carolina Tar Heels (9-4, 4-8-1 ATS, 7-6 O/U) meet with the Pittsburgh Panthers (9-4, 9-3-1 ATS, 8-5 O/U) in an ACC bout on Friday afternoon. The Tar Heels defeated Michigan in their latest bout. The Panthers earned a big win against Syracuse in their previous action before the break. North Carolina went 1-1 against Pittsburgh last season.
The North Carolina Tar Heels are eying a fifth consecutive victory. They had lost four in a row but have rebounded nicely and are looking like the contender many expected. They lost the ACC opener against Virginia Tech and defeated Georgia Tech in the next conference game. The Tar Heels beat Ohio State on the 17th and were labeled as five-point favorites in a solid 80-76 win against Michigan before the holidays. The Tar Heels have covered the spread in three out of their last four games.
Caleb Love is in a groove, sinking 40 points in his last two games against strong opponents in the Buckeyes and Wolverines. The junior guard is sporting an average of 18.3 PPG but is only shooting 41.9% on the season. Armando Bacot continues to dominate. The senior forward scored 28 points in the win against Ohio State and is a double-double threat in most games. Bacot has logged an average of 18.2 PPG and 11.1 RPG . R.J. Davis has reached 20 points on three occasions this season. The junior guard is third in team scoring with 15.9 PPG.
That's tuff @caleb2love ??
?? ESPN pic.twitter.com/xICpatmEzL
— Carolina Basketball (@UNC_Basketball) December 22, 2022
The Tar Heels are marked 20th in DI in Ken Pomeroy’s ratings and climbed back into the AP Top 25 again after dropping out a few weeks ago. North Carolina is 0-2 in their two true road games including the 80-72 loss to a good Virginia Tech squad. The Tar Heels are posting an average of 81.5 points, good for 29th. They are conceding an average of 74.5 points, pegging them 311th.