North Carolina Tar Heels vs Florida Gators Prediction, Picks and Game Preview - 12/17/2024

Game Time: 7:00 pm ET, Tuesday, December 17, 2024

Venue:  Spectrum Center, Charlotte, NC

Where to Watch:  ESPN

DraftKings:  Point Spread:  UNC +3.5, Florida -3.5; Over/Under:  165.5 points

Bet365:  Point Spread:  UNC +3.5, Florida -3.5; Over/Under:  165.5 points

BetMGM:  Point Spread:  UNC +3.5, Florida -3.5; Over/Under:  165.5 points

North Carolina Tar Heels:  6-4 (1-0) (8th place, ACC)

Florida Gators:  10-0 (0-0) (1st place, SEC)

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North Carolina Tar Heels:  2-3  last 5

Florida Gators:  5-0  last 5

North Carolina is entering this game with a 6-4 record overall, a 1-0 record in conference games, and they are 1-2 in their neutral site games this season where they will be in this game. They are coming off a win against the La Salle Explorers in their last game. Cade Tyson led the team in points per game in that game with 23 while RJ Davis was next on the team with 13. Elliot Cadeau led the team in assists with 7 in that game while Seth Trimble led the team in rebounds with 8. They were 53.7% from the field, 32.3% from 3-point range, and 47.8% from the free throw line with their shooting in that game. Their offense is averaging 86.8 PPG and their defense is allowing their opponents to average 78.7 PPG against them. North Carolina has an ATS record of 4-6 this season and their O/U record is 6-4.

Florida is entering this game with a 10-0 record overall, a 0-0 conference record, and they are 4-0 in their neutral site games this season where they will be in this game. They are coming off a win against the Arizona State Sun Devils 83-66 in their last game. Walter Clayton Jr. led the team in points in that game with 25 while Will Richard was next on the team with 16. Alijah Martin led the team in assists with 6 in that game while Alijah Martin led the team in rebounds with 11. They were 47.8% from the field, 33.3% from 3-point range, and 90% from the free throw line with their shooting in that game. Their offense is averaging 86.2 PPG and their defense is allowing their opponents to average 65.1 PPG against them. Florida has an ATS record of 7-3 this season and their O/U record is 4-6.

The current betting odds have Florida listed as a 3.5 point favorite in this game according to Draftkings Sportsbook. Florida has looked great in their games this season with their 10-0 record overall which has them right at the top of the SEC and ranked as one of the best teams in the nation. They have looked great in their neutral site games too, going 4-0 in those games this season. Meanwhile, North Carolina has looked good in their games this season with their 6-4 record overall and their 1-0 conference record, but their 6-4 record has them in the middle of the ACC. They were ranked coming into the season and they are no longer ranked as they continue to lose these big games they play in. Now they have another big game here and they will have a bit of a home advantage with the location of this game, but Florida has been so good everywhere this season. UNC has a lot of talent on their team, but they are still trying to figure things out with their new faces. Todd Golden has built a great team at Florida this year and they have been winning big games all year, and those games haven't even been close either. Florida has the offense to put up a lot of points on UNC here and UNC doesn't have the defense to match Florida either. The best way to place a bet here is on Florida to cover the spread in this game. 

North Carolina Florida Prediction:  Our NCAAB Pick for Tuesday, December 17, 2024 (7:00 pm ET start time) is Florida 82 UNC 71.

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North Carolina Tar Heels: 3-8 ATS as an underdog. 0-5 ATS as a neutral court underdog of 6 points or less or pick. 9-15 ATS versus good rebounding teams - outrebounding opponents by 4+ per game. 17-5 OVER in all neutral court games. 23-10 OVER in non-conference games. 22-16 OVER versus good shooting teams - making 45% of their shots or more.

Florida Gators: 6-2 ATS against ACC opponents. 13-4 ATS after 3 or more consecutive wins. 10-2 ATS versus up-tempo teams averaging 62 or more shots/game. 29-20 OVER after 1 or more consecutive wins. 8-4 OVER versus up-tempo teams averaging 62 or more shots/game. 30-19 OVER versus poor pressure defensive teams - forcing 14 turnovers/game or less.

North Carolina Tar Heels:  None.

Florida Gators:  None.

"Yeah, it was great. That's been an emphasis for us, and it felt like we were missing opportunities to get our bigs the ball close to the basket. And I felt like if we get it to them close to the basket, one, they can score, and two, they could get fouled. That allowed us to get into the penalty and get to the free throw line. And I just feel like it'll open up our perimeter players and just be more efficient on the offensive end. So that's just a start, but it has been an emphasis all week to get our big guys involved close to the basket." - Hubert Davis after his team’s win against La Salle in their last game.

“We have really good players; they have bought into each other, they play hard for each other, and there’s no selfishness on this team right now. I think that’s a huge, huge key for our success up to this point but also moving forward. That unselfishness is contagious.” - Todd Golden after his team’s win against Arizona State in their last game. 

E. Cadeau 

R. Davis 

S. Trimble 

J. Washington 

J. Withers

R. Chinyelu 

W. Clayton 

A. Condon 

A. Martin 

W. Richard

PPG: R. Davis (17.6)

APG: E. Cadeau (5.6)

Reb/G: J. Washington (5)

PPG: W. Clayton (19.1)

APG: W. Clayton (3.7)

Reb/G: A. Condon (7.1)

Coaches:

North Carolina Tar Heels: Hubert Davis (4th season)

Florida Gators: Todd Golden (3rd season)