North Carolina vs Georgia Tech Odds
| North Carolina Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
-8.5 -110 | 152.5 -110o / -110u | -450 |
| Georgia Tech Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
+8.5 -110 | 152.5 -110o / -110u | +350 |
The North Carolina Tar Heels are the only high-major team with zero losses in conference play. That’s pretty damn impressive no matter how you look at it.
UNC’s unblemished record will face a test against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets on Tuesday. Georgia Tech already downed Duke in Atlanta earlier this season, so it'll try for the North Carolina sweep.
North Carolina Tar Heels
North Carolina looks the part of a national title contender right now.
Just one year after missing the dance entirely, UNC is right back in the discussion for college basketball’s best team. That’s a major testament to the terrific job done by Hubert Davis and the staff by addressing the team’s biggest problem: Defense.
The Tar Heels aren’t just the ACC’s best defense, they boast one of the best defenses in America. Sitting fourth in Defensive Efficiency, North Carolina hasn’t allowed more 70 points in a game since December 16 against Kentucky. That’s a lengthy stretch of dominant defensive play, led by transfer Harrison Ingram setting the tone.
While Ingram is the defensive ace, RJ Davis is pound-for-pound the best player in the ACC. The senior guard has a knack for scoring in the big moments — and in general. He’s averaging 21.2 points on 44% shooting and 40% from 3.
Adding freshman point guard Elliot Cadeau has let Davis slide into a role where his main focus is scoring. His best skill was always scoring, and now it’s the sole thing he focuses on when Cadeau flanks him.
The Heels will need more from Armando Bacot in this sneaky roadie. He’s scored five points in back-to-back games, and he averages 13.6 points this season.
The team is better so there’s no real complaining, but North Carolina needs more scoring from Bacot.
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Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
Georgia Tech is on a really rough skid of late, losing eight of its past nine contests. The only win came in double overtime against then top-25 ranked Clemson.
It’s not like the Yellow Jackets show up and lose by 20+ every game — they aren’t Louisville. They just have a ton of youth, and young teams typically endure some up-and-down moments during the rigors of a long season.
Additionally, most of the struggles come on the defensive end, as the Jackets rank last in Defensive Efficiency among conference teams in league play. The other numbers aren’t kind either, sitting 13th in opponents effective field goal percentage and last in defensive rebounding percentage.
Getting stops on the first attempt isn’t always working, either. Sometimes it takes multiple attempts off an offensive rebound, and that causes problems.
Damon Stoudamire’s DNA is coaching great offense — and this team follows suit. Georgia Tech is one of the better offenses in the ACC, sitting third in effective field goal percentage and fifth in 3-point percentage.
Dynamic forward Baye Ndongo and rising point guard Naithan George dramatically raise the Yellow Jackets' ceiling. Ndongo scored 15+ points in eight of the past 10 games, while regularly flirting with double-digits rebounds. He’ll have a tall task against arguably the best ACC big man in the past decade, though.
George is a freshman point guard at a power conference school. He went into Cameron Indoor and dropped 15 points and five assists, and went into Clemson and threw dagger after dagger at the Tigers.
But he’s also dropped multiple duds, like seven points against Virginia Tech in a 24-point drubbing.
It’s not easy being a young point guard. George is one of the better ones, and his play could entirely shift a game one way or the other.
North Carolina vs. Georgia Tech
Betting Pick & Prediction
I feel like North Carolina's market has officially reached its peak.
While that’s fair and I agree, I think it opens up decent value in a home contest for a very competitive Georgia Tech squad.
I'm rolling with the points for the Jackets at home.
