Marquette Golden Eagles vs North Carolina Tar Heels Prediction, 2/24/2021 College Basketball Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Marquette Golden Eagles vs North Carolina Tar Heels

Date: Wednesday, February 24, 2021

Location: Dean E. Smith Center in Chapel Hill, NC

TV: ESPN2

Odds/Point Spread: Marquette (+8)

The North Carolina Tar Heels (14-7) play the Marquette Golden Eagles (10-12) at Dean E. Smith Center on Wednesday. The spread on this contest has North Carolina as 8-point favorites. The O/U has been set at 142.5.

Marquette heads into this one with a win-loss mark of 10-12 for the campaign. They are averaging 70.3 points per contest (210th in D-1) while going 44.5% from the field. The Golden Eagles are shooting 33.3% on shots from beyond the arc (151 of 454) and 73.3% from the charity stripe. As a unit, Marquette is pulling in 36.7 boards per game and has earned 278 dimes for the season, which has them ranked 126th in the country in terms of passing the ball. They turn it over 14.2 times per game and as a squad are committing 17.5 personal fouls on a nightly basis. On defense, the Golden Eagles are forcing 10.7 turnovers per game and they draw 17.6 personal fouls. They are 295th in college basketball in giving up assists to the opposition with 305 relinquished for the season. The Golden Eagles defense is allowing a shooting percentage of 41.0% (532 of 1,296) and they concede 33.2 boards per game as a group. They are surrendering 36.1% on shots from downtown and they rank 172nd in D-1 in points per game from their opponents (69.9).

The Marquette Golden Eagles played the Butler Bulldogs and earned the victory with a final of 73-57 in their last game. Marquette wrapped up the contest having earned a 44.9% FG percentage (22 out of 49) and buried 5 of their 18 three-point shots. From the charity stripe, the Golden Eagles converted 24 of their 27 tries for a rate of 88.9%. In the matter of getting rebounds, they earned 39 with 8 of them being of the offensive variety. They also doled out 8 assists for the game while getting 4 steals and 3 rejections. When it comes to defense, Marquette allowed 44.9% from the field on 22 out of 49 shooting. Butler totaled 10 assists and had 10 steals for the game. Furthurmore, the Bulldogs pulled down 24 rebounds (5 offensive, 19 defensive) and added 3 blocked shots. Butler ended up shooting 66.7% when shooting free throws by converting 12 of their 18 attempts. They made 7 of 24 tries from beyond the arc.

Greg Elliott is one guy who was a factor in this matchup. He notched 17 points on 5 out of 9 shooting. He played for 28 minutes and grabbed 6 rebounds. Elliott went 55.6% from the floor but had no assists at the end of the game. Someone else that had an impact in the matchup for the Golden Eagles was Theo John. He snagged 6 rebounds and also accounted for 2 assists. He shot 66.7% from the floor in this matchup by connecting on 4-of-6 (15 points). When the final whistle blew, John was on the hardwood for 26 minutes.

North Carolina has a win-loss mark of 14-7 for the season. North Carolina has scored 1,562 pts on the year (74.4 per contest) and they collect 42.8 boards per game. The Tar Heels commit 16.8 fouls per game and they shoot 64.9% from the charity stripe. As an offensive team, the Tar Heels are shooting 44.4% from the floor, which is ranked 170th in the country. They are dishing out assists 15.8 times per contest (48th in college basketball) and they turn it over 14.2 times per game. The Tar Heels on the defensive end are ranked 134th in college basketball in points given up per game with 68.8. They have given up 12.8 assists and 31.9 rebounds per game, which is 163rd and 54th in college hoops. The North Carolina defense allows 35.5% on 3-point shots (173 of 487) and their opponents are knocking down 68.6% of their free throw shots. They are forcing 13.4 turnovers per game and have allowed teams to shoot 42.1% from the field (125th in Division 1).

When they last played, the North Carolina Tar Heels took home the win by a final score of 99-54 against the Louisville Cardinals. The Tar Heels were able to corral 29 defensive boards and 16 offensive rebounds for a total of 45 in this game. They also blocked 8 tries while getting 11 steals in the game. The Cardinals were called for 18 personal fouls in this game which got the Tar Heels to the free throw line for a total of 18 shots. They were able to make 7 of the free throws for a percentage of 38.9%. Regarding 3-point shots, North Carolina made 8 of their 18 tries (44.4%). When the game finished, the Tar Heels shot 42 for 69 from the floor which had them sitting at 60.9%. The Tar Heels allowed the Cardinals to knock down 22 of their 67 attempts from the field which gave them a percentage of 32.8% for the matchup. They shot 6.3% from three-point range via 1 out of 16 and walked away from this one shooting 9 of 12 from the free throw line (75.0%). In the matter of how they attacked the glass, North Carolina permitted Louisville to pull down 32 in all (15 on the offensive side).

Kerwin Walton pitched in for the Tar Heels for the contest. He knocked down 7 of 10 in the game for a rate of 70.0%, which had him sitting at 19 points. Walton snagged 2 rebounds in his 24 minutes and accounted for 4 assists in this game. Another guy that ended up playing a role for North Carolina was Armando Bacot. He racked up 14 points in 18 minutes played via 7 of 8 shooting for this game. Bacot ended up shooting 87.5% from the field and also collecting 2 assists and 9 total rebounds.

Who will win tonight's college basketball game against the spread?

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Marquette (+8)

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