Notre Dame vs. North Carolina Prediction
Unranked Notre Dame travels to Chapel Hill to face unranked North Carolina at 11:30 AM ET Saturday morning on ESPN2. Can the Tar Heels cover the 13-point spread as home favorites?
Notre Dame is 8-7 on the year with their best wins coming over Bowling Green and Michigan State. Their worst losses came against St. Bonaventure and Boston College. The Fighting Irish are 3-12 against the spread this season.
North Carolina is 10-5 this season with their best wins coming over Ohio State and Michigan. Their worst losses came against Virginia Tech and Pittsburgh. The Tar Heels are 4-10-1 against the spread this year.
Game Matchup and Betting Odds
601 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (+13) vs. 602 North Carolina Tar Heels (-13); O/U 144.5
11:30 AM ET, Saturday, January 7, 2023
Dean E. Smith Center, Chapel Hill, NC
Notre Dame vs. North Carolina Public Betting Information
Our CBB Public Betting Information page indicates that the public favors the Fighting Irish in this contest. Our public betting data illustrates that 72% of public bets are on Notre Dame +13. Do note that these numbers are subject to change and could be different once tipoff rolls around, so be sure to check the link so you’re receiving the most up-to-date public betting data.
Notre Dame Game Notes
Notre Dame forward Ven-Allen Lubin is out for Saturday’s game against North Carolina with an ankle injury. Lubin has posted 5.7 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 0.9 blocks per game for the Irish this season. Lubin is 7th on the club in minutes with 16.9 per game.
Notre Dame’s leading scorer and rebounder is senior forward Nate Laszewski. The senior from Jupiter, FL is averaging 13.4 points and 7.7 rebounds per game. He’s been efficient this year as well as he’s knocking down 51.9% of his field goal attempts this season.
North Carolina Game Notes
North Carolina forward Pete Nance left the Tar Heels’ last game against Wake Forest with a back injury and he’s officially listed as questionable for Saturday’s tilt with Notre Dame. Nance is 4th on the team in scoring with 10.9 points per game and tied for second in rebounds with 6.1 per game.
North Carolina guard R.J. Davis is starting to play better in the last few weeks. In his last 4 games, R.J. Davis is averaging 20.8 points per game while shooting 47.2% from the floor. The Tar Heels will likely need production from Davis and his fellow guard Caleb Love if they’re going to cover this game on Saturday.
Notre Dame vs. North Carolina CBB Betting Trends
Notre Dame is 9-1 ATS in their last 10 Saturday games.
Notre Dame is 7-3 ATS in their last 10 road games against a team with a winning home record.
North Carolina is 4-10-1 ATS in their last 15 games overall.
North Carolina is 1-4-1 ATS in their last 6 games following an ATS loss.
Notre Dame vs. North Carolina CBB Prediction:
Notre Dame probably isn’t going to make the NCAA Tournament this year. They’re 8-7 overall and 0-4 in the ACC thus far. Two of those ACC losses (against Syracuse and Florida State) both came by one point, however. The Fighting Irish have the second-worst record against the spread of any Division I team at 3-12, and I think this line is an overreaction to that fact. Oddsmakers don’t want people to continuously bet on Notre Dame to lose against the spread and win, so the line is 13 when it could be around 8 or 9. This game might not be pretty, but I think that favors Notre Dame. I’ll take the Fighting Irish and the points.
CBB BETTING PREDICTION: NOTRE DAME FIGHTING IRISH +13
