North Carolina vs. UConn Preview; How to Watch, Prediction, Best Bet

College Basketball continues its run of amazing matchups tonight, as the No. 5 ranked UConn Huskies battle the 9th-ranked UNC Tar Heels at Madison Square Garden.

UConn is coming off its first loss of the season, losing a thriller to Kansas at the buzzer. Despite the loss, the defending champions are still in a great spot to be the first repeat champion since the Florida Gators in 2007.

UNC on the other hand is scorching hot. The Tar Heels’ only loss this season was in overtime against Villanova. Hubert Davis’ team has picked up wins over Tennessee and Arkansas since the loss.

UConn is a 5-point favorite at their “home away from home” in MSG, but do the Huskies really have the edge against the hottest team in college basketball?

Read below for our complete guide to this massive early-season showdown.

How to Watch

The entire Jimmy V Classic can be seen on the ESPN Family of Networks and the ESPN App. Tonight’s game tips off at 9:00 Eastern on ESPN. Dan Schulman and Jay Bilas will have the call, with Angel Gray providing updates from the sidelines.

North Carolina Tar Heels Team Preview

Like I said earlier, UNC is the hottest team in college basketball.

The Tar Heels dismantled an elite Tennessee Volunteers defense in the SEC/ACC Challenge, scoring 100 points in a resounding victory.

They followed it up with a nice win over Florida State, and now head into this game with their highest ranking in over a calendar year.

This team is loaded, with seniors RJ Davis and Armando Bacot leading the way offensively by averaging a combined 37 points per game.

Davis has been unreal lately. The senior from White Plains, NY is averaging 28 points per game during the Tar Heels’ win streak, connecting on just under 50% of his looks from the field.

Stanford transfer Harrison Ingram has fit in nicely as a compliment, averaging 15 points and 7 rebounds to help facilitate the front-court to back-court duo of Bacot and Davis.

The Tar Heels are an offensive juggernaut that can score with anyone in the country. While the defense keeps opponents in games, the trio of RJ Davis, Armando Bacot, and Harrison Ingram can bail North Carolina out of most games in the end.

UConn Huskies Team Preview

If you haven’t learned the name Tristen Newton, it’s about time you do.

The Huskies guard has been arguably the best player in college basketball this season. I’ve un-ironically appointed him the “Lebron James of college basketball” due to his uncanny ability to fill up a stat sheet and Newton has proved me right this season.

UConn’s guard leads the team in points (17.5), rebounds (7.9), assists (6.2), and steals (1.9) and is undeniably the heart-and-sole of Dan Hurley’s team.

While Newton is the Huskies best player, he’s far from their only contributor.

Four other UConn starters average above 14 points, creating undoubtedly the best starting 5 in the nation.

Center Donovan Clingan and forward Alex Karaban are the Huskies to keep an eye on tonight as they battle Harrison Ingram and Armando Bacot inside.

Best bet

This may be a huge trap, but I simply cannot steer you away from the over tonight.

These two programs are the best offensive teams in college basketball. Sometimes it is that simple.

Both teams have experience on neutral courts this year, while the Huskies in particular feel super comfortable playing at “The Mecca”.

152.5 points is high, but this game could very well end 100-95.

Prediction

This top-10 battle is going to be an absolute barn-burner. Expect fireworks in an up-and-down cardio-exhausting 40 minutes of basketball.

If I had to pick a side, I’d take the Huskies to pull away late because of their home-court advantage. (they’ll have a major one)

UConn wins an instant classic, 97-91.