North Carolina vs. Pittsburgh Prediction and Odds for Tuesday, Jan. 2

Pitt and North Carolina meet in Tuesday night ACC action.

The Panthers are looking to score a signature win against a ranked foe while North Carolina plays its first true road game, will that effect the team's budding offense around the likes of Armando Bacot and RJ Davis?

Let's break it all down with our best bets for this game on the side.

North Carolina vs. Pittsburgh Odds, Spread and Total

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Pittsburgh vs. North Carolina Betting Trends

• Pitt is 7-5-1 against the spread (ATS) this season
• Pitt is 0-2 ATS as an underdog
• North Carolina has gone OVER in eight of 12 games this season

North Carolina vs. Pittsburgh How to Watch

• Date: Tuesday, Jan. 2
• Game Time: 7:00 PM EST
• Venue: Peterson Events Center
• How to Watch (TV): ESPN
• North Carolina Record: 9-3
• Pitt Record: 9-4

North Carolina vs. Pittsburgh Key Players to Watch

North Carolina

Armando Bacot: Bacot is one of the most dominant players in the sport, imposing his well on the glass and finishing around the rim, however this matchup will test him quite a bit. Pitt's interior defense is elite that may put a ton of pressure on stud guard RJ Davis, who is averaging a career high the eighth most points per game this season with 21.6.

Pitt

Blake Hinson: Hinson is enjoying a career year. Shooting 43% on a healthy dose of 105 attempts this season, Hinson has unlocked this five-out Pitt offense that may give UNC's issue with the team's poor perimeter defense.

North Carolina vs. Pittsburgh Prediction and Pick

North Carolina has played in plenty of high level games already this season on a neutral floor, but there is something to be said for the fact that the Tar Heels have not played in a true road environment all season.

The team takes the trip to Pitt on Tuesday night, who is a tough matchup for the Tar Heels.

On defense, Pitt's compact defense that is 62nd in average shot proximity (the higher the ranking the further away the average shot comes from), which can offset UNC's ability to pound the ball inside with Armando Bacot. Further, the team is in the top 100 in terms of limiting transition opportunities, which will force UNC to operate in the half court.

Meanwhile, Pitt should get plenty of open looks against the Tar Heels' lackluster defense that doesn't put pressure on the ball (bottom half of the country in turnover percentage) and allows opponents to put up 1.07 points per possession on catch and shoot three-point shots according to ShotQuality, the 338th mark in the country.

Pitt is a solid 3-point shooting team, 35% from three on a top 40 rate, and some of UNC's underlying defensive concerns can come to fruition in its first true road game.

I'll happily grab a few possessions with the Panthers.

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

Track Reed's bets here!