The North Carolina Tar Heels take on the Hawaii Warriors in Honolulu, Hawaii. Tip-off is set for 12:30 a.m. ET on ESPN2.
North Carolina is favored by 15.5 points on the spread with a moneyline of -1700. The total is set at 151.5 points.
Here’s my North Carolina vs Hawaii predictions and college basketball picks for November 23, 2024.
North Carolina vs Hawaii Odds, Pick
| UNC Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Point Spread | Total Points | Moneyline |
-15.5 -110 | 151.5 -112o / -108u | -1700 |
| Hawaii Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Point Spread | Total Points | Moneyline |
+15.5 -110 | 151.5 -112o / -108u | +950 |
- North Carolina vs Hawaii spread: North Carolina -15.5
- North Carolina vs Hawaii over/under: 151.5 points
- North Carolina vs Hawaii moneyline: North Carolina -1700, Hawaii +950
- North Carolina vs Hawaii best bet: North Carolina -15
My North Carolina vs Hawaii best bet is on the Tar Heels spread, with the best odds currently available at DraftKings. For all of your college basketball bets, be sure to find the best lines by using our live NCAAB odds page.
My UNC vs Hawaii NCAAB Betting Preview
You're reading it right; North Carolina is headed to the Island early. Instead of heading to Hawaii a few days later, the Tar Heels will play an extra game before the Maui Invitational and get extra beach time in. A fair trade-off, it seems.
The Tar Heels have played just three games this year, coming into this game with a 2-1 record. The lone loss came to Kansas in the Champions Classic, and the wins were buy-game victories over Elon and American. It's been a week since North Carolina beat American, so we'll see if the Tar Heels come out flat, especially since the timezone change is pretty drastic.
I could make a strong argument for North Carolina's backcourt being the country's best. Everybody knows about RJ Davis, but Seth Trimble and Elliott Cadeau combined for over 30 ppg. The two guards improved their perimeter shooting to 55% and 40%, respectively. We saw teams sag off Trimble and Cadeau in last year's NCAA Tournament. It's safe to say that won't be the game plan with their improved shooting, which also opens up the floor for them to drive.
The Tar Heels keep the game plan simple. Use the speedy guards to drive to the hoop. That formula leads to North Carolina's elite 11% turnover rate while hitting the foul line at a strong clip. Some teams get fouled often but struggle to make teams pay. North Carolina is elite at the stripe, connecting on 82% of its free shots.
I would like to see Davis carve out more minutes for Belmont transfer Cade Tyson. Currently, the Heels start a pair of true forwards, Jae'Lyn Withers and Jalen Washington, but the one missing piece is a knockdown shooter. Get Tyson in the mix a bit more and go all in on dominating offensively.
Hawaii Basketball
Is there any surprise that Eran Ganot, a Randy Bennett disciple, plays a slow tempo and wants to win on defense? That shouldn't be a stunner.
The Rainbow Warriors are 4-0 and haven't left the Stan Sheriff Center yet, so they've established home court well thus far, winning games over Pacific, San Jose State and Weber State.
One of the staples of Hawaii basketball in the Ganot era is terrific guard play. But this current group of guards is pretty underwhelming. The Tar Heels' backcourt will entirely overmatch the starting guards, Marcus Greene and Kody Williams.
Greene is due for some positive shooting regression, as he's shooting just 18% from 3, compared to 42% last year at Houston Christian. Meanwhile, Williams is a smaller guard who struggles to stay in front of opposing guards, which sounds like a disaster against UNC's speedy guards.
The Bows' starting center, Tanner Christensen, is the best interior player in this matchup. He's Hawaii's most important player, averaging 17 ppg and 6.8 rpg on 75% shooting, and he just dropped 25 in a win over Weber State. The worry is foul trouble. Christensen tallied 3+ fouls in each of the three games and fouled out in one game.
Moreover, Hawaii simply can't shoot the ball. As mentioned, Greene should shoot better, as should Akira Jacobs and Tom Beattie, but it's been a struggle. The team is shooting just 27% from 3, and Williams is the lone player shooting above 33% — at 43%. Most of Williams's shooting came in a win over a non-D-1 school, so take it with a grain of salt.
North Carolina vs Hawaii Betting Analysis
Hawaii isn't bad, but it isn't great defensively. There are two key ways to attack the Bows' defense, though — by attacking them in pick & rolls (Hawaii allows 1.13 PPP in P&R per synergy) and in isolation situations (opponents score 1.10 PPP per synergy).
North Carolina wants to isolate the trio of speedy guards or let them operate in pick & rolls, so Hawaii will struggle to contain them unless it pivots to a 2-3 zone defense. Even then, North Carolina can shoot. That eliminates the zone a bit.
I love the Tar Heels guards and think they'll dominate against Hawaii.
Pick: UNC -15
