A battle in the ACC takes place tonight between two teams having less than stellar seasons as the North Carolina Tarheels travel to take on the Clemson Tigers. The game is scheduled for a 7:00 p.m. start time and it will be televised nationally on ESPN. Currently the odds for the game have North Carolina favored on the road by 3 points.

North Carolina has 19 wins this season, but isn't ranked in the Top 25. They're a very young basketball team and Roy Williams has done an impressive job coaching this group, which sees quit a bit of freshmen players on the floor. The Tarheels have been up and down and their five losses in the ACC is certainly not something that happens very often, but it's the reality North Carolina is faced with right now. They have won three straight after dropping back-to-back games to No. 8 Miami and No. 2 Duke at the time, and a loss here tonight on the road against Clemson would not help them.

Clemson isn't very good, having lost five out of their last six games, but they did push No. 3 Miami to the brink. The Tigers are just 13-13 overall on the season and have a conference record of just 5-9. Clemson's lone win in February came on the road at Georgia Tech, which is somehow worse than the Tigers are on the basketball court.

The biggest problem for Clemson is their inability to effectively score enough points. They rank 295th nationally in points per game at just under 61 and they don't rebound the ball very well either. North Carolina will be able to move the ball up the floor frequently in this game tonight and should dictate the style of play. Look for James Michael McAdoo to have a pretty good game inside. He can hit the boards well and Clemson will have a tough time guarding him, though Devin Booker might be up for the task. We like Reggie Bullock as well, who averages better than 14 points and 6 rebounds per game.

The Tarheels, who aren't a veteran team, do still have a lot of depth. They do have 10 players that average in double digit minutes per game and that will be a factor in tonight's game.

North Carolina isn't being talked about very much by anyone nationally, but they are third in the ACC and they can score points. This is the only time these schools will play each other this year in the regular season and we think the offensive efficiency of North Carolina will be too much tonight. The spread is short because teams have struggled on the road this season, but don't expect a court-storming type of situation here tonight.

Free Pick: North Carolina 79, Clemson 69

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