Dean E. Smith Center - Chapel Hill, NC
Tip-off: Monday, 7:00 p.m. ET
Line: North Carolina -11

No. 13 North Carolina seeks its sixth straight win when it hosts Syracuse on Monday night.

The Orange have been up-and-down in January, and have alternated wins and losses in the past four games, which includes a 66-62 defeat to Miami on Saturday. They are just 1-6 ATS this month, and are 0-2 SU (but 2-0 ATS) versus top-25 teams this season. The Tar Heels have rolled to five straight SU wins where they have scored 77.2 PPG on 50% FG and 38% threes, but are just 1-5 ATS in their past six games. These schools are meeting for just the second time as ACC foes, and last season's matchup was an ugly 57-45 Syracuse win where both teams shot below 40% FG and 22% threes. The all-time series is 4-4 SU with North Carolina's last win coming in 1987. Although the Orange are a woeful 5-18 ATS after forcing an opponent to commit 8 or less turnovers since 1997, double-digit underdogs coming off an upset loss as a favorite and playing their second game in three days are 145-97 ATS (61%) since 1997. Both schools have been great on short rest this season, as the Orange are 4-0 SU (2-2 ATS) with less than two days' rest, while the Heels are 3-1 (SU and ATS) in this same scenario. While Syracuse has no new injuries, North Carolina remains without guards Theo Pinson (foot), Stillman White (foot) and Joel Berry II (groin), while SF Joel James (knee) is questionable, and C Brice Johnson (back) is probable for Monday's game.

Can the Tar Heels cover the hefty spread on Monday night? For the latest college basketball picks, check out The Platinum Sheet for all the StatFox Experts selections every week throughout the entire 2013-14 season. The experts have been heating up since Dec. 23, combining for a 58% ATS mark (73-52) in college basketball Best Bets. StatFox Gary is a stellar 72% ATS (18-7) during this timeframe to improve to 66% ATS (36-19) for the season. StatFox Brian is 62% ATS (13-8) in Best Bets since Dec. 28 to put him at 55% ATS (30-25) this season, while StatFox Zach is on a 59% ATS (10-7) Best Bets run since Jan. 1 and has a solid 55% ATS mark (30-25) this season. StatFox Dave is a sizzling 70% ATS (7-3) in Best Bets since Jan. 13, and StatFox Scott is a strong 60% ATS (15-10) in Best Bets since Dec. 23.

Syracuse is an average offensive team with 68.5 PPG on 43.8% FG (31.9% threes) and a subpar 65.1% FT, but the club does a great job controlling the flow of the game with a 1.32 Ast/TO ratio and a +2.2 turnover margin. The Orange mostly play a 2-3 zone on defense which helps limit opponents to a mere 59.8 PPG on 37.8% FG and 29.3% threes. They are very active in the zone with 8.3 steals per game and 5.1 blocks per game, and rebound pretty well too with a +3.9 RPG margin. The team's best player all season has been PF Rakeem Christmas (18.3 PPG, 8.9 RPG, 2.1 BPG) who has scored at least a dozen points in 17 straight games (18.9 PPG). He also has 7+ rebounds in 10 consecutive contests (9.2 RPG) and shoots 60% from the floor for the season. Although he was a non-factor offensively against the Tar Heels last season (2 points on 1-of-4 FG), he did grab eight rebounds (four offensive) and block four shots. SG Trevor Cooney (14.1 PPG, 2.4 APG, 1.9 SPG) is the team's top scorer in the backcourt, as he knocks down 37% threes. He has been an iron man in ACC play with 40.1 MPG, and still has more steals (38) than personal fouls (30) this season. Cooney has not shot well in conference road games (24% FG, 25% threes), and he was horrible versus UNC last season with a 4-for-17 FG clip (2-of-12 threes), but he did rack up five steals. F/G Michael Gbinije (10.7 PPG, 5.1 RPG, 3.2 APG, 1.4 SPG) contributes nicely in all categories, and has played at least 40 minutes in five straight games. He has scored 9+ points in 12-of-14 contests (12.4 PPG) and has knocked down 54% threes (21-of-39) in the past 10 games. Freshman PG Kaleb Joseph (6.9 PGP, 4.8 APG, 1.2 SPG) has matured greatly throughout the season, and after committing 38 turnovers in his first 10 games of the season, Joseph has committed just 13 miscues in his past 10 contests. Syracuse can't afford to turn the ball over on Monday night, because the Tar Heels are a tremendous offensive team.

North Carolina scores a whopping 79.4 PPG on 46.4% FG thanks to 17.5 APG and a 1.40 Ast/TO ratio, but shoots horribly from long distance with a 31.8% clip from three-point range. This rate is not likely to improve against a Syracuse zone defense that does a great job challenging perimeter shots, but the Tar Heels would be wise to work the ball inside to their big men. Carolina is one of the best rebounding teams in the nation with a +9.9 RPG margin and 15.8 offensive RPG, which both rank fifth in the NCAA. The Heels give up a pedestrian 65.7 PPG, but limit teams to anemic shooting rates of 37.1% FG and 27.7% threes. Like Syracuse, UNC is also active on defense with 7.3 steals per game and 4.7 blocks per game. The engine to this offense is PG Marcus Paige (13.8 PPG, 4.0 APG, 1.3 SPG) who has been heating up in his past four games with 15.5 PPG (52% threes), 5.8 APG and 2.3 SPG. He scored 17 points (7-of-16 FG) last season versus Syracuse, and committed just one turnover in 37 minutes. Paige must look to feed the post early and often to his talented frontcourt players, PF Kennedy Meeks (12.8 PPG, 59% FG, 8.3 RPG, 1.4 BPG) and C Brice Johnson (12.0 PPG, 56% FG, 7.7 RPG). Meeks has scored at least seven points in every game this season, but really needs to focus on second-chance points, as he has a team-high 57 offensive boards this season, but combined for just three offensive rebounds in the past four games. Despite Johnson's sore back, he has still played very well in the past five games with 14.0 PPG (62% FG) and 9.8 RPG. This duo combined for just two points (1-of-5 FG) and four rebounds in 25 minutes versus the Orange last season, which is a big reason why the team scored only 45 points in that defeat. SG Justin Jackson (10.3 PPG, 3.3 RPG, 2.5 APG) has really picked up his offensive production with 15.7 PPG (52% FG) and 4.7 RPG in his past three games, and will look to find seams in the Syracuse zone. SF J.P. Tokoto (9.1 PPG, 5.0 RPG, 4.1 APG, 1.3 SPG) continues to be a jack-of-all-trades, and has at least three assists in 15 games this season, including five in a row. He'll look to improve on last season's weak showing at the Carrier Dome when he scored just three points (1-of-6 FG) in 34 minutes, but he did contribute eight rebounds, three assists and two steals.