North Carolina vs Wake Forest prediction, college basketball odds

It’s time to continue our college basketball odds series with the North Carolina-Wake Forest prediction and pick. Learn how to watch North Carolina-Wake Forest.

At the beginning of this college basketball season, back in the first half of November, North Carolina played a very tough, tough, competitive game Kansas Jayhawks. The Tar Heels didn’t win, but they looked like they belonged on the same field as a Kansas team that beat Duke and was projected to be a Final Four contender before the season started. It was hard to think that North Carolina would struggle so hard this season, but that’s what the Tar Heels do. They work. They make everything seem difficult. Very little comes easy to this team. He had some big wins over Cal and SMU, but for the most part, ACC play has been the watchword for UNC even though the conference isn’t very strong. Duke is an elite team, but there are no other elite teams in the ACC in 2025. There are a few good teams, but that’s about it.

The ACC is far from the chamber of death it once was, when Syracuse was struggling under Jim Boeheim and Virginia was elite under Tony Bennett. Miami was a Final Four program under Jim Larranaga. Florida State was a Sweet 16 program for several years under Leonard Hamilton. NC State was good enough to earn at-large bids to the NCAA Tournament. Notre Dame was a strong team a decade ago under then-coach Mike Brey. One by one, ACC basketball programs fell off the pace and regressed from previous standards. In this ACC — which is almost entirely tainted by quality, with only a few exceptions — North Carolina should dominate. The Tar Heels should be right up there with Louisville, at the very least, fighting to be the second-ranked team in the conference. Instead, heels are nowhere near that standard. They are tied for fifth in the league.

North Carolina is 12-7 overall and plays very close games against teams in the bottom half of the conference. UNC was fortunate to beat Notre Dame earlier in January. The Tar Heels missed out on North Carolina State by two points. Last Saturday, UNC played with fire once again, getting into a nail-biter with Stanford at home. This time, the tendency to play with food and not take care of business clearly and decisively caught up with the Tar Heels. They got burned in the last second in a one-point loss to the Cardinals. North Carolina is right on the NCAA Tournament bubble. Since the ACC doesn’t have many great teams, the Tar Heels can’t punch their ticket with just one or two wins (unless they beat Duke, the only exception to this dynamic). They will likely need to win the vast majority of ACC games just to push themselves toward the right side of the bubble. Any string of losses to the bottom end of the ACC over the next six weeks will hurt Carolina’s profile. It’s a very awkward situation for the Tar Heels as they face bubble-hugging Wake Forest in a really big game for both sides.

Here are North Carolina-Wake Forest College basketball oddscourtesy of FanDuel

College basketball odds: North Carolina-Wake Forest odds

North Carolina: +1.5 (-110)

Moneilines: +100

Wake Forest: -1.5 (-110)

Moneilines: -120

Over: 148.5 (-110)

Under: 148.5 (-110)

How to watch North Carolina vs. Wake Forest

Time: 9:00 PM ET/6:00 PM PT

TV: ESPN

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Why North Carolina will cover the spread/win

North Carolina knows it has to play with even more urgency after the loss at Stanford. That will be a positive difference for the Tar Heels here.

Why Wake Forest will cover the spread/win

North Carolina is a mediocre team. Wake is playing better than UNC and it’s at home.

Final Prediction and Pick North Carolina – Wake Forest

Stay away from a game between two unreliable teams. Pass.

North Carolina Final Prediction & Picks – Wake Forest: North Carolina Money Line