East Tennessee State vs North Carolina Prediction 12/16/2025 Today’s College Basketball Picks

The East Tennessee State Buccaneers and the North Carolina Tar Heels meet Tuesday in college basketball action from Dean Smith Center in Chapel Hill. Here’s an East Tennessee State vs North Carolina prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best East Tennessee State vs North Carolina pick. We will examine the recent form and player performances for both teams, as well as the recent betting trends and streaks pertaining to this matchup. As we conclude, we will tie it all together with a summary that produces a sensible pick for a favorable betting outcome in this game.

East Tennessee State Buccaneers Betting Preview

The Bucs opened the year on a 6-1 run. The lone loss was versus Presbyterian; otherwise it was wins over Converse University, Northern Kentucky, North Alabama, Morehead State, LA-Monroe and Central Arkansas. Since then it’s been a 2-2 run with wins over South Alabama and Tusculum sandwiched between losses to Dayton and Austin Peay. That gives ETSU an 8-3 overall run across 11 games this year so far.

In the Austin Peay game on Friday, the Bucs hit a 43-34 deficit in the first half. East Tennessee State fought back on a  41-33 stretch in the second but fell just short 76-75. Brian Taylor led the charge on 19 points with four rebounds. Both Blake Barkley (seven rebounds) and Cam Morris (three rebounds) added 12 points apiece as well in the losing effort for East Tennessee State.

North Carolina Tar Heels Betting Preview

Over on the North Carolina side, they beat Central Arkansas, Kansas, Radford, North Carolina Central, Navy and Saint Bonaventure in their first six games before a loss to Michigan State. The Tar Heels have since won three straight games, though. Those victories have come courtesy of Kentucky, Georgetown and South Carolina Upstate. Over 10 games that gives North Carolina a 9-1 overall run.

In the South Carolina Upstate matchup on Saturday the Tar Heels were up by nine points at halftime. North Carolian closed on a 43-34 run and took the win in the end 80-62. Leading the team in scoring with a double-double was Caleb Wilson with 20 points and 11 boards. Jonathan Powell added 17 points and Luka Bogavac had 15 points, five rebounds and five assists in the winning effort for UNC.

East Tennessee State Buccaneers @ North Carolina Tar Heels Betting Trends: December 16, 2025

Why the North Carolina Tar Heels will win

• North Carolina has won each of its last 11 games at Dean E. Smith Center against non-AP-ranked opponents.
• East Tennessee State has lost nine of its last 10 away games when playing with a rest advantage.
• East Tennessee State has lost the first half in each of its last four games against the Atlantic Coast Conference.

Why the East Tennessee State Buccaneers will win

• East Tennessee State has won each of its last three games following a road loss.

East Tennessee State vs North Carolina Prediction

I’ll just stay with UNC here. The Tar Heels looked good in their latest win over USC Upstate, hitting 50.9 percent from the field with 36 rebounds, 20 team assists and just six turnovers. North Carolina wasn’t spectacular from the line however (14-of-22 for 63.6 percent). Still, that makes 73 or more points in eight of 10 games this year, and 80 or more in seven of those.

As for East Tennessee State, they suffered from a slow start in the Austin Peay game and couldn’t catch back up. The Buccaneers shot pretty well (45.9 percent) but also had 12 turnovers and a tepid 8-of-28 (28.6 percent) from outside. Still, ETSU is scoring great this year with 71 or more points in nine straight games and 10 of 11 games overall. I could see the Bucs hanging around for a while here but I don’t think they’ll get too close in the end.

Andrew Jett's Pick: North Carolina Tar Heels -15.5