North Carolina vs NC State Prediction 1/11/25 College Basketball Picks

The North Carolina Tar Heels and the NC State Wolfpack meet Saturday in college basketball action from the Lenovo Center. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best bets for this game. Here’s a North Carolina vs. NC State prediction.

North Carolina Recap

The North Carolina Tar Heels come into this game looking to add on to their 82-67 win over SMU last time out to improve to 10-6 on the year. After this game, North Carolina will head back home for a matchup with the Cal Golden Bears.

Tar Heels Win Back-To-Back Games

RJ Davis leads the Tar Heels in scoring with 18.2 PPG along with 4.1 RPG and 4.1 APG while Seth Trimble has 13.6 PPG with 4.6 RPG and Elliot Cadeau has 10.4 PPG with 3 RPG and 5.8 APG on the year to lead the Tar Heels in assists. Ian Jackson has 15.1 PPG with 3.6 RPG to round out the group of double-digit scorers for North Carolina so far this season. Jalen Washington also has 5.9 PPG with a team-high 4.8 RPG to lead North Carolina in rebounding up to this point in the season. As a team, North Carolina is averaging 84.4 PPG on 47.4% shooting from the field, 32.5% from three, and 74.5% from the foul line this season.

Why the North Carolina Tar Heels will win

• North Carolina has won each of its last 12 day games against the Atlantic Coast Conference.
• NC State has lost six of its last eight day games.

NC State Recap

The NC State Wolfpack come into this one looking to add on to a narrow 66-65 win over Notre Dame last time out to improve to 9-6 on the year. After this game, NC State will head back on the road once again for a matchup with the Virginia Tech Hokies.

Wolfpack Looking To Heat Up With Home Upset

Marcus Hill leads the Wolfpack in scoring with 12.8 PPG and 3.5 RPG while Jayden Taylor has 12.2 PPG as the lone pair of double-digit scorers for NC State so far this season. Ben Middlebrooks has 9.4 PPG with 4.2 RPG and Dontrez Styles has 9.6 PPG with 4.5 RPG while Brandon Huntley-Hatfield has 8.9 PPG with a team-high 5.1 RPG to lead the Wolfpack in rebounding so far this season. Michael O’Connell also has 6.7 PPG with 3 RPG and a team-high 3.7 APG to lead NC State in the assist department so far this season. As a team, NC State is averaging 72.5 PPG on 45.8% shooting from the field, 32.6% from behind the arc and 69.6% from the foul line this season.

Why the NC State Wolfpack will win

• The home team has won each of NC State’s last seven games.

Total Points Facts

• Each of North Carolina’s last 10 road day games against Conference opponents have produced a total of 152 or fewer points.
• Thirteen of NC State’s last 14 games have produced a total of 153 or fewer points.

North Carolina vs. NC State Prediction

I’m with North Carolina here. I get that it’s NC State catching points as a home dog in a rivalry matchup, but I just have not been high on this NC State team whatsoever this season as I just don’t think they’re very good. This Tar Heels team isn’t really scaring anyone either, but they have great guards with a ton of experience, and the Tar Heels are in the favorite role which is big as the favorite has covered in 7 of the last 10 meetings between these two teams. Give me North Carolina in this one.