Ohio State vs North Carolina Prediction 12/20/2025 Today’s College Basketball Picks

The North Carolina Tar Heels and the Ohio State Buckeyes meet Saturday in college basketball action from State Farm Arena in Atlanta. Here’s a North Carolina vs Ohio State prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best North Carolina vs Ohio State 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.

North Carolina Tar Heels Betting Preview

The Tar Heels opened up the year on a nice win streak, taking out Central Arkansas, Kansas, Radford, NC Central, Navy and Saint Bonaventure over their first half-dozen outings. North Carolina would lose their first game to Michigan State after that, but they’ve since dispatched Kentucky, Georgetown, USC Upstate and East Tennessee State for a nice 10-1 overall run across the first 11 games of the year.

In Tuesday’s matchup with East Tennessee State, the Tar Heels held an eight-point edge going into the second half. North Carolina hit a 39-28 run the rest of the way and won it 77-58 in the end. Tops in scoring was Henri Veesaar with 26 points, eight boards and two assists. The only other player to finish in double-digits for the Tar heels was Caleb Wilson with 20 points, eight rebounds and two assists.

Ohio State Buckeyes Betting Preview

Over on the Buckeyes’ side, they kicked off their season on a win streak as well, taking out IUPUI, Fort Wayne, App State, Notre Dame, Western Michigan and Mount St. Mary’s before their first loss to Pittsburgh in game seven. Since then it’s been a 2-1 run with a loss to Illinois in between wins over Northwestern and West Virginia. That gives the Buckeyes an 8-2 run over their first 10 outings.

Matched up against West Virginia last weekend, the Buckeyes were down by 10 points going into the second half. Ohio State fought back to force overtime and eventually won a thriller 89-88 after two extra periods. Topping the scorers was Bruce Thornton with 23 points, and Christoph Tilly doubled up on 14 points, 12 rebounds and five assists in 43 minutes of work.

Ohio State Buckeyes @ North Carolina Tar Heels Betting Trends: December 20, 2025

Why the North Carolina Tar Heels will win

• North Carolina has won 18 of its last 19 games against non-AP-ranked opponents.
• Ohio State has lost five of its last six day games against AP-ranked opponents at a neutral venue.
• Ohio State has lost the first half in six of its last seven day games against AP-ranked opponents at a neutral venue.

Why the Ohio State Buckeyes will win

• Ohio State has won seven of its last eight games against non-Conference opponents at neutral venues.
• North Carolina has lost three of its last four games as an AP-ranked team at neutral venues.

Total Points Facts

• Eight of North Carolina’s last nine day games have produced a total of 147 or fewer points.
• Each of Ohio State’s last four games against AP-ranked opponents at a neutral venue have produced a total of 152 or fewer points.

North Carolina vs Ohio State Prediction

I’ll stay with North Carolina, but this should be a pretty fun matchup regardless. The Tar Heels didn’t have too much trouble keeping ETSU at bay in their latest win, shooting 54 percent from the field with a 35-21 rebounding edge and just seven turnovers. The free-throw shooting could have been better (15-of-23 for 65.2 percent) but that’s about the only thing to complain about. Since their 58-point dud in the loss to Michigan State on November 27, the Tar Heels have 77 or more points in three of four games, with all four being wins.

As for Ohio State, they rallied to dispatch a pesky West Virginia team in their last outing, shooting 44.4 percent from the field, 84 percent (21-of-25) from the line and notching a 48-22 advantage on points in the paint. The Buckeyes were pretty bad from 3-point range though, making just four of 21 attempts (19 percent). Ohio State has scored well themselves over the last three games (buoyed by one overtime finish) with 80 or more points in each of those. We should have a pretty good total here.

Andrew Jett's Pick: North Carolina Tar Heels -2.5