Conference realignment has created some less-than-ideal travel situations, and the California Golden Bears will make the long weeknight trip to take on the North Carolina Tar Heels in the new-look ACC on Wednesday. UNC is 11-6 on the season and 4-1 in conference play while Cal is 8-8 overall and 1-4 in the league. This will be the first meeting between these programs since 1998.
Tipoff from the Dean E. Smith Center in Chapel Hill, N.C. is set for 7 p.m. ET. The Tar Heels are 14.5-point home favorites in the latest North Carolina vs. California odds from SportsLine consensus, while the over/under for total points scored is 161.5. Before entering any California vs. North Carolina picks, check out the college basketball predictions from the SportsLine Projection Model.
The model simulates every Division 1 college basketball game 10,000 times. It enters Week 11 of the 2024-25 season on a 195-134 betting roll (+2882) on all top-rated college basketball picks dating back to 2023. Anyone following at sportsbooks and on betting apps could have seen huge returns.
The model has set its sights on UNC vs. California. You can head to SportsLine to see its picks. Here are several college basketball betting lines and trends for Cal vs. North Carolina:
- North Carolina vs. California spread: UNC -14.5
- North Carolina vs. California over/under: 161 points
- North Carolina vs. California money line: North Carolina -1333, California +798
- North Carolina vs. California picks: See picks at SportsLine
- North Carolina vs. California streaming: FuboTV (Try for free)
Why you should back North Carolina
The Tar Heels are coming off a 63-61 victory over North Carolina State on and have now won seven of their last nine after a 4-4 start. However, the Tar Heels didn't cover the 4.5-point spread and are now 6-11 against the number on the season after failing to cover in four of their last five games.
Ian Jackson and Jalen Washington were among the main playmakers for UNC on Saturday, as the former went 8 for 15 en route to 21 points and the latter dropped a double-double on 11 points and 12 rebounds. The dominant performance also gave Washington a new career-high in offensive rebounds (six). See which team to pick here.
Why you should back California
The Golden Bears fell just short of Virginia Tech by a score of 71-68 on Saturday. The close matchup was extra heartbreaking for Cal, which almost overcame a 22-point deficit before ultimately falling.
California's defeat came about despite a quality game from Andrej Stojakovic, who scored 24 points. Stojakovic's evening made it three games in a row in which he has scored at least 22 points and the son of former NBA all-star Peja Stojakovic is averaging 20.3 points per game this season. See which team to pick here.
How to make North Carolina vs. California picks
The model has simulated California vs. North Carolina 10,000 times and the results are in. The model is leaning under, and it's also generated a point-spread pick that hits over 50% of the time. You can only get the pick at SportsLine.
So who wins North Carolina vs. California, and which side of the spread hits over 50% of the time? Visit SportsLine now to see which side of the spread to jump on, all from the advanced model that is up more than $2,800 on its college basketball picks dating back to 2023, and find out.
