Saturday's college basketball slate pits in-state rivals against one another when No. 8 UNC travels to Joel Coliseum to face Wake Forest at 12 p.m. ET. The Tar Heels (19-5, 9-2) are coming off their second loss in ACC play, while Wake Forest (9-14, 2-9) enters Saturday's showdown having lost nine of its last 11 games overall. UNC has absolutely dominated this in-state rivalry in recent years, winning nine of its last 10 meetings against the Demon Deacons. The Tar Heels are favored by 17 points, while the over-under, or total points Vegas thinks will be scored, is set at 159.5 in the latest North Carolina vs. Wake Forest odds. Before you make any North Carolina vs. Wake Forest picks or college basketball predictions, you'll want to see what SportsLine's advanced computer model has to say.
This model, which simulates every game 10,000 times, has raked in the winnings for those following its picks. Over the past two years, the SportsLine Projection Model has returned over $5,200 to $100 players on its top-rated college basketball picks. It also entered Week 15 of the 2018-19 college basketball season on a blistering 99-67 run on top-rated college basketball picks against the spread. Anyone who has followed it is way up.
Now it's locked in on North Carolina vs. Wake Forest. We can tell you it's leaning under, but it's also locked in a confident against the spread pick that hits in almost 60 percent of simulations. You can only see that selection at SportsLine.
The model is well aware that the Tar Heels feature one of the nation's most explosive offenses. In fact, UNC ranks second in the nation in scoring offense, averaging 88.3 points per game this season.
The Tar Heels' offense will need another huge performance from senior guard Cameron Johnson if they want to avoid their second straight conference loss. Johnson has been filling the stat sheet in recent weeks, averaging 21 points in his last three conference road games. And he's been lethal from behind the arc during that span, knocking down 12 of his last 19 3-point attempts on the road. Plus, the Tar Heels have been red-hot against-the-spread away from home this season, covering in five straight road games.
But just because the Tar Heels feature one of the nation's top scoring offenses doesn't mean they can cover the North Carolina vs. Wake Forest spread.
Despite their recent losing skid, the Demon Deacons have an explosive playmaker that can take over a game. Junior guard Brandon Childress enters Saturday's showdown averaging 15.1 points, 4.1 assists and 3.5 rebounds per game this season.
He's a difficult matchup for opposing defenders, who's knocked down 50 percent of his three point attempts in his last two games. If he's able to knock down shots from behind the arc on Saturday, the Demon Deacons will have a great chance at covering the spread at home.
So which side of the North Carolina vs. Wake Forest spread hits in well over 50 percent of simulations? Visit SportsLine now to find out which side of the UNC vs. Wake Forest spread you need to jump on, all from the model that has crushed college hoops, and find out.