The first game of Saturday's annual CBS Sports Classic doubleheader is a dandy between No. 18 UCLA and North Carolina inside historic Madison Square Garden. The Bruins and Tar Heels meet up at 3 p.m. ET with UNC carrying a 2-0 record over UCLA in the series dating back to 2014 but a small underdog in this one as both teams go different directions entering the holidays.
UCLA has won nine consecutive games after a 1-1 start and has defeated Oregon and Arizona as part of a big December ascent into the top 20 of the college basketball rankings. UNC on the other hand has lost four of its last six games as part of its worst start (6-4) since 2001-02.
Oddsmakers nonetheless have this one pegged as a close one with UNC's offense thus far its only redeemable trait that could slingshot it back to contention in the ACC race and beyond. UCLA's defense, however, looms large as it continues to string together big games behind a turnover-forcing unit that rates as the best in the sport.
How to watch UNC vs. No. 18 UCLA live
Date: Saturday, Dec. 21 | Time: 3 p.m. ET
Location: Madison Square Garden -- New York,
TV: CBS | Live stream: CBSSports.com, CBS Sports App (Free)
Streaming on Paramount+ with Showtime (Try It Free)
UNC vs. UCLA prediction, picks
Odds via SportsLine consensus
How a team has played recently isn't always a predictor of how a team will play in its next game, but it's hard to ignore how rough UNC and its flailing defense has looked in contrast to how well UCLA and its chaos-creating defense has looked and think the Tar Heels can win this one. It may be close, but Bruins get this one done by more than a possession. Prediction: UCLA -2
Who will win and cover in every college basketball game? Visit SportsLine to get picks from the model that simulates each game 10,000 times and is up more than $1,200 for $100 players on its top-rated spread picks the past six years.