The No. 5 seed North Carolina Tar Heels (21-13, 13-7 ACC) take on the No. 4 Wake Forest Demon Deacons (21-10, 13-7 ACC) in the ACC Tournament at 2:30pmeT. Check out this North Carolina vs Wake Forest prediction. This is a huge matchup in the ACC as both teams are considered on the bubble for the NCAA Tournament. Wake Forest beat North Carolina 67-66 when these teams played in Winston-Salem on January 21.
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Are they in with one more win?
North Carolina helped their NCAA Tournament chances with a 76-56 win over Notre Dame in the second round. Jae'Lyn Withers led the Tar Heels with 21 points and nine rebounds, and Ven-Allen Lubin had 17 points and 10 rebounds in the victory.
According to BartTorvik.com, North Carolina is No. 35 in the country which has them rated as the 4th best team in the ACC, and on the NCAA Tournament bubble. They are 19th in adjusted offensive efficiency and 70th on defense.
In ACC games, North Carolina averages 77.8 ppg (3rd). They are second in the conference shooting 47.9% from the floor, and sixth knocking down 37% of their threes. RJ Davis leads the team with 17.3 ppg, followed by Ian Jackson (13.3 ppg), and Seth Trimble (11.9 ppg). On defense, the Tar Heels allowed 73.4 ppg (12th).
Work to be done
Wake Forest likely needs a strong ACC Tournament performance to get into the NCAA Tournament. The Demon Deacons grabbed byes in the first two rounds, but have lost three of their last five games.
According to BartTorvik.com, Wake Forest is No. 70 in the country which has them rated as the 6th best team in the ACC. They are 128th in adjusted offensive efficiency and 40th on defense.
In ACC games, Wake Forest averages 72.2 ppg (10th). They are sixth in the conference shooting 46.2% from the floor, and 15th knocking down 31.8%. Hunter Sallis leads the team with 18 ppg, followed by Cameron Hildreth (14.9 ppg). On defense, the Demon Deacons have held their opponents to 70.2 ppg (4th).
Best Bets for North Carolina (UNC) vs. Wake Forest
Full-Game Side Bet
Insiders Status:
Wake Forest may be the slightly higher seed, but North Carolina is the better team. The Tar Heels have won seven of their last eight games, with their only loss coming against Duke. North Carolina looked determined in their win over Notre Dame, and they have too much firepower for Wake Forest to keep up. Wake Forest ranks last in the ACC in made three-pointers (5.3 per game), compared to North Carolina’s 7.8 per game. UNC also holds a significant edge in rebounding, ranking 4th in the ACC in rebounding margin (+3.4), while Wake Forest is 13th (-2.7). I’m backing North Carolina to cover the spread here.
Full-Game Total Pick
Insiders Status:
This is a critical game for both teams. A loss for Wake Forest would likely end their NCAA Tournament hopes, while North Carolina, though probably in, is no lock. Wake Forest ranks 4th in the ACC in defensive efficiency, and with extra prep time, they should have a solid game plan to slow down UNC. The first meeting between these teams resulted in just 133 points, and I expect another low-scoring affair.
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