North Carolina vs. Wake Forest Prediction, Odds & Score Picks: ACC Quarterfinal Best Bets Today

Fifth-seeded North Carolina will try to keep its NCAA Tournament hopes alive against fourth-seeded Wake Forest today at 2:30 p.m. ET (ESPN) from Spectrum Center in Charlotte, N.C.

Both teams likely need a deep ACC Tournament run to secure a March Madness bid. Despite being the lower seed, the Tar Heels are 5.5-point favorites.

When these teams met earlier this season, Wake Forest edged out a one-point win at home. Check out our best North Carolina vs. Wake Forest prediction, odds, and expert picks for today’s ACC quarterfinal clash.

📈 North Carolina vs. Wake Forest odds movement

North Carolina opened as a 5.5-point favorite against Wake Forest with the line at our best sports betting apps bouncing between -5.5 and -6 for the Tar Heels as tip approaches. The public is all over North Carolina with 85% of bettors taking the Tar Heels to cover, according to BetMGM.

💰 North Carolina vs. Wake Forest predictions, expert picks & best bets: ACC quarterfinal today

Here are my best North Carolina vs. Wake Forest predictions, expert picks, and best bets today for ACC quarterfinal with my pick confidence based on a 1-to-5-star scale. Be sure to check out the rest of our college basketball picks along with our guide on how to bet on college basketball.

• Against the spread pick: North Carolina -5.5 (-105 via BetMGM) vs. Wake Forest ⭐⭐⭐⭐
• My best player prop bet: Hunter Sallis Over 1.5 assists (+100 via bet365) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
• Exact score prediction: North Carolina 80, Wake Forest 69 (+15000 via DraftKings)

👉 Check out our latest March Madness projections with our SBR Bracketology ahead of the NCAA Tournament!

🏀 North Carolina vs. Wake Forest ATS prediction & best player prop bet pick

Here's why I'm betting on North Carolina to cover the spread (-5.5) while targeting Hunter Sallis Over 1.5 assists as my best player prop bet pick for today:

✅ North Carolina to cover the spread (-5.5) ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Yesterday, I foolishly bet against the Tar Heels. I won’t be making the same mistake again. The Tar Heels have now won seven of their last eight games. During that stretch, all but one of their wins was by at least 10 points, and they won four of those seven games by at least 19 points. 

Meanwhile, it’s hard to be excited about the Demon Deacons entering this game. They’ve lost three of their last five, including an 85-73 loss to a North Carolina State team that didn’t even qualify for the ACC tournament.

The Demon Deacons may have picked up the win on Jan. 21, but the Tar Heels were a much different team back then. Since that contest, they are 9-4 and three of their losses are to Duke and Clemson. With how the Tar Heels are playing right now, they may win this game by double digits.

📊 Best odds: -105 via BetMGM (bet $10 to win $9.52)

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🔥 Hunter Sallis Over 1.5 assists ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

With bet365 offering this prop for +100, it is one of the best plays of the day. Not only is Sallis averaging 2.8 assists per game, but he’s also dished out at least two assists in 10 consecutive games. He didn’t assist on a single basket in the prior meeting between these two teams, but he’s done more than enough since then to prove that performance was a fluke. 

The Tar Heels allow an average of 12.8 assists per game, which ranks 147th in the country. Since this is neither a good nor bad matchup, there’s no reason to expect Sallis to do anything more or less than what he’s done lately. Even though the Demon Deacons could get blown out in this game, back Sallis to continue his consistent play.

📊 Best odds: +100 via bet365 (bet $10 to win $10)

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🎯 Expert North Carolina vs. Wake Forest score prediction

🔮 Expert score prediction: North Carolina 80, Wake Forest 69

On Jan. 21, the Demon Deacons defeated the Tar Heels 67-66. The Tar Heels have seemed to find themselves since that game. The Tar Heels have scored at least 80 points in six of their last eight games, and they likely would have hit the number yesterday had they not been blowing out Notre Dame.

The Demon Deacons average only 70.5 points per game, and though the Tar Heels are allowing 75.5 per game, I’m taking the Demon Deacons to fall short of their season average today. They’ve scored fewer than 70 points in back-to-back games, and even though they’ll be fresh today, I expect them to struggle early as they adjust to the tournament and the pressure of a must-win game.

📊 Best odds: +15000 via DraftKings (bet $10 to win $1,500)

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📊 Live North Carolina vs. Wake Forest odds & latest betting splits

Here are the latest odds for North Carolina vs. Wake Forest, which update live in real time. You can also check out our NEW college basketball player prop odds tool for the latest college basketball odds on any market across legal sportsbooks in your region.

🔢 North Carolina vs. Wake Forest opening odds

Here's a look at the opening odds for North Carolina vs. Wake Forest according to BetMGM.

• Spread: North Carolina -5.5 (-105) | Wake Forest +5.5 (-115)
• Moneyline: North Carolina -225 | Wake Forest +185
• Over/Under: Over 148.5 (-105) | Under 148.5 (-115)

🏆 Who will win North Carolina vs. Wake Forest?

As of Thursday morning, North Carolina is favored by 5.5 points to beat Wake Forest with moneyline odds of -225 at BetMGM, which suggest a 69.23% win probability for the Tar Heels. We're predicting an 80-69 win for Tar Heels as our final score projection.

So far, bettors are nearly even split on both the spread and total, illustrating just how tough these tournament games can be to bet on.

📺 How to watch North Carolina vs. Wake Forest today

📅 Date: Thursday, March 13
🕗 Time: 2:30 p.m. ET
📍 Location: Spectrum Center (Charlotte, N.C.)
📺 TV: ESPN
💻 Streaming: ESPN+

❓ North Carolina vs. Wake Forest FAQs

Who's favored to win the ACC tournament?

The Duke Blue Devils are heavily favored to win the ACC tournament.

Who is favored to win North Carolina vs. Wake Forest?

The Tar Heels are moneyline favorites of -225, suggesting they have a 69.23% chance of winning.

What are the betting odds for North Carolina vs. Wake Forest?

The latest spread is North Carolina -5.5 (-105) | Wake Forest +5.5 (-115), with a total of 148.5 points (-110).

What will be the final score of North Carolina vs. Wake Forest?

We're predicting a final score of North Carolina 80, Wake Forest 69 entering today's matchup at Spectrum Center.

What time is North Carolina vs. Wake Forest today?

North Carolina vs. Wake Forest will tip off today at 2:30 p.m. ET.

⛹️ Best college basketball betting sites

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