The No.8 North Carolina Tar Heels (+1,300 to win the national title) took a step back in their quest to finish with the best record in the ACC after getting taken down by the No. 4 Virginia Cavalier. The good news for the Tar Heels is that they should be able to recover just fine with just the Wake Forest Demon Deacons (+200,000)as their assignment in their next game. But are we all in for a shock in Winston Salem?
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Betting Preview for the North Carolina Tar Heels vs. Wake Forest Demon Deacons College Basketball Game on February 16, 2019
Where: Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Winston Salem
When: Saturday, February 16, 2019, 12:00 PM ET
Line: North Carolina Tar Heels (odds) vs. Wake Forest Demon Deacons (odds) – view all NCAA Basketball lines
TV Broadcast: ESPN
Betting on the North Carolina Tar Heels (15-10 Overall / 6-5 Conference)
The Tar Heels lengthy streak is over. That’s after they lost to the Virginia Cavaliers at home on Monday, 69-61, ending the Tar Heels’ seven-game unbeaten run. North Carolina’s usually high-octane offense fizzled out against Virginia because that’s the Cavaliers does, which is to snuff the life out of opposing teams’ attack. A stout defense from their opponent shouldn’t be much of a problem for the Tar Heels this weekend, though, as Wake Forest has one of the worst defenses in the nation. According to KenPom, Wake Forest is 14th in defensive efficiency and 15th in opponents’ effective field goal percentage. As for the Tar Heels, they are their offense is ninth in the nation in terms of efficiency and second with 87.2 points per contest. What’s going to make it even harder for Wake Forest is North Carolina’s rebounding. The Tar Heels are tops in Division I with 43.2 boards per contest.
North Carolina is 5-0 against the spread (ATS) in its last five road games.
Betting on the Wake Forest Demon Deacons (10-14 Overall / 1-10 Conference)
While the Tar Heels saw their unbeaten streak end, the Demon Deacons, on the other hand, finally put an end to their five-game losing skid after pulling off a gutsy 8-76 overtime win at home against the Pittsburgh Panthers last week. It was a morale-boosting win for Wake Forests following a soul-crushing 64-37 road loss to the Clemson Tigers. Wake Forest is very unlikely to sneak into the Big Dance, but they have a promising freshman who could lead them to better campaigns in the future. That’s freshman Jaylen Hoard, who had a monster double-double performance in the Panthers game, putting up 19 points on 7-for-12 shooting from the field, grabbing 17 rebounds to go with four assists, three blocks, and an assist in 40 minutes.
The under is 4-1 in the Demon Deacons’ last five home games.
Writer’s Prediction
North Carolina wins, 90-73.
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