North Carolina vs California Prediction 1/15/25 College Basketball Picks Today

The California Golden Bears and the North Carolina Tar Heels meet Wednesday in college basketball action from Dean Smith Center. Here’s a North Carolina vs California prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best North Carolina vs California pick.

California Golden Bears Betting Preview

The Golden Bears opened up their year on a nice run, however, they’ve hit the skids since the beginning of December and things haven’t gone very well lately. California hit a 6-1 stretch out of the gate, losing to only Vanderbilt alongside wins over Cal State Bakersfield, Cal Poly, USC, Air Force, Sacramento State, and Mercyhurst. Since then it’s been a tough 2-7 run over the last nine games for the Golden Bears. In that time Cal has wins over only Northwestern State and Virginia. Otherwise, it’s been losses to Missouri, Stanford, Cornell, San Diego State, Pittsburgh, Clemson, and Virginia Tech in that time.

In the Virginia Tech matchup back on Saturday, the Bears came out of the break looking up at a 42-23 deficit on the scoreboard. California came back in the second half on a 45-29 run and made a game of it but eventually lost 71-68 in the end. Leading the team in scoring was Andrej Stojakovic with 24 points, two boards, one assist, and one steal. The only other player on the team to finish in double-figures was Jereamiah Wilkinson, who came off the bench to provide 14 points with three rebounds in 28 minutes of work. both DJ Campbell and Jovan Blacksher chipped in five points apiece and a combined six assists in starting roles.

North Carolina Tar Heels Betting Preview

Over on the Tar Heels’ side, they had a rough stretch of games in late November and into December, but otherwise, they’ve played pretty well this year. North Carolina won four of their first five games, taking out Elon, American, Hawaii, and Dayton with a lone loss to Kansas mixed in. A 2-4 stretch came next with wins over Georgia Tech and La Salle among losses to Auburn, Michigan State, Alabama, and Florida. Since then it’s been a 5-1 record for the Tar Heels with a loss to Louisville among wins versus UCLA, Campbell, Notre Dame, SMU, and NC State for an 11-6 overall record through 17 games so far this season.

In the NC State matchup over the weekend, North Carolina was up by six points going into the second half. The Tar Heels were outscored 41-37 the rest of the way but held on to take the road victory 63-61. Ian Jackson led the team in scoring with 21 points and two rebounds. Jalen Washington doubled up on 11 points, three blocks, and 12 boards, while RJ Davis added 11 points with two rebounds and two assists. Elliot Cadeau put up 11 rebounds as well.

Why the North Carolina Tar Heels will win

• North Carolina has won each of its last 10 games at Dean E. Smith Center against non-AP-ranked opponents.
• California has lost nine of its last 10 games against the Atlantic Coast Conference.
• North Carolina has won the first half in each of its last seven games at Dean E. Smith Center against non-AP-ranked opponents.

North Carolina vs California Prediction

I’ll lean toward UNC here. The Tar Heels didn’t have the greatest second half in their rivalry win over NC State over the weekend and eventually coughed up 12 turnovers for 15 Wolf Pack points. North Carolina shot well enough (43.3 percent) and had a 40-38 rebounding edge overall in the win, posting 17 team assists along the way. The 63 points were the Tar Heels’ lowest total of the season so far however, so it’d be nice to see them get to the basket a little more in this matchup.

As for California, they were highly permissive on defense against a middling Virginia Tech team in their last outing with 57.1 percent shooting allowed. The Bears shot just 32.4 percent from the field themselves and got out-rebounded 38-35 in the three-point loss. Cal has been below 69 points in three of their last four losses, but generally, they’re a pretty reliable team when it comes to scoring this year. That said, North Carolina should have the advantage on the scoreboard if the Tar Heels play to their capabilities. It’s a bit of a hefty line all things considered, however in a comfortable home matchup North Carolina should be able to stretch their legs a little bit.