Syracuse at North Carolina NCAAB Odds & Prediction

A recent trip to the West Coast that saw North Carolina lose to Cal and Stanford could have been devastating for the program. Instead the Tar Heels regrouped, blowing out Notre Dame and beating No. 14 Virginia on the road, moving back over .500 in ACC play. A 20-point loss to NC State on Tuesday was the fourth straight setback for Syracuse.

Syracuse at North Carolina Preview

The first of 2 meetings in the span of 3 weeks between the Syracuse Orange and North Carolina Tar Heels takes place on Monday, February 2, 2026 from the Dean Smith Center in Chapel Hill, NC. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET with the game airing on ESPN.

Public Betting Odds Factors

Both teams play on Saturday prior to their Monday showdown. Cuse hosts Notre Dame before opening a 2-game road trip that also sees them at Virginia on Feb. 7. UNC returns home after its 2-game trip concludes at Georgia Tech.

This is a perfect trap game scenario for UNC. The Heels better not be looking ahead to their showdown with ACC leader and Tobacco Road rival Duke on Feb. 7. The Heels are good boasting a 16-4 overall record, but they aren’t good enough to look past a hungry Syracuse squad.

It appears as though the Heels have broken out of a mini-slump that saw them lose 3 of 4 games at the start of January. The slide began with a loss at SMU and following a close win over Wake Forest continued with setbacks to Stanford and Cal, where they lost outright as the favorite on the NCAA basketball spread and went 0-4 ATS.

How quickly things can change in the ACC. Two weeks ago the Orange were riding high beating Florida State for their third straight win and sixth in 7 games. They were upset by BC, 81-73, in overtime in their next game starting a 4-game slide where they failed to earn a payout.

Scoring the basketball has been a concern all season for Syracuse. They failed to score more than 76 points in any game during their 4-game slide and have scored more than 80 points 4 times in their last 18 games. They rank 14th in the 18-team ACC in points per game.

The Orange has been good defensively allowing them to have a winning record. They allow fewer than 70 points per game, but each of their last 7 opponents have scored more than 70 with the OVER 6-1 in those games.

Syracuse at North Carolina Predictions

Caleb Wilson has been a dominant force for the Heels averaging 19.9 points and shooting nearly 59 percent from the field. He scored 20 points on 8 of 12 shooting in the upset win over Virginia and he’s scored at least 20 points in 12 of his last 14 games. He’s also second in the ACC averaging 10.1 rebounds.

Interior defense has been a problem for Syracuse during their current skid. Miami’s Malik Reneau had 20 points and 11 boards and NC State’s Ven-Allen Lubin had 18 points and 9 boards. Combined those players were 16 of 20 from the field.

Syracuse at North Carolina Betting Tips

The Orange lost its last 2 road games getting upset by Boston College as a 6.5-point favorite and falling by 20 to NC State when catching 10.5-points. They allowed more than 80 points in those games, more than 10 points more than their season average.

Syracuse has lost its last 4 games SU and against the college basketball spread and is 9-12 ATS this season. They’ve also cashed the UNDER in 2 straight and in 6 of their last 7 games.

In their first 7 ACC games, the Heels have either scored a lot, given up a lot or done both. They have gone OVER the closing total in each of their last 6 conference matchups.

UNC has protected its home court sporting the best home record in the ACC at 12-0. And the Heels are 8-4 ATS in those games.

Syracuse at North Carolina Head to Head and Key Stats

UNC won the most recent meeting, 88-82, last Feb. for its fourth win in the last 5 matchups. Syracuse covered the line in that game and has 3 payouts in the last 4 games.