California Golden Bears vs North Carolina Tar Heels Prediction, 1/15/2025 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: California Golden Bears vs North Carolina Tar Heels

Date: Wednesday, January 15, 2025

Location: Dean E. Smith Center in Chapel Hill, NC

TV: ESPN+

The California Golden Bears (8-8) are headed to Dean E. Smith Center on Wednesday where they will attempt to defeat the North Carolina Tar Heels (11-6).

The California Golden Bears faced off with Virginia Tech and walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 71-68 in their last contest. When it comes to fouls, the Golden Bears walked away with 15 while Virginia Tech finished the game with 18 fouls. They knocked down 4 of their 8 shots from beyond the arc. Virginia Tech finished 64.7% when shooting free throws by converting 11 of their 17 shots. On top of that, Virginia Tech had 37 rebounds (7 offensive, 30 defensive), but didn't record a block for the team. Virginia Tech doled out 12 assists and had 1 steal in this game. When talking about defending, California allowed their opponent to shoot 57.1% from the field on 28 out of 49 shooting. They also doled out 10 assists for the contest as well as forcing the other team into 12 turnovers and having 6 steals. In regard to getting rebounds, they earned 35 with 17 of them being of the offensive variety. At the free throw line, the Golden Bears buried 17 of their 21 attempts for a rate of 81.0%. California wrapped up the contest with a 32.4% FG percentage (22 out of 68) and made 7 out of their 27 shots from downtown.

Andrej Stojakovic is a guy who was a major factor in the matchup. He ended up shooting 40.0% from the floor and dished out 1 assist. He saw the court for 34 minutes and also collected 2 boards. He recorded 24 points on 8 out of 20 shooting.

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California will take the court with a record of 8-8 on the campaign. They turn it over 11.9 times per contest and as a squad are committing 17.3 fouls on a nightly basis. As a team, California is pulling down 36.5 boards per contest and has tallied 162 dimes this year, which ranks 358th in the country in terms of passing the ball. The Golden Bears are connecting on 35.0% on shots from distance (122 of 349) and 75.5% from the charity stripe. They currently have an average of 77.0 pts per contest (137th in D-1) while hitting 44.3% from the field.

Defensively, the Golden Bears have forced 11.5 turnovers every game and they draw 19.6 personal fouls. They are currently ranked 122nd in college hoops in allowing assists to the opposition with 202 relinquished so far this season. The Golden Bears defense is giving up and opponent field goal percentage of 47.1% (432 of 918) and they relinquish 32.5 boards per contest as a squad. They are giving up 37.4% from beyond the arc and they are 283rd in Division 1 in PPG allowed (75.5).

The last time they took the hardwood, the North Carolina Tar Heels took home the win by a final score of 63-61 when they played North Carolina State. The Tar Heels snagged 26 defensive rebounds and 11 offensive rebounds totaling 37 for the game. They also coughed it up 12 times, while earning 5 steals for this game. North Carolina State earned 10 personal fouls for the contest which got the Tar Heels to the charity stripe for a total of 8 shots. They were able to make 4 of them for a percentage of 50.0%. When it comes to 3-point shots, North Carolina knocked down 7 out of their 19 tries (36.8%). When the game finished, the Tar Heels shot 26 out of 60 from the floor which gave them a rate of 43.3%. The Tar Heels permitted North Carolina State to convert 24 out of their 65 attempts from the field which had them shooting 36.9% for this contest. They finished 15.8% from distance by shooting 3 out of 19 and walked away from this one shooting 10 of 12 from the free throw line (83.3%). When it comes to attacking the glass, North Carolina permitted North Carolina State to grab 36 overall (16 on the offensive side).

Ian Jackson pitched in for the Tar Heels for the matchup. He earned 21 points in his 32 minutes of playing time and accounted for 1 assist in this matchup. He converted 8 out of 15 in this contest for a field goal percentage of 53.3%, and tallied 2 rebounds.

North Carolina has a win-loss record of 11-6 this year. The Tar Heels commit 18.6 personal fouls every game while shooting 74.0% from the free throw line. They are assisting teammates 14.5 times per contest (140th in college hoops) and they are giving up possession 11.4 times per game. North Carolina has totaled 1,414 points this season (83.2 per game) and they grab 38.1 rebounds per contest. As an offense, the Tar Heels are connecting on 47.1% from the floor, which is 79th in the country.

The North Carolina defense gives up 33.1% on shots from distance (143 of 432) and opponents are connecting on 73.5% of their free throw shots. They have given up 12.9 dimes and 36.6 rebounds every game, ranking them 175th and 287th in those categories on the defensive end. The Tar Heels are ranked 317th in D-1 in PPG given up with 77.4. They are forcing 11.5 turnovers per game and allow teams to shoot 42.1% from the field (122nd in college hoops).

Who will win tonight's NCAA game against the spread?

Tony Sink's Pick: Take California

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