Duke Blue Devils vs North Carolina Tar Heels Prediction, 2/7/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Duke Blue Devils vs North Carolina Tar Heels

Date: Saturday, February 7, 2026

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

TV: ESPN

The North Carolina Tar Heels (18-4) host the Duke Blue Devils (21-1) at Dean E. Smith Center on Saturday.

The Duke Blue Devils faced off with Boston College and took home the win by a score of 67-49 in their last contest. Regarding fouls, the Blue Devils ended up with 13 and Boston College racked up 13 fouls. They made 5 of 20 shots from beyond the perimeter. Boston College walked away from this one shooting 44.4% from the free throw line by knocking down 4 of 9 attempts. On top of that, Boston College grabbed 30 rebounds (7 offensive, 23 defensive), but didn't have a block. Boston College distributed 8 assists and had 2 steals for this contest. With respect to the defense, Duke allowed 38.5% from the field on 20 of 52 shooting. They also dished out 15 assists for the contest as well as forcing the other team into 11 turnovers and getting 10 steals. In terms of pulling down boards, they compiled 34 with 7 of them being on the offensive end. At the free throw line, the Blue Devils converted 14 of 20 tries for a percentage of 70.0%. Duke walked away from the game having earned a 48.0% field goal percentage (24 out of 50) and buried 5 out of their 18 3-point shots.

Cameron Boozer is someone who played a role in this matchup. He racked up 19 points on 9 of 17 shooting. He played 34 minutes and also pulled down 12 boards. He finished the contest at 52.9% from the floor and also recorded 2 assists.

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Duke enters this matchup with a mark of 21-1 on the season. They have an average of 84.1 pts per contest (36th in D-1) while shooting 49.9% from the floor. The Blue Devils are shooting 33.8% on shots from distance (193 of 571) and 71.6% from the charity stripe. As a team, Duke is collecting 39.9 boards per contest and has accounted for 376 assists this year, which ranks 61st in the nation in terms of passing the ball. They turn it over 11.1 times per contest and as a group they are committing 16.0 personal fouls per contest.

On defense, the Blue Devils are forcing their opponents into 13.5 turnovers per game and they draw 19.4 personal fouls. They rank 60th in college in allowing assists to the opposition with 264 conceded so far this year. The Blue Devils are allowing an opponent shooting percentage of 39.0% (503 of 1,291) and they relinquish 30.1 rebounds per game as a group. They are giving up 30.8% on shots from beyond the arc and they are 8th in D-1 in points per game allowed (63.6).

When they last stepped on the hardwood, the North Carolina Tar Heels went home victorious with a score of 87-77 against Syracuse. In reference to cleaning the glass, North Carolina allowed Syracuse to pull down 28 in total (10 on the offensive side). They shot 33.3% from behind the 3-point line by connecting on 6 out of 18 and ended up going 13 out of 19 at the charity stripe (68.4%). The Tar Heels allowed Syracuse to convert 29 of their 65 attempts from the field which gave them a rate of 44.6% in this contest. When this game wrapped up, the Tar Heels ended up shooting 27 out of 56 from the floor which had them shooting 48.2%. With regard to shooting from downtown, North Carolina converted 8 of 18 tries (44.4%). They were able to make 25 of the free throw attempts for a percentage of 71.4%. Syracuse earned 24 fouls in the matchup which got the Tar Heels to the charity stripe for a total of 35 attempts. They also gave up possession of the ball 11 times, while recording 3 steals for this contest. The Tar Heels were able to snag 26 defensive rebounds and 11 offensive boards for a total of 37 in this contest.

Caleb Wilson pitched in for the Tar Heels in this game. He earned 22 points in his 32 mins of playing time and totaled 1 assist for the matchup. He converted 6 of 14 for this game for a field goal percentage of 42.9%, and accounted for 9 rebounds.

North Carolina has a win-loss record of 18-4 for the season. In terms of offensive execution, the Tar Heels are hitting on 48.1% from the field, which ranks them 44th in Division 1. North Carolina has tallied 1,829 points for the campaign (83.1 per contest) and they pull down 40.0 rebounds per contest. Their rate of assisting teammates is at 17.2 times per contest (36th in college) and they turn it over 9.5 times per game. The Tar Heels commit 14.9 fouls every game and they hit 68.4% from the charity stripe.

The North Carolina defense allows 34.1% on three-point shots (179 of 525) and opponents are connecting on 69.9% of their shots from the free throw line. They concede 12.7 assists and 33.7 boards on a nightly basis, which ranks them 125th and 134th in college hoops. The Tar Heels on the defensive end are ranked 96th in college in points allowed per game with 70.6. They are forcing 9.7 TO's every game and have let teams shoot 40.3% from the floor (34th in the country).

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Duke

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