Syracuse Orange vs North Carolina Tar Heels Prediction, 2/2/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Syracuse Orange vs North Carolina Tar Heels

Date: Monday, February 2, 2026

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

TV: ESPN

The Syracuse Orange (12-9) are on their way to Dean E. Smith Center on Monday where they will go up against the North Carolina Tar Heels (16-4).

The Syracuse Orange faced off with North Carolina State and walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 88-68 in their last contest. Syracuse finished with a 38.8% FG percentage (26 out of 67) and knocked down 7 of their 23 3-pointers. At the free throw line, the Orange converted 9 of their 16 tries for a rate of 56.3%. In relation to grabbing boards, they compiled 32 with 15 of them being of the offensive sort. They also recorded 10 assists in this matchup while forcing the opposition into 11 turnovers and earning 8 steals. With regard to defending, Syracuse allowed 50.8% from the field on 33 out of 65 shooting. North Carolina State totaled 21 dimes and had 8 steals for the game. In addition, North Carolina State collected 44 boards (15 offensive, 29 defensive), but finished the game with no rejections. North Carolina State went 83.3% at the free throw line by converting 15 of 18 tries. They made 7 of 24 attempts from downtown. Concerning personal fouls, the Orange walked away with 15 while North Carolina State totaled 16 personal fouls.

Donnie Freeman is someone who had an impact in the game. He racked up 24 points on 9 of 18 shooting. He was on the hardwood for 34 minutes and also collected 10 boards. He finished the contest at 50.0% from the floor but didn't record a dime.

Get all of our NCAA Picks Tonight

Syracuse comes into this matchup with a record of 12-9 for the season. They currently have an average of 75.3 points per outing (211th in D-1) while going 46.7% from the field. The Orange are hitting 33.3% on shots from downtown (147 of 441) and 63.4% from the free throw line. As a unit, Syracuse is pulling in 35.2 boards per game and is sitting with 277 assists for the year, which ranks 260th in D-1 in terms of passing the ball. They are giving up possession 11.6 times per contest and as a group they commit 16.4 personal fouls per contest.

On defense, the Orange are able to force 13.3 turnovers per contest while drawing 18.8 fouls. They give up 31.8% on 3-point attempts and they rank 81st in the country in opponents points per game (69.9). The Orange defensively are allowing a FG percentage of 41.9% (517 of 1,233) and they relinquish 36.5 rebounds per contest as a group. They rank 154th in college hoops in giving up assists to the opposition with 276 surrendered this year.

When they last played, the North Carolina Tar Heels walked away with a victory by a final of 85-80 when they played Virginia. In relation to attacking the glass, North Carolina allowed Virginia to snag 38 overall (13 on the offensive side). They finished shooting 29.6% from 3-point land by going 8 out of 27 and finished the contest at 14 of 20 at the free throw line (70.0%). The Tar Heels permitted Virginia to make 29 of their 64 tries from the floor which had them shooting 45.3% for the game. In all, the Tar Heels shot 30 for 61 from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 49.2%. In the matter of 3-pointers, North Carolina made 10 out of their 22 attempts (45.5%). They were able to knock down 15 of the free throws for a percentage of 68.2%. Virginia had 18 personal fouls in this matchup which got the Tar Heels to the charity stripe for 22 shots. They coughed up the ball 4 times, while recording 5 steals for this contest. The Tar Heels pulled down 17 defensive rebounds and 8 offensive boards totaling 25 for the contest.

Caleb Wilson ended up being a major contributor for the Tar Heels in this game. He earned 20 points in his 34 minutes on the hardwood and earned 2 assists in the matchup. He converted 8 of 12 in this contest for a field goal percentage of 66.7%, and accounted for 4 rebounds.

North Carolina has a win-loss mark of 16-4 so far this year. The Tar Heels are committing 14.9 personal fouls per contest while shooting 67.6% from the free throw line. They are earning an assist 17.1 times per contest (44th in D-1) and they are losing possession via turnover 9.9 times per game. North Carolina has totaled 1,651 pts on the campaign (82.6 per game) and they average 40.1 rebounds per game. On the offensive side of the ball, the Tar Heels are hitting on 48.2% from the field, which ranks 45th in the nation.

The North Carolina defense allows 33.6% on 3-pointers (166 of 494) and opponents are knocking down 69.4% of their free throw attempts. They give up 12.9 assists and 33.7 total rebounds per game, which ranks 140th and 132nd in college hoops. The Tar Heels on the defensive side of the court are 88th in college in PPG allowed with 70.1. They are able to force 9.6 turnovers on a nightly basis and allow teams to shoot 39.9% from the field (27th in college hoops).

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take North Carolina

Get $60 worth of FREE premium member picks. No Obligation. No Salesman. No Credit Card. Fast Sign up with Instant Access Click Here

Get college basketball picks on every single game, or if you want our very best bets by the experts, sign up for your free $60 account with a guarantee.