Virginia Cavaliers vs North Carolina State Wolfpack Prediction, 1/3/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Virginia Cavaliers vs NC State Wolfpack

Date: Saturday, January 3, 2026

Location: Lenovo Center in Raleigh, NC

TV: ESPN2

The NC State Wolfpack (10-4) host the Virginia Cavaliers (11-2) at Lenovo Center on Saturday.

The Virginia Cavaliers faced Virginia Tech and took a loss by a score of 95-85 in their last contest. Virginia walked away from the game having earned a 36.0% FG percentage (32 out of 89) and converted 10 of 45 3-point attempts. At the charity stripe, the Cavaliers converted 11 of 15 tries for a percentage of 73.3%. When discussing grabbing rebounds, they collected 51 with 17 of them being offensive. They also recorded 15 dimes for this contest in addition to forcing the opposition into 14 turnovers and getting 9 steals. Regarding defense, Virginia allowed their opponent to shoot 35.4% from the field on 29 of 82 shooting. Virginia Tech recorded 12 dimes and had 7 steals for the matchup. Moreover, Virginia Tech had 54 rebounds (18 offensive, 36 defensive), but didn't notch a block. Virginia Tech finished shooting 68.3% at the charity stripe by knocking down 28 of their 41 shots. They also converted 9 out of their 28 attempts from long range. When talking about fouls, the Cavaliers walked away with 27 and Virginia Tech had 16 fouls.

Malik Thomas is someone who was a major factor in the game. He notched 26 points on 8 out of 20 shooting. He played 29 mins played and grabbed 4 boards. He finished shooting 40.0% from the field but had no assists when the time ran out.

Get all of our NCAA Picks Today

Virginia heads into this contest with a win-loss mark of 11-2 this season. They currently have an average of 87.0 points per outing (43rd in Division 1) while connecting on 48.2% from the field. The Cavaliers are hitting 37.5% on shots from downtown (136 of 363) and 68.1% from the charity stripe. As a team, Virginia is snagging 42.5 boards per game and has totaled 227 assists this year, which is 74th in D-1 in terms of passing the ball. They cough up possession 10.5 times per game and as a group are committing 19.1 personal fouls every game.

When they are on defense, the Cavaliers are forcing their opponents into 11.8 turnovers per game while drawing 19.8 personal fouls. They currently rank 33rd in Division 1 in giving up assists to the opposition with 144 surrendered on the year. The Cavaliers defense is giving up a field goal percentage of 38.7% (303 of 782) and they relinquish 34.0 rebounds per game as a squad. They are conceding 30.9% on three-point shots while they are 85th in college hoops in points per game allowed (68.7).

In their last game, the NC State Wolfpack went home victorious with a score of 70-57 against Wake Forest. The Wolfpack pulled down 28 defensive rebounds and 8 offensive rebounds for a total of 36 in this matchup. They coughed up the ball 15 times, while getting 10 steals in this contest. Wake Forest was called for 19 fouls for the matchup which took the Wolfpack to the charity stripe for 17 tries. They were able to make 14 of them for a rate of 82.4%. In regard to 3-pointers, North Carolina State buried 6 out of their 21 attempts (28.6%). When the final whistle was blown, the Wolfpack finished the game shooting 25 out of 59 from the field which had them shooting 42.4%. The Wolfpack permitted Wake Forest to make 20 out of 59 attempts from the field which had them shooting 33.9% in the game. They went 25.8% from distance by shooting 8 of 31 and finished the game at 9 out of 13 from the charity stripe (69.2%). Regarding cleaning the glass, North Carolina State allowed Wake Forest to snag 34 in all (9 on the offensive side).

Quadir Copeland pitched in for the Wolfpack in this matchup. He racked up 14 points in his 31 mins on the hardwood and added 8 dimes in this game. He converted 5 of 11 in this contest giving him a rate of 45.5%, and had 2 rebounds.

North Carolina State has a mark of 10-4 on the season. On the offensive side of the court, the Wolfpack are shooting 48.7% from the field, which is 59th in Division 1. North Carolina State has scored 1,218 points this year (87.0 per contest) and they average 37.6 boards per game. They are getting an assist 17.3 times per contest (59th in the country) and they cough up possession 10.5 times per contest. The Wolfpack commit 19.4 personal fouls per game and they connect on 76.3% from the charity stripe.

The North Carolina State defense surrenders 32.0% on shots from beyond the arc (124 of 387) and opponents are converting on 70.3% of their shots from the charity stripe. They have relinquished 12.8 dimes and 33.6 rebounds per contest, which ranks 145th and 139th in D-1. The Wolfpack defensively are ranked 131st in D-1 in points per game surrendered with 71.1. They are forcing their opponents into 14.2 turnovers per game and have let teams shoot 41.7% from the field (95th in D-1).

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Virginia

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.