Wake Forest Demon Deacons vs North Carolina Tar Heels Prediction, 1/10/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Wake Forest Demon Deacons vs North Carolina Tar Heels

Date: Saturday, January 10, 2026

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

TV: ACC Network

Dean E. Smith Center is where the North Carolina Tar Heels (13-2) will try to defeat the Wake Forest Demon Deacons (10-6) on Saturday.

The Wake Forest Demon Deacons played Miami and took a loss by a final of 81-77 in their last game. Wake Forest finished the contest with a 51.9% FG percentage (28 of 54) and converted 11 out of their 21 3-point shots. From the charity stripe, the Demon Deacons converted 10 of their 14 shots for a rate of 71.4%. When discussing grabbing boards, they collected a total of 18 with 4 of them being on the offensive end. They also dished out 15 assists in this game as well as forcing the opposition into 13 turnovers and getting 10 steals. When it comes to defending, Wake Forest let their opponent shoot 50.0% from the floor on 27 of 54 shooting. Miami earned 15 assists and had 6 steals in this contest. Furthermore, Miami snagged 34 rebounds (11 offensive, 23 defensive), but wrapped up the game with no rejections. Miami shot 76.7% from the free throw line by making 23 of their 30 attempts. They buried 4 out of their 18 tries from three-point range. When it comes to personal fouls, the Demon Deacons ended up with 22 and Miami finished the game with 19 personal fouls.

Juke Harris is someone who was a contributor in the game. He ended up with 28 points on 9 of 15 shooting. He saw the court for 36 mins and also totaled 2 rebounds. He finished the contest at 60.0% from the field and also dished out 1 assist.

Get all of our NCAA Parlay Picks

Wake Forest will enter this game with a win-loss record of 10-6 on the year. They turn it over 12.3 times per game and as a group are committing 19.1 personal fouls every game. As a unit, Wake Forest is pulling in 35.1 rebounds per game and has tallied 245 assists this season, which is 96th in the nation in terms of passing the ball. The Demon Deacons are connecting on 33.6% on shots from 3-point land (143 of 425) and 75.9% from the charity stripe. They average 81.6 pts per game (96th in college) while shooting 45.2% from the floor.

When they are on the defensive end, the Demon Deacons are forcing 15.7 turnovers per game and they draw 19.1 fouls. They are ranked 311th in college hoops in allowing assists to the opposition with 243 surrendered for the season. The Demon Deacons defensively are allowing a field goal percentage of 43.3% (402 of 928) and they concede 34.8 rebounds per contest as a team. They are surrendering 30.1% on 3-pointers while they are 217th in college in opponents PPG (74.7).

When they last stepped on the hardwood, the North Carolina Tar Heels went home defeated by a final of 97-83 against SMU. The Tar Heels were able to corral 19 defensive boards and 7 offensive boards for a total of 26 for this contest. They gave up possession of the ball 9 times, while getting 4 steals for this game. SMU had 17 personal fouls for this contest which took the Tar Heels to the free throw line for 19 attempts. They were able to knock down 13 of the free throw tries for a rate of 68.4%. Pertaining to shooting from beyond the arc, North Carolina converted 12 out of their 28 tries (42.9%). Overall, the Tar Heels went 29 out of 60 from the field which had them shooting 48.3%. The Tar Heels permitted SMU to make 36 out of 60 attempts from the floor which had them shooting 60.0% for the contest. They finished 51.9% from three-point range by shooting 14 out of 27 and finished the game at 11 of 16 at the charity stripe (68.8%). When it comes to rebounding, North Carolina allowed SMU to collect 25 in all (3 on the offensive side).

Seth Trimble pitched in for the Tar Heels in the game. He had 22 points in his 36 mins of playing time and tallied 5 assists for the matchup. He converted 8 of 16 for the matchup for a field goal rate of 50.0%, and totaled 3 rebounds.

North Carolina has a win-loss mark of 13-2 for the year. In terms of offensive execution, the Tar Heels are connecting on 47.2% from the field, which ranks them 96th in college. North Carolina has totaled 1,220 pts on the year (81.3 per game) and they pull in 41.8 boards per game. They are getting an assist 17.5 times per contest (45th in the nation) and they turn it over 9.9 times per game. The Tar Heels commit 14.7 fouls per game and they go 68.5% from the free throw line.

The North Carolina defense concedes 30.0% on shots from beyond the perimeter (106 of 353) and opponents are converting on 70.0% of their foul shots. They concede 11.8 assists and 33.7 boards per contest, which has them ranked 61st and 138th in those defensive categories. The Tar Heels on the defensive end are ranked 29th in D-1 in points allowed per contest with 65.9. They are able to force 9.5 TO's every game and allow teams to shoot 37.6% from the field (5th in college).

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Wake Forest

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.