The North Carolina Tar Heels will look to complete a season sweep of the Virginia Tech Hokies when the clubs meet Friday night in the semifinals of the 2022 ACC Tournament. The Hokies (21-12) have won 11 of their last 13 games and will likely secure an NCAA Tournament bid with a victory Friday and a chance to win the first ACC Tournament title in program history. The Tar Heels are seeking their first title-game appearance since 2018 and first ACC championship since 2016. North Carolina has dominated the series of late and won both regular-season matchups, 78-68 at home in January and 65-57 in Blacksburg last month.
Tipoff is set for 9:30 p.m. ET from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. The Tar Heels are 2.5-point favorites and the over-under for total points scored is 139.5 in the latest Virginia Tech vs. North Carolina odds from Caesars Sportsbook. Before making any North Carolina vs. Virginia Tech picks, be sure to check out the college basketball predictions and betting advice from the SportsLine Projection Model.
The model simulates every Division I college basketball game 10,000 times. Over the past five-plus years, the proprietary computer model has generated an impressive profit of almost $1,600 for $100 players on its top-rated college basketball picks against the spread. Anyone who has followed it has seen huge returns.
Now, the model has set its sights on UNC vs. Virginia Tech, and just revealed its picks and CBB predictions. You can visit SportsLine now to see the model’s picks. Here are the college basketball odds and betting lines for Virginia Tech vs. UNC:
- North Carolina vs. Virginia Tech point spread: North Carolina -2.5
- North Carolina vs. Virginia Tech over-under total: 139.5 points
- North Carolina vs. Virginia Tech money line: North Carolina -140, Virginia Tech +120
- VT: The Hokies are 5-2-1 against the spread in their last eight games following a straight-up victory.
- UNC: The Tar Heels are 5-1-1 ATS in their last seven neutral-site games as a favorite.
Featured Game | North Carolina Tar Heels vs. Virginia Tech Hokies
Why North Carolina can cover
The Tar Heels have peaked at the right time after they spent most of the season marked by inconsistency. For much of the season, their resume lacked quality wins and they were considered a borderline NCAA Tournament club heading into the final stretch of the regular season.
That all changed with a run that has seen seven of their past 12 victories come by double figures and a five-game unbeaten streak to end the season that saw them finish second in the ACC standings. Of course, their signature win came in a 94-81 upset of Duke last weekend in the final home game for venerable Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski.
North Carolina’s recent surge is reminiscent of prolific Tar Heel clubs that excel in the open floor and have an edge in athleticism and strength over most of its opponents. The Tar Heels beat a stubborn Virginia club 63-43 on Thursday, behind a 46-32 rebounding edge and a defense that limited the Cavaliers to 34.6 percent from the field.
Why Virginia Tech can cover
Following Thursday’s win over Notre Dame, Virginia Tech coach Mike Young credited the team’s late-season surge in large part to production from role players that stemmed from his decision to expand a once-right rotation. The Hokies now have eight players who average double figures in minutes, and their depth complements a starting five that is one of the most experienced in the ACC.
Young specifically pointed to the contributions of reserves such as guards Darius Maddox and Sean Pedulla, along with forward David N’Guessan. White also mentioned that the Hokies likely have one of the most underrated front courts in the country with top scorer Keve Aluma and the physical Justyn Mutts.
“I’ve got really good players. It took us time to get to this rotation, and maybe I can be faulted for that,” Young told the media.
The Hokies also rely on a sterling defense that ranks second in the ACC in allowing 62.2 points per contest. Only Virginia (60.2 ppg) has a better scoring defense.
How to make Virginia Tech vs. UNC picks
SportsLine’s model is leaning over on the total, projecting 144 points. It also says one side of the spread hits 70 percent of the time. You can only get the model’s pick at SportsLine.
So who wins UNC vs. Virginia Tech? And which side of the spread hits 70 percent of the time? Visit SportsLine now to see which side of the spread to jump on, all from the advanced model that is up almost $1,600 on its top-rated college basketball spread picks over the last five-plus years, and find out.