North Carolina vs. Oklahoma odds, picks and predictions
The North Carolina Tar Heels (7-3) and Oklahoma Sooners (10-0) meet in Wednesday's Jumpman Invitational in Charlotte. The UNC home-away-from-home neutral-site tipoff at the Spectrum Center will be at 9 p.m. ET (ESPN). Below, we analyze BetMGM Sportsbook's lines around the North Carolina vs. Oklahoma odds, and make our expert college basketball picks, predictions and best bets.
North Carolina, which is No. 13 in the Paste BN Sports Coaches Poll, is continuing a brutal stretch of scheduling. The Sooners mark UNC's 3rd consecutive top-10 opponent. The Tar Heels lost 87-76 to current-No. 5 UConn on Dec. 5; they lost to current-No. 9 Kentucky 87-83 on Saturday. Those 2 games and the win over Florida State before them were all against-the-spread (ATS) losses for UNC.
No. 8 Oklahoma also last played Saturday. The Sooners kept their unbeaten record intact -- and covered a -24.5 -- with an 81-47 win over Wisconsin-Green Bay. Over its 10 victories, OU has an average winning margin of 23.1 points, but UNC will mark just its 2nd opponent inside the KenPom top-50 (USC Nov. 24).
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North Carolina vs. Oklahoma odds
Provided by BetMGM Sportsbook; access Paste BN Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 12:16 a.m. ET.
- Moneyline: North Carolina -128 (bet $128 to win $100) | Oklahoma +106 (bet $100 to win $106)
- Against the spread (ATS): North Carolina -2.5 (-102) | Oklahoma +2.5 (-120)
- Over/Under (O/U): 156.5 (O: -110 | U: -110)
North Carolina vs. Oklahoma picks and predictions
Prediction
North Carolina 77, Oklahoma 72
Moneyline
These 2 teams have played vastly different schedules to date, and this one sets up as a possible bucket of cold water in Oklahoma's face. KenPom rates OU's slate 335th and UNC 21st.
The Sooners are a defense-forward quality team; Carolina swings the other way. And its that offense that figures to be something OU gets tripped up by in this road-adjacent trip to Charlotte. OU specializes in creating turnovers; it forced 18 turnovers in its last game and has forced 13-or-more in 6 games.
But UNC does well to protect possessions. The faster-tempo Tar Heels excel in getting to the foul line and in knocking down 3s (and OU figures to be due some regression in its perimeter defense).
Southern Cal is a watered-down comp for North Carolina, and while OU defeated and covered against USC in a 72-70 neutral-hardwood game on Nov. 24, the Trojans led much of the way in that one (including inside the 10-minute mark).
This is a neutral-site game, but if we mentally adjust it to a kind of a road game, it figures as Oklahoma's 1st this season.
BACK NORTH CAROLINA (-128).
Against the spread
PASS. Better to get in on the ML value above.
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Over/Under
Figure an above-average pace, but with some neutral-background shooting effect and not a lot of upward pressure from other factors (like putbacks, 3s, etc.).
TAKE THE UNDER 156.5 (-110).
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