The Clemson Tigers, fresh off a victory over the No. 2 Duke Blue Devils, will host the North Carolina Tar Heels on Monday night. The Tar Heels are enduring an extremely disappointing season, beginning the season ranked No. 9 in the nation before now finding themselves out of the NCAA Tournament bubble.
Check out our best bets in this North Carolina vs. Clemson prediction. Can the Tar Heels begin a winning streak to finish the season, making a case as a tournament team? Or will the Tigers follow up a big win by taking care of business at home against a team they should handle? Find out below.
North Carolina vs. Clemson Betting Preview
All North Carolina vs. Clemson odds are from DraftKings Sportsbook and are correct as of Monday, Feb. 10, 2025.
- Spread
Clemson -4.5 - CSN Spread
Clemson -5 - Moneyline
Clemson -218, North Carolina +180 - Over/Under
144.5 points - Game Time
Monday, Feb. 10, 7:00 p.m. ET - Location
Littlejohn Coliseum | Clemson, S.C. - How To Watch
ESPN
North Carolina brings a 14-10 record into this matchup, claiming the seventh spot in the ACC standings by virtue of their 7-5 conference record. They’re 7-16-1 ATS on the year, including covering only two of 12 conference games — although they’ve both come in the last two weeks.
45.8% of the Tar Heels’ games have gone over the point total, yet only two of those have come in conference play. But once again, both of those have come within the previous two weeks.
Clemson is second in the ACC with an 11-12 conference record, going 19-5 overall. The Tigers are 14-10 ATS on the season while covering a staggering 69.2% of conference matchups. They’ve covered the spread in three of their last four games as well.
The Tigers are relatively even as far as over/under goes; exactly 50% of their games this year have gone over. Six of 13 have gone over in conference play. The one stat, as it pertains to this matchup, is when Clemson is a home favorite. In those situations, the over has hit in eight of 12 matchups.
North Carolina vs. Clemson CSN Spread
Clemson claims the No. 25 spot in our power rankings while the Tar Heels, stripped of their name brand appeal, are slotted at No. 67.
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Vegas has the line at -4.5, and that’s very similar to what our Power Rankings think. Our CSN line is Clemson -5, suggesting there’s not much value against the sportsbooks. Can we find an advantage though?
Prediction for North Carolina vs. Clemson
Tar Heels head coach Hubert Davis, seemingly on the hot seat, has been starting a lineup of four guards at or under 6’4″ with a forward down low. While the lineup puts his four best players on the floor together — the four guards — it leaves much to be desired rebounding- and defensive-wise.
North Carolina has the 102nd best rebounding percentage in the nation — just above teams like Old Dominion and North Alabama. The Tar Heels are an ACC squad that constantly gets pounded on the glass, night after night.
Davis didn’t even relent in changing his starting five when facing a Duke Blue Devils’ squad that had all five players 6’6″ or taller. They were promptly blasted by 17 points.
The Tigers, in particular, pose a massive threat to North Carolina’s small starting five.
While Clemson’s trio of guards are all 6’4″ or shorter, they have a true center in 6’11” Viktor Lakhin, who scored 22 points against the Blue Devils. 6’8″, 240-pound forward Ian Schieffelin is an absolute bruiser, averaging nearly 13 points and 10 rebounds a game.
UNC’s best bet will be to out-score the Tigers. Their quartet of guards averages 53.8 points ppg, led by fifth-year senior R.J. Davis’s 17.4 ppg. Davis, along with the team as a whole, is enduring a down season. All of his shooting percentages are below his career averages.
The Tigers’ scoring leader is sixth-year senior Chase Hunter, who pours in 17.5 ppg. Point guard Jaeden Zackery is the team leader in assists, finding Lakhin and Schieffelin down low for scores.
To put it simply, this line of -4.5 is too low. Clemson, with their two bigs, should handle North Carolina. Add in that the Tar Heels have only covered two of 12 conference games, and take the Tigers to cover — in fact, you can get +200 odds for an adjusted line of Clemson -10.5. That’s good value for a game that could easily be a double-digit home victory for the Tigers.
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I also like Lakhin’s points player prop. The odds are -115 for him to score 11+ points — he’s done that in four of his last five games, and he should feast facing a miniature UNC lineup.
Clemson will get it done at home, securing their 20th win and further bolstering their seeding in the NCAA Tournament field.
Picks: Clemson -4.5, Clemson -10.5, Viktor Lakhin 11+ points
Prediction: Clemson 74, North Carolina 62
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