UNC vs. California prediction: Why North Carolina is favored to win men's college basketball matchup [1/17/2026]

California and UNC are scheduled to meet in men's college basketball action at Haas Pavilion on Saturday, starting at 4:00 PM ET.

Based on the latest simulations, Dimers' advanced college basketball model predicts North Carolina as the most likely winner of the UNC vs. California game.

This article offers further insights into Saturday's matchup, including an expanded look at the predicted score, best bets and picks.

UNC vs. California prediction: Who will win and cover?

Using trusted machine learning and data, we have simulated the outcome of Saturday's NCAA basketball matchup between UNC and California 10,000 times as part of our men's college basketball predictions coverage.

Our leading predictive model gives North Carolina a 73% chance of defeating California. Our predicted final score has North Carolina winning 79-72.

According to our model, the bookmakers have got it right, and North Carolina and California each have a 50% chance of covering the spread, while the over/under total of 150.5 points has a 52% chance of staying under.

UNC vs. California odds

We have sourced the best men's college basketball odds in America for this game, which are listed here:

All odds are correct at the time of publication and are subject to change.

UNC vs. California picks and best bet

After matching our predictions against the best available odds, we can reveal our picks for each of the major markets. Plus, find our best bet for the game below: