The North Carolina Tar Heels will try to keep their momentum when they battle the sixth-seeded Syracuse Orange in the second round of the 2020 ACC Tournament on Wednesday night. UNC (14-18) cruised past Virginia Tech 78-56 in its first-round game on Tuesday and the Tar Heels have now won four of their last five games. They have been led by junior forward Garrison Brooks, and freshman Cole Anthony has been a star from the start. Syracuse (17-14) is led by All-ACC forward and conference leading scorer Elijah Hughes. 

Tip-off is set for 9 p.m. ET at Greensboro Coliseum. The Tar Heels are three-point favorites in the latest Syracuse vs. North Carolina odds, while the over-under for total points scored is 149.5. Before considering your North Carolina vs. Syracuse picks, check out the 2020 ACC Tournament predictions from the SportsLine Projection Model.

This model, which simulates every game 10,000 times, has crushed its top-rated college basketball picks against the spread the past three years, returning $2,770 to $100 players. It also entered Week 19 of the 2019-20 season on a 75-53 run on all top-rated college basketball picks. Anybody who followed it has seen huge returns.

Now, the model has locked in on UNC vs. Syracuse in the ACC Tournament 2020. You can visit SportsLine now to see the picks. Here are the college basketball lines and trends for Syracuse vs. UNC:

  • North Carolina vs. Syracuse spread: UNC -3
  • North Carolina vs. Syracuse over-under: 149.5
  • North Carolina vs. Syracuse money line: Tar Heels -156, Orange +133
  • UNC: G Brandon Robinson has hit 15 of his last 26 three-pointers.
  • CUSE: F Bourama Sidibe has 57 rebounds and 14 blocked shots over the past five games.

Why North Carolina can cover

The model has taken into account that UNC has dominated this series of late. In fact, the Tar Heels are 9-1 in their last 10 meetings against Syracuse. UNC enters Wednesday's matchup averaging 72.8 points per game this season, and Brooks has scored at least 20 in seven straight games. He hits more than 53 percent of his field goals and averages nearly nine rebounds per game. Anthony is one of the nation's top pure scorers, averaging well over 19 points, but he missed 11 games with injuries. He returned last month and has scored at least 18 points in five of the past seven games.

The Tar Heels are 3-2 against the spread at neutral sites this year, and senior Brandon Robinson also has been pulling his weight. The guard knocked down five three-pointers to score 17 against Virginia Tech on Tuesday, and he averages nearly 12 points and 2.5 assists. Forward Armando Bacot has been a huge presence, and the 6-foot-10 freshman had 12 points and 11 rebounds against the Hokies and averaged more than a block per game in the regular season.    

Why Syracuse can cover

Even so, the surging Tar Heels aren't assured of covering the Syracuse vs. North Carolina spread on Wednesday. Syracuse is 11-9 against the spread in ACC games this season, and the 6-foot-6 Hughes is the conference's top scorer at 18.8 points per game. He also gets a team-high 3.5 assists and pulls down nearly five rebounds. He gets a ton of help from sophomore guard Buddy Boeheim, who scores 15.3 points, and freshman Joseph Girard, who chips in 12.7 and adds 3.4 assists. 

The Orange are 15-11 against the spread over the past two years when coming off a loss, and they shoot a ton of three-pointers. Boeheim is tied for 15th in the nation with 158 attempts, and he has made 95, a 36.8-percent success rate. Girard and Hughes also hit more than 32 percent on over 200 tries. 

How to make North Carolina vs. Syracuse picks

SportsLine's model is leaning under on the total, with simulations predicting Brooks will score almost five points below his average for UNC and Boeheim will have an off night for Syracuse. The model also has generated an against-the-spread pick that cashes in well over 60 percent of simulations. You can only get the pick at SportsLine. 

So who wins North Carolina vs. Syracuse? And which side of the spread cashes in well over 60 percent of simulations? Visit SportsLine now to see which side of the Syracuse vs. UNC spread to jump on Wednesday, all from the advanced model that is up more than $2,700 on its college basketball picks the last three years, and find out.