#9 UNC vs. #1 Kansas Predictions, Picks & Odds: Friday, 11/8
The college basketball season is upon us and we’ve already witnessed a few matchups of top-tier teams. We have yet to see anything like this so far in the fresh campaign though, as the North Carolina Tar Heels get set to battle the Kansas Jayhawks.
Both programs are ranked inside the top 10 currently and are two of the most storied in college basketball of all time. This sets us up for a fantastic viewing of blue bloods, and we’re here to lay out our expert UNC vs. Kansas predictions for today!
#9 UNC vs. #1 Kansas Predictions For Friday, 11/8
North Carolina Tar Heels: Helping RJ Davis
While the Tar Heels defeated Elon in their season opener, it wasn’t quite the blowout that many would have expected. We knew coming into the campaign that RJ Davis would be the focal point of the offense, and that stayed true in game one.
He registered a 24-7-7 line, but only 4 players overall wound up in double figures scoring wise. Davis will continue to be great, but if UNC plans to win anything of note, he’s certainly going to need some help along the way.
Look for guys like Seth Trimble and Elliot Cadeau to try and alleviate some of that pressure off Davis as the season goes on, hopefully starting tonight.
Kansas Jayhawks: Back To The Promised Land?
The Jayhawks are ranked number one for a reason, and they proved their dominance in their season-opening 30-point win, albeit against a much less talented Howard squad.
With frontcourt starters in KJ Adams Jr and Hunter Dickinson, you’d be hard-pressed to find a better duo in the country. And outside of them, it seems like every other guy on the roster is capable of stepping up when needed most – it just might be a different one each time.
They’re balanced, have a fantastic offensive approach and play relentless, turnover-forcing defense. They’ll look to assert just why they currently have the second-best odds in the nation to win the National Championship.
#9 UNC vs. #1 Kansas Odds, Spreads, Total & Betting Lines
It’s worth noting that we’ll be making our official UNC vs. Kansas predictions at FanDuel Sportsbook.
So, why not take a look at FanDuel’s UNC vs. Kansas odds and betting lines?
- North Carolina Tar Heels (+260) vs. Kansas Jayhawks (-330)
- Spread: North Carolina +7.5 (-106) vs. Kansas -7.5 (-114)
- Game Total: Over 159.5 (-115) vs. Under 159.5 (-105)
#9 UNC vs. #1 Kansas Game Total: Over 159.5 (-115 at FanDuel)
From a spread standpoint, we’d probably lean towards the Jayhawks. It seems like UNC is a team still sort of figuring things out, whereas KU knows exactly who they are and what kind of team they have. Therefore, meeting early on in the season certainly favors the Jayhawks.
But that’s quite a significant number of points you’d have to lay, so instead, our UNC vs. Kansas predictions focus on the game total. North Carolina scored 90 against Elon while Kansas put up 87 against Howard. Different competition, yes, but let’s dive deeper into the numbers.
The Tar Heels didn’t shoot well overall, but they shot well from deep and the free throw line, plus they limited themselves to an impressive 6 turnovers. Howard shot nearly 37% from three-point range against Kansas, so it appears that could be the way to scoring on this team.
UNC also, however, allowed 76 points on 43% shooting overall and 45% from deep. If Elon can do that, you know the Jayhawks can too considering how potent their offense looks. They shot 60% from the field and 50% from three-point land against Howard.
To summarize: North Carolina is limited offensively, but protects the ball well and shoots well from deep and the FT line. At the same time, they look handicapped on defense, too. Kansas is an offensive machine, but their defense looked susceptible to the shot from downtown.
That all adds up to a high-scoring game, in my eyes, so our UNC vs. Kansas picks will be siding with the Over 159.5 (-115 at FanDuel Sportsbook).
#9 UNC vs. #1 Kansas Injury Report & Latest News
We’ve outlined our UNC vs. Kansas predictions, along with the odds. The one final piece to the puzzle is taking a look at the injury reports. Thankfully, as we’re just starting this campaign, both teams are relatively healthy.
The only injury of note is Shakeel Moore for Kansas, who will not play, and also missed their first game against Howard. So, it’s safe to say we’ll be getting both of these teams at full strength for their intriguing battle.
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