Julian Edlow shares his college basketball analysis for North Carolina at Kansas on Friday November 8.
It’s rare that we get this type of college basketball matchup this early in November, but for the second time this week we have a top-10 matchup on the hardwood. Gonzaga absolutely pounded Baylor back on Monday night, and now on Friday we have No. 9 North Carolina playing at No. 1 Kansas. Let’s breakdown betting the game below.
North Carolina at Kansas -7 (-110)
I want to start by emphasizing that I really admire UNC taking this type of road game as their second game of the season. This is a true road game for the Heels, playing at Allen Fieldhouse, which might be the toughest building to play in in the country. It doesn’t help that the Jayhawks are also ranked No. 1 in the country, and should have a bonkers crowd here on Friday night.
We saw another top-10 matchup this week with No. 8 Baylor playing a true road game at No. 6 Gonzaga, and the Bears got destroyed by almost 40 points. With all due respect to UNC, it wouldn’t surprise me if this one turned into a blowout as well. The Tar Heels weren’t exactly impressive in their opening night victory over Elon, winning at home by 14 points as a 28-point favorite. R.J. Davis is one of the best players in the country, and put up a 24-7-7 line in the win. But beyond their veteran point guard, I just don’t think the Tar Heels have much firepower.
UNC is going to need other wing scorers to step up beyond Davis to compete in this game, and I’m not sure they have it. UNC is pretty thin when it comes to bigs in the rotation, and Kansas has some pretty experienced size in the middle. The Jayhawks thrive off of Hunter Dickinson, who should have a terrific matchup, and also start another big in the super-athletic K.J Adams. That’s going to be a very difficult duo for the Tar Heels to handle down low.
While North Carolina will have the PG advantage in any matchup they play this season, Dajuan Harris Jr. is about as close as you can get to offsetting that edge for the Heels. Harris is a savvy veteran point guard that will limit mistakes for Kansas at home, and will always be finding his teammates in the best spot to succeed. Kansas is solid on the wings and got some good transfers in, and also has a deep roster this season.
No starter played more than 23 minutes in the Jayhawks’ 30-point win over Howard in the opener. Zeke Mayo also came off the bench and led the team in scoring with 19 points, highlighting some of that depth. I trust Davis for UNC, but beyond that I think they are a bit overrated. Compare that to a deep and talented Kansas team with a lot of experience and I see a clear side in this game. Once we factor in the home court advantage for KU, and how difficult it will be to overcome this early in the season, this creates a great spot to lay the points with the Jayhawks.
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