Friday’s college basketball slate holds the second top-10 matchup of the year: the ninth-ranked North Carolina Tar Heels will battle the top-ranked Kansas Jayhawks.

If it didn’t feel like college basketball was back before, it certainly will now!

Can the Tar Heels storm into Allen Fieldhouse and knock off the best team in college basketball?

North Carolina vs. Kansas Odds

North Carolina vs. Kansas prediction

(7:00 p.m. ET, ESPN)

The line for this clash between two powerhouse programs opened at seven points in favor of the Jayhawks, but has since widened to an 7.5-point spread.

The wider spread can partially be attributed to North Carolina’s underwhelming performance against Elon.

The Tar Heels won by just 14 points against Elon in their home opener and shot a lower percentage from the field and from 3-point land than the Phoenix.

Ball security (10 fewer turnovers) and perimeter talent were the only reasons UNC was able to squeak by with a win.

Meanwhile, Kansas took care of business, beating Howard by 30 points despite its starters playing about half of the game.

The Jayhawks were surgical. They shot 60% from the floor and 50% from behind the arc. 

Head coach Bill Self certainly hopes that Kansas can clean up its turnovers but overall, they appeared much more prepared for the season than North Carolina. 

North Carolina vs. Kansas pick

Frankly, this game could end in a similar manner to the Baylor and Gonzaga game. 

Kansas has a huge advantage over the Tar Heels in cohesion and chemistry, as it was one of only a handful of teams that did not have any players hit the portal.

Further, the Jayhawks have a substantial size and depth advantage in the frontcourt, as UNC will deploy 6-foot-10 Jalen Washington, who averaged eight minutes per game last season, to try and defend 7-foot-2 Naismith frontrunner Hunter Dickinson.

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If Washington finds himself in foul trouble, which seems quite likely since Dickinson is a physical force in the paint, the Heels will have to turn to 6-foot-9 forward Jae’Lyn Withers.

Rebounding is another major concern. The Tar Heels pulled down just three more rebounds than Elon, a team that currently sits at 272nd in KenPom’s adjusted efficiency margin.

The Tar Heels will have plenty of games this season in which they can rely on their trio of perimeter stars, Cadeau, Davis and Trimble. however, when they are playing teams with similar talent but a more physically dominant frontcourt, they will flounder.

This is one of those games.

Pick: Kansas -7.5 (-115, Caesars)

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Andrew Norton handicaps the NBA, WNBA, NFL, college basketball and football, UFC and golf. During the 2022-23 NBA season, he achieved a standout 14.1% ROI, cashing 60% of his NBA spread picks and leading Tallysight in its SportsIQ metric.