North Carolina Tar Heels vs. Kansas Jayhawks Pick & Prediction NOVEMBER 8th 2024
Preview and Prediction
The ninth-ranked North Carolina squad will journey to Lawrence, Kansas to face off against the top-ranked Kansas team in an early season showdown on Friday night at Allen Fieldhouse.
This will be the first meeting between the Jayhawks (1-0) and Tar Heels (1-0) since the 2022 NCAA Tournament championship game, where Kansas overcame a 15-point deficit at halftime to secure a 72-69 victory.
These two prestigious basketball programs have a long-standing history, having faced each other seven times in the NCAA Tournament, including two national title games. The series is currently tied at 6-6, with Kansas emerging victorious in their last four encounters. This will only be the second time that the teams will meet in a campus arena, the first being on December 17, 1960 in Lawrence. Additionally, there are multiple coaching connections between the two teams.
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In their season opener, Kansas dominated Howard with a final score of 87-57. Graduate transfer guard Zeke Mayo led the way with 19 points, while preseason All-American center Hunter Dickinson returned from a preseason injury to contribute 16 points and six rebounds. Flory Bidunga also had a strong performance with 13 points and a game-high eight rebounds.
Head coach Bill Self was impressed with Mayo's debut for the Jayhawks, stating, "I think he's hesitant to shoot sometimes, but I thought tonight and the previous exhibition he was more aggressive shooting the ball. I like it. He's a valuable asset out there and can knock down shots."
Ten players scored for Kansas, who had a commanding lead of 38 points at one point in the game. They shot an impressive 11-for-22 from beyond the arc and 32-for-53 (60.4 percent) overall.
On the defensive end, the Jayhawks limited Howard to 37.9 percent shooting and forced 17 turnovers. They also dominated in the paint, outscoring their opponents 40-20.
Coach Self was pleased with his team's performance, stating, "I thought we looked fast and athletic. We pushed the ball in transition better than we have in the past and defensively, we put a lot of pressure on them and executed well."
In contrast, North Carolina had a tougher time in their season opener, narrowly defeating Elon 90-76 at home. The Tar Heels held a 16-point lead in the first half and maintained a double-digit lead for most of the game, but a 14-0 run by Elon briefly put them in the lead with less than seven minutes remaining.
Head coach Hubert Davis saw this as a learning opportunity for his team, stating, "We talked about it in the huddle, 'How are you going to react? How are you going to respond?' This was the perfect game and situation for us to grow and become the team we want to be."
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Four players for North Carolina scored in double digits, with All-American guard R.J. Davis leading the way with 24 points, seven assists, and seven rebounds. Elliot Cadeau contributed 17 points and eight assists, Seth Trimble had 15 points, and Jae'Lyn Withers recorded a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Elon was able to stay in the game by shooting 13-of-29 from beyond the arc.
Despite the win, Tar Heels forward Jalen Washington acknowledged that there is room for improvement, stating, "We might look back at this and be a little embarrassed at how messy and sloppy it was. It wasn't what we wanted it to be, but we'll use this as a lesson and continue to grow."