North Carolina Central at Kansas odds, picks and predictions
The North Carolina Central Eagles and Kansas Jayhawks open their respective seasons with a Monday night battle in Lawrence. Opening tip at Allen Fieldhouse will be at 8 p.m. ET (ESPN+). Below, we analyze BetMGM Sportsbook's lines around the North Carolina Central vs. Kansas odds, and make our expert college basketball picks, predictions and best bets.
North Carolina Central went 18-12 last season and finished 2nd in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. The Eagles came on strong at the end of the season, winning 8 straight games before falling in the MEAC Tournament final.
Kansas is No. 1 in the Paste BN Sports Coaches Poll. The Jayhawks edged Texas to win the regular-season Big 12 title last season. Then KU went into the NCAA Tournament as a No. 1 seed and swept its way to a national title. Kansas has since had some roster churn, but the talent haul has been immense, and that has some onlookers predicting back-to-back crowns for the Jayhawks.
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North Carolina Central at Kansas odds
Provided by BetMGM Sportsbook; access Paste BN Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 10:59 a.m. ET.
- Moneyline: Off the board
- Against the spread (ATS): North Carolina Central +30.5 (-115) | Kansas -30.5 (-105)
- Over/Under (O/U): 139.5 (O: -120 | U: +100)
North Carolina Central at Kansas picks and predictions
Prediction
Kansas 82, North Carolina Central 55
Moneyline
Not available and even if it were you wouldn't want to play it.
Against the spread
Gone is all-Big 12 G Gradey Dick, KU's 2nd-leading scorer who went in the 1st round of the NBA Draft. Incoming for the Jayhawks is 7-foot-1 C Hunter Dickinson, who transferred from Michigan where he averaged 17.8 PPG and 8.4 RPG while shooting 57% over the last 3 years.
Dickinson joins returnees Kevin McCullar Jr. and K.J Adams to form 1 of the best frontcourts in the nation. But KU was not particularly sharp offensively in a preseason scrimmage, and coach Bill Self may be in rotation tinkering mode for a couple of games before the Jayhawks take on Kentucky Nov. 14. Kansas had similar off-the-bat schedule scenarios the last 2 years and went 1-3 ATS across the games against small prey.
NC Central coach LeVelle Moton opens his 15th season at the helm of the Eagles program. He'll be dealing with a lot of roster turnover, but his teams have frequently played these David-and-Goliath games in the past and the Eagles have held their own. As a 20-point underdog, Moton's teams are 4-1 ATS over their last 5 games. Since 2010 (Moton's 1st year with the Eagles) NCCU has gone 10-3 ATS in such games.
BACK THE EAGLES +30.5 (-115). Consider going in with just a partial-unit play.
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Over/Under
The total has gone Under in 6 of the Jayhawks' last 7 games at home.
Figure on some offensive-end growing pains on both sides. Consider a partial-unit play on the UNDER 139.5 (+100).
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