The NC Central Eagles and Kansas Jayhawks face off on Monday to kick off the college basketball season at Allen Fieldhouse.
Can Kansas Live up to the Hype?
There is all kinds of hype around this Jayhawks team and anything less than a National Championship will be considered a disappointment. Bill Self and the Jayhawks avoided any real punishment from the NCAA and they had quite the offseason. Hunter Dickinson was the top transfer portal get, and Kansas landed him. Last season Kansas was missing a true big man, and that’s exactly what Dickinson is. He can do everything inside the paint, but he can also hit the three. Kevin McCullar Jr went through Senior Night last season, but after testing the NBA waters, he decided to come back. Dajuan Harris is one of the best passing point guards in the league, and I would expect him to set up a couple of alley-oops in this game.
NC Central Gets Great Opportunity
This is a great opportunity for NC Central to see just how good this team is. There was a lot of sadness surronding this program this offseason when Devin Butts collapsed from cardiac arrest and passed away. All five starters from last years squad are gone, but there is still a lot of hope that this team can be competitive in conference. Guy Fauntelroy has only been on campus a couple of months but there is already a buzz around what he’s going to be able to do this season. Brock Williams scored more than 2000 points during high school and he’s going to need to have a big game here.
Shane’s Free Pick
This is going to be a comfortable victory for Kansas, but this is too many points. I expect Kansas is going to play their bench a ton, and also try out some lineup combinations. This is also a very deep NC Central team, and in this one, they are going to find some sort of offensive success. Williams is going to surprise some people and he’s going to have a big game here. Back NC Central against the spread.