A top-10 matchup highlights the opening week of the 2024-25 college basketball season as the No. 1 Kansas Jayhawks will host the No. 9 North Carolina Tar Heels on Friday. These two blue bloods of the sport had opening-season victories on Monday and have championship expectations this year. UNC went 29-8 a year ago, finishing seventh in the final AP Poll and advancing to the Sweet 16. Meanwhile, Kansas went 23-11 last season, finishing ranked 19th but losing in the second round of March Madness. The Jayhawks have won four straight versus the Tar Heels.

Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. at Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence, Kan. The latest North Carolina vs. Kansas odds have the Jayhawks as 8-point favorites, per SportsLine consensus. The over/under for total points is 160.5. Before entering any Kansas vs. North Carolina picks, you'll want to see the latest college basketball predictions from SportsLine expert Thomas Casale.

A frequent guest on national radio and TV shows to discuss college sports, Casale has been betting -- and winning -- for more than 30 years. 

He's crushed his college basketball picks, going 341-208 (62.1%) over the last three campaigns. Casale also enters this matchup on a 23-6 roll on college basketball spread picks, returning more than $1,600 for $100 players! Anybody following is WAY UP!

Now, he's turned his attention to North Carolina vs. Kansas on Friday and is revealing his best bets. You ABSOLUTELY need to see what he's playing before locking in any college basketball picks.

What are Casale's college basketball best bets for Kansas vs. North Carolina, and which picks should you jump on now? ... Join SportsLine right now to see Thomas Casale's best bets, all from one of the top college basketball handicappers in the nation!