10UNC basketball will play their first home game of the season against their toughest test yet in Stanford. Which team will suffer their first defeat?
TV schedule: Monday, Nov. 12, 7:00 p.m. ET, ESPN2
Arena: Dean Smith Center in Chapel Hill, NC
North Carolina and Stanford are both undefeated going into their matchup on Nov. 12 in what will be UNC’s first home game of the season.
The Heels picked up their first two victories via true road wins over Wofford (avenging last season’s loss to the Terriers) and Elon, beating the Phoenix by 49 points. Five-star freshman Nassir Little, who has been coming off the bench despite being the projected No. 2 pick in the 2019 NBA Draft, totaled 21 points in that win over Elon as all 15 players scored at least one point.
Ranked in the top-10 in the preseason, UNC was expected to be dominant in the early going and, despite struggling with a good Wofford team, appear to have found their stride. Players are still fitting into their new roles – I doubt Little comes off the bench every game this year – but, with eight of their top 10 scorers back from last season, UNC appears to have picked up right where they left off last year.
Preseason expectations were nowhere near as high for Stanford, who is tasked with replacing two-time first-team All-Pac-12 big man Reid Travis (grad transfer to Kentucky).
Picked to finish ninth in the conference, the Cardinal have started the season with back-to-back double-digit wins over Seattle and UNCW thanks to the dominance of sophomore KZ Okpala, who is averaging 26 points per game in this young season. The sophomore big has blossomed into a star and has given Stanford hope that they can outperform those expectations.
It’s going to take a lot more than just Okpala for Stanford to even hang with North Carolina, though. Luke Maye, Cam Johnson, and Kenny Williams space opposing defenses with their three-point shooting ability while freshman point guard Coby White has stepped up and become a real threat in replacing Joel Berry.
With the talent advantage at every position, with more depth, and with it being UNC’s first home game of the season, I don’t see this being anything other than a blowout win for the Heels.
Prediction: UNC wins 92-73