After a long off-season, the 2024-25 college basketball season is finally here, and gets underway tonight, as the preseason, #9 Tar Heels, host Elon to get things started. Carolina is coming off a 29-win season, that saw the program win its first ACC regular season title under Hubert Davis, before falling short in the Sweet 16, to Alabama. RJ Davis, last year’s ACC Player of the Year, is back and is the heavy favorite to be the ACC Player of the Year, and is a frontrunner to be the National Player of the Year.
While RJ Davis is back, Armando Bacot, Cormac Ryan, and Harrison Ingram are not, and that was the task for Davis and his coaching staff this off-season, trying to find suitable replacements for a trio of players that were an integral part of the success experienced last season. The roster was retooled via the transfer portal, and with incoming freshmen. Cade Tyson was the prize transfer, after transferring in from Belmont after shooting 46% from behind the arc last year. Additionally, Carolina brought in Ven-Allen Lubin (Vanderbilt), and Tyzahun Claude (Georgia Tech), for additional frontcourt depth. The transfers complement a freshmen class, that features two McDonald’s All-Americans, in Ian Jackson, and Drake Powell, both of whom, are capable of being one-and-done, something the program hasn’t had since Day’Ron Sharpe back during the Covid 2020-21 season. James Brown is the other freshman to join the roster this season, and his upside will have him as the future of the frontcourt in Chapel Hill in years to come.
Elon is coming off a 13-19 season in 2023-24, as they went just 6-12 in the CAA. The outlook isn’t any better for 2024-25, as the Phoenix are picked to finish 12th in the conference. Elon, like virtually every college basketball program, had to rebuild its roster via the transfer portal, the only difference is that Elon can’t recruit even mid-major talent, instead, Billy Taylor had to dip into the Division II ranks to put together his roster. The two most highly regarded transfers include Jameel Rideout, who averaged 10.0 points per game at USC-Aiken, and TJ Simpkins, who averaged 15.0 points at Northwest Florida State College.
There’s no doubt that tonight’s opponent is overmatched, but with a date with Kansas on Friday night, it’s the perfect tune-up to get the regular season started. If the preseason was any indication, this team is going to be fun to watch this winter, but also a team on a mission, to advance deeper into the NCAA Tournament next March. The players know it’s a marathon, not a sprint, but what they do starting tonight will set the tone for the type of season 2024-25 will be. Here are the keys to tonight’s opener against Elon:
Get Off to a Fast Start: If there’s an early theme to take away from the preseason exhibition contests, UNC didn’t start fast against Memphis, or Johnson C. Smith. Against the Tigers (without RJ Davis), the Tar Heels fell behind double digits, before Sth Trimble exploeded for 33 points to lead the comeback win. Against the Golden Bulls (with RJ Davis), Carolina was only up 19-18 at the under-12 timeout, befor outsourcing the Division II school, 40-16 the rest of the way. Carolina has to wait all the way until 9 PM to play, so that means they should be ready to go right out of the gate. If last season is any indication, there will be plenty of fans in the arena, despite the late start, against a mid-major opponent, That should allow Carolina to come out with plenty of energy, and put the game away in a timely manner,
Control the Controllables: This is a game that Carolina should dominate the glass, limit points in the paint, score points in transition, and more. It’s unfair to expect the box score to look as lopsided as it did against Johnson C. Smith, but there shouldn’t be an area that Elon outperforms UNC in.
Experiment With Lineups & Reserves: The hope is that Carolina has this game at a point, where once the second half starts, Hubert Davis can experiment with different lineups, and get his second unit some minutes. This is the deepest that Carolina has been under Hubert Davis, adding stress to him building an actual rotation, something that needs to happen sooner than later, considering how tough the non-conference schedule is this season. The more than Ian Jackson and Drake Powel play, the faster their adjustment to the college level will happen. The more that Ven-Allen Lubin, the sooner he adjusts to playing at this level on a nightly basis. All of that can be accelerated if Carolina puts the hammer down early, and gives Davis the flexibility to tinker with different lineups, and his reserves valuable minutes and experience.
Series History:
Carolina is 21-4 all-time against Elon, and has won the last 14 contests including being 4-0 against them since 1950. The last time the two schools played was back in 2021, an 80-63 win over the Phoenix.
Season/Home Openers:
Carolina is 102-12 all-time in season openers, and haven’t lost once since the 2004-05 season. The Tar Heels have won 22 straight home openers, the last time they lost a home opener was in the 2002-03 season, to Hampton.
KenPom (Preseason Rankings):
North Carolina - 15th overall. Adjusted Offensive Efficiency: 114.0 (14th) Adjusted Defensive Efficiency: 92.0 (18th)
Elon - 297th overall. Adjusted Defensive Efficiency: 96.4 (280th) Adjusted Defensive Efficiency: 106.3 (291st)
TV Info:
Tonight’s game will be televised on the ACC Network, and will start at 9 PM.
The Four Corners Podcast:
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