The 2024-25 college basketball season begins on Monday and the North Carolina Tar Heels will open their season against the Elon Phoenix. The Tar Heels are coming off a 29-8 season and were a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament but they lost in the Sweet 16 to Alabama. Meanwhile, Elon went 13-19 in Billy Taylor's second season, which marked a five-win improvement over his first year at the helm.

Tipoff is set for 9 p.m. ET on Monday at the Dean E. Smith Center in Chapel Hill, N.C. The Tar Heels are favored by 27.5 points in the latest North Carolina vs. Elon odds, while the over/under is 152.5 points, per SportsLine consensus. Before entering any Elon vs. North Carolina picks, you'll want to see the college basketball predictions from the proven model at SportsLine. 

The model simulates every Division 1 college basketball game 10,000 times. It enters the 2024-25 season on a 153-110 betting roll (+1891) on all top-rated college basketball picks dating back to 2023. Anyone following at sportsbooks and on betting apps has seen huge returns. 

The model has set its sights on UNC vs. Elon. You can head to SportsLine to see its picks. Here are several college basketball betting lines for the Elon vs. UNC game:

  • North Carolina vs. Elon spread: North Carolina -27.5
  • North Carolina vs. Elon over/under: 152.5 points
  • North Carolina vs. Elon money line: North Carolina -9091, Elon +2600
  • North Carolina vs. Elon picks: See picks here
  • North Carolina vs. Elon streaming: FuboTV (try for free)

Why North Carolina can cover

After missing the NCAA tournament entirely in 2022-23, Hubert Davis led the Tar Heels back to the tourney in 2023-24 as a No. 1 seed and they earned wins over Wagner and Michigan State before bowing out to the Crimson Tide in the Sweet 16. ACC Player of the Year and consensus first-team All-American RJ Davis returns from that squad after averaging 21.2 points per game.

Seth Trimble is also back and will take on a much larger role this season after averaging 5.2 points per game and shooting 41.9% from the 3-point line as a sophomore. Jalen Washington is also back after playing a supplementary role and transfers Ven-Allen Lubin and Cade Tyson will also be pivotal for No. 9 North Carolina. See which team to pick here. 

Why Elon can cover

The Phoenix made some strides in Taylor's second season and now they'll welcome back three of their top five scorers from last season. That includes TK Simpkins, who averaged 13.8 points per game last season to lead the team and was named second-team All-CAA this preseason.

His brother TJ Simpkins also transferred into the program this offseason after playing at a junior college and averaging 15.0 points per game last season. Center Sam Sherry is also back after averaging 9.5 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per game. See which team to pick here.

How to make North Carolina vs. Elon picks

The model has simulated Elon vs. North Carolina 10,000 times and the results are in. The model is leaning Under the total, and it's also generated a point-spread pick that is hitting in over 70% of simulations. You can only see the pick at SportsLine.

So who wins Elon vs. North Carolina, and which side of the spread hits over 70% of the time? Visit SportsLine now to see which side of the Elon vs. North Carolina spread you need to jump on, all from the model that is on a 153-110 roll on top-rated college basketball picks, and find out.