While Ottawa Senators fans will be watching their team on Friday night, the college hoops season will kick off with a great matchup: the top-ranked team in the country, North Carolina, will take on Michigan State on the flight deck of the USS Carl Vinson, an aircraft carrier in San Diego, as the NCAA tries to do their part to honor the military on Veteran’s Day.

Michigan State North Carolina Odds – Friday, 7:00 PM ETM

Many price per head players aren’t playing much attention to the Spartans, who struggled through last year and have lost their best player, Kalin Lucas, to graduation. But you can never count out a team coached by Tom Izzo, so they’re going to be tough physically, led by Draymond Green in the post. The x-factor may be Keith Appling, who replaces Lucas at the point.

The No.1 Tar Heels are the favorites to the national title (which they last won in 2009, beating Michigan State), and they have two players that could go to the lottery (Harrison Barnes, Kendall Marshall), and two more that should join them in the first round (Tyler Zeller, John Henson). This team started to gel last season and went to the Elite Eight, so look for that to carry over to this season.

North Carolina will be the favorites in this unique contest, and they’ve won five in a row over the Spartans, who won’t go down easily, but they have too many new parts to get used to, and North Carolina is just that good. The Tar Heels will cover the line in your sportsbooks.