Instant Analysis: UNC Blitzes Kansas, Delivers Early Season Statement

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — North Carolina didn’t miss on the opportunity to make an early season statement, and perhaps start rewriting the non-conference narrative that became an albatross last season.

The 25th-ranked Tar Heels sprinted past 19th-ranked Kansas 87-74 on Friday night in front of a packed house at the rocking Smith Center, riding an enormous second-half turnaround in this Top 25 showdown between these blue-blood programs.

Caleb Wilson pumped in 24 points to go along with seven rebounds, four assists and four steals, Henri Veesaar supplied 20 points, and Seth Trimble contributed 17 points and eight rebounds, as UNC (2-0) connected on sizzling 66.7-percent shooting from the field during the second half. The Tar Heels trailed 37-29 after a struggle-filled first half, and then emerged from halftime shifting into a significantly higher gear to deliver an inspired second half.

Carolina blitzed Kansas 58-37 in the second half, and ultimately stopped a five-game losing skid against the Jayhawks. The convincing victory marked UNC’s first defeat of Kansas since November 2002. Last season, coach Hubert Davis’s Tar Heels repeatedly stumbled in these types of spotlighted non-conference assignments against major opponents, on their way to getting stuck with a glaring 1-12 record in Quad 1 games in the NET rankings.

But there were no such missteps on this night. In the second half, Wilson’s sweet turnaround jumper moved UNC ahead 46-43, and the surging Tar Heels were in the process of never looking back. They sank 6-of-8 from the field to open the second half, and three of those buckets were Veesaar dunks.

Later, Kyan Evans buried a 3-pointer, Veesaar deposited a reverse dunk and Wilson dunked as UNC put together a 12-0 run — which might as well have been an uppercut — to lead 58-46. Carolina led by as many as 16 points during the second half. Evans chipped in 12 second-half points, after going scoreless in the first half.

Star freshman Darryn Peterson’s 22 points topped the Jayhawks (1-1). He’s among the early contenders for the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, but the Tar Heels didn’t allow Friday night to unfold into a showcase for Peterson’s considerable stock.

Bryson Tiller added 12 points for Kansas on 4-for-4 three-point shooting. But he went scoreless during the sea-changing second half and fouled out with 9:22 remaining in the game, when Carolina led 67-56.

Tar Heels Trail After First-Half Struggle

Kansas led 37-29 by halftime, a juncture by which UNC was spinning its wheels in a struggle offensively. Caleb Wilson scored 12 points in the first half, and Henri Veesaar added 10 points. But while Wilson and Veesaar started a combined 8-for-11 from the field, the rest of the Tar Heels were just 2-for-19.

Carolina went ahead 25-22 briefly, after Zayden High and Veesaar connected on back-to-back 3-pointers, whipping the fired-up home crowd into a lather. But Kansas countered with a 10-0 run, as freshman big man Bryson Tiller drilled three straight 3s in quick succession. Coming out of a timeout, the Tar Heels lost the 6-foot-11 Tiller on a pick-and-pop, and Darryn Peterson fed him for his fourth 3-point make of the first half. That gave the Jayhawks a 35-25 lead in the final three minutes of the first half.

Tiller pumped in 12 first-half points, while Peterson scored 11. Earlier, the freshman star Peterson picked up his second foul with 9:25 remaining in the first half. Kansas led 20-15 then, and UNC couldn’t capitalize on the opportunity with Peterson parked on the bench. The Tar Heels trimmed their deficit to 20-19 while Peterson was out of the game.

Guard play hampered Carolina during the first half. The Tar Heels didn’t get much of anything from Kyan Evans and Luka Bogavac — who went 0-for-8 from the field, including 0-for-6 beyond the 3-point arc — and Seth Trimble had trouble finishing on a number of drives. Trimble had four points and four rebounds in the first half, but shot just 1-for-6 from the field.

Altogether, UNC entered halftime with as many turnovers (10) as successful field goals (10). The Tar Heels were weak with the ball at times and loose with it at others, while shooting just 10-for-30 from the field during the first half, including 3-for-15 from 3-point range.

Next on the Schedule

Carolina hits a three-game stretch of home games against mid-major opponents during which it will be heavily favored, beginning with Radford’s visit on Tuesday night. The Highlanders of the Big South Conference blasted West Virginia Wesleyan, a Division II program, on Friday night to improve to 2-0 on the new season.

Matchups against NC Central (of the MEAC) and Navy (of the Patriot League) follow Radford on the schedule for the Tar Heels, who will play eight games against mid-major teams prior to Christmas across the non-conference portion of the season. UNC leads Radford 3-0 in the all-time series, and last met the Highlanders to open the 2023-24 season.