Behind a 53-point first half, No. 1-ranked Kansas eked out a 92-89 win against No. 9-ranked North Carolina on Friday in Allen Fieldhouse. The UNC basketball program could not overcome a 15-point halftime deficit as Kansas took advantage of their size all night, allowing the Jayhawks to earn an early season top-10 win.
Graduate guard RJ Davis got the scoring started for the Tar Heels with a three from the wing. That was the beginning of a 7-0 run to put the Tar Heels up five early.
The lead didn't last long. The Jayhawks recognized North Carolina's weakness and attacked it. Graduate center Hunter Dickinson used his height advantage down low and dominated the game, finishing with 20 points. He also cleaned up on the glass with 10 boards. Senior forward KJ Adams Jr. also found relative ease against UNC's defense, collecting 14 points.
In total, KU finished the game with 50 points in the paint, compared to UNC's 32.
North Carolina's backcourt kept the Tar Heels in the game. First-year guard Ian Jackson had the best game of his early UNC basketball career with 10 points. The Tar Heels' starting trio of guards all scored in the double digits.
And on their backs, the Tar Heels led a comeback in the second half. After a crowd-silencing corner three from graduate forward Jae'Lyn Withers, UNC cut the lead to just two with under nine minutes to go in the game. Almost two minutes later, the Tar Heels had the lead for the first time since 15:40 remaining in the first.
North Carolina's defense, which couldn't stop anything in the first half, suddenly became suffocating. UNC's lead was extended to two possessions with under four minutes to go.
But at the end of the day, it was KU's size that proved to be the difference. With the game knotted at 89, senior guard Zeke Mayo found Dickinson in the paint, who easily laid in the game-winning shot.
The Tar Heels will look to right the ship next Friday night when they take on American in the Dean Dome. This will be UNC's final contest before crossing the Pacific for a week of games in Hawaii.