LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — The first half of a much-hyped regular season matchup between No. 1 Kansas and No. 9 North Carolina was lopsided in favor of the home team, with the Jayhawks at one point holding a 20-point lead before going into halftime up 53-38.
Then the Tar Heels woke up.
With the combination of better defense and a sizeable advantage at the free throw line, UNC came back in the second half, leading to a back-and-forth affair between the two storied programs until the last second.
But Kansas once again got the better of the Tar Heels, winning 92-89 as Elliot Cadeau’s potentially game-tying three-pointer bounced off the rim right before the buzzer sounded.
The Jayhawks’ size and length proved to be too much for UNC (1-1). Hunter Dickinson, who along with the Tar Heels’ RJ Davis made the AP’s preseason All-America team, notched a double-double with 20 points and 10 rebounds. Zeke Mayo led Kansas (2-0) with 21 points off the bench, while KJ Adams, AJ Storr and Dajuan Harris also scored in double digits.
Kansas led by 20 in the first half but trailed 87-83 with 3:28 to go. Dickinson and Mayo responded with a series of baskets to tie the game at 89, and Dickinson’s basket with 1:15 to go and free throw with 12 seconds remaining made it a three-point game.
The Tar Heels raced up the floor, but Cadeau’s 3 from the wing was contested and never had a chance.
Cadeau finished with 12 points and seven assists for North Carolina. Fellow guards Seth Trimble and Davis scored 19 points and 16 points, respectively, to lead the Tar Heels.
The Tar Heels have now lost five games in a row to the Jayhawks, with the previous four all during the NCAA Tournament. UNC’s most recent loss to Kansas was in the 2022 NCAA championship game at the Superdome in New Orleans, when the Jayhawks stormed back from a double-digit deficit in the second half to snatch the title.
Friday night’s matchup was the first of a home-and-home series between the two schools. Next fall, the Jayhawks will travel to Chapel Hill for the first time ever to play the Tar Heels at the Smith Center.
Takeaways
North Carolina stayed alive by getting to the basket and drawing fouls, ultimately going 28 of 31 from the line. But the lack of production in the paint was a big problem.
Kansas avoided what would have been the biggest blown-lead loss in school history.
Key moment
Dickinson’s basket inside with 1:15 left gave Kansas the lead, and the All-American center’s free throw forced North Carolina into needing a 3-pointer to tie the game.
Key stat
20 — The lead that Kansas had in the first half. And that the Tar Heels overcame in the second.
Up next
North Carolina plays American next Friday night. The Jayhawks play Michigan State on Tuesday night in Atlanta.