CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — No. 25 North Carolina unleashed an explosive second-half offensive barrage to defeat No. 19 Kansas 87-74 in Friday night’s matchup of college basketball blue bloods, snapping a five-game losing streak against the Jayhawks.
UNC’s Second-Half Surge Propelled by Trimble and Freshmen
Freshman sensation Caleb Wilson led the way for the Tar Heels (2-0) with 24 points, while big man Henri Veesaar added 20 points to the winning effort.
The catalyst for UNC’s dominance, however, was senior guard Seth Trimble. After scoring only four points in the first half, Trimble exploded for 13 of his 17 points after the break, aggressively setting the second-half tempo. His back-to-back, push-the-tempo scores early in the half prompted a frustrated Kansas coach Bill Self to burn a quick timeout barely two minutes in.
Guard Kyan Evans added 12 points after a scoreless first half, contributing to an astonishing 58 second-half points for North Carolina. The Tar Heels shot a phenomenal 66.7% (24-of-36) from the field in the second half, a massive improvement from their 33% shooting before the break, ultimately allowing them to lead by as many as 16 points.
Kansas Star Freshman Shines Despite Loss
The Jayhawks (1-1) started strong, leading by 10 in the first half and taking a 37-29 lead into halftime.
Kansas star freshman Darryn Peterson delivered a stellar performance despite the loss, leading his team with 22 points. Peterson became the first KU freshman to score 20 points in back-to-back games since Ochai Agbaji in 2019 and the first KU player since Agbaji in 2021 to score 20 or more points in the first two games of the season.
Freshman Bryson Tiller added 12 points for the Jayhawks, going a perfect 4-for-4 from 3-point range, a feat last accomplished by a KU freshman in Gradey Dick in 2023. Tre White also hit double digits with 10 points, and sophomore Flory Bidunga contributed eight points and seven rebounds.
History in Chapel Hill
The highly anticipated rivalry game marked the first time the two programs—which share a combined 10 NCAA titles—have played each other in Chapel Hill. The Jayhawks entered the contest with a five-game winning streak against the Tar Heels, including victories in the 2008 Final Four, the 2012 NCAA Elite Eight, and the 2022 national championship game. Kansas had won last year’s meeting at Allen Fieldhouse despite blowing a 20-point lead.
Kansas returns home to face Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Tuesday.
