No. 19 Kansas vs. No. 25 North Carolina: Game notes and more

What: 19 KANSAS AT #25 NORTH CAROLINA

Where: Chapel Hill, N.C. • Dean E. Smith Center (21,750)
When: Friday, November 7, 2025 • 6 p.m. (CT)

Television: ESPN

Play-by-Play: Dan Shulman
Analyst: Jay Bilas

Producer: Joe Taylor
Director: Mike Roig

TIPOFF

— No. 19 Kansas (1-0) will play at No. 25 North Carolina (1-0) on Friday, Nov. 7. The blueblood battle will tip from the Dean E. Smith Center at 6 p.m. (Central), and the game will be televised on ESPN
with Dan Shulman and Jay Bilas calling the action. Kansas ranks No. 2 in all-time victories with 2,415 wins, while North Carolina is No. 3 at 2,395.

— Kansas holds a 7-6 all-time series edge on North Carolina, and KU has won the last five meetings, with four of those being in the NCAA Tournament. The last matchup was last season, a Kansas 92-89 win on Nov. 8, 2024, in Allen Fieldhouse. This will be the first meeting between the two schools played in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

— Kansas has won seven-straight games versus ACC opponents and 16 of its last 17 against the league dating back to 2012. The 16-1 mark includes wins versus Duke (5), UNC (4), NC State (3), Miami, Clemson, Wake Forest, and Syracuse.

— Kansas is No. 19 in both the Associated Press and USA TODAY Coaches polls entering the 2025-26 season. This marks the 34th consecutive season Kansas is ranked in the Associated Press (AP)preseason poll. Since 2006-07, this marks the 20th consecutive season Kansas has been ranked in the coaches’ poll. Including 2025-26, KU has been ranked in 34 of the last 35 coaches’ polls, a streak that started in 1991-92.

— Kansas head coach Bill Self is 610-156 in his 23rd season at KU. Last season, Self became Kansas’ all-time winningest coach, surpassing Phog Allen, who was 590-129 in 36 seasons on the KU sidelines. Self is in his 33rd season overall with an 817-261 record. He is one of only four active coaches with 800 or career wins – Rick Barnes, John Calipari, and Kelvin Sampson.

ABOUT KANSAS

No. 19 Kansas opened the 2025-26 season with a 94-51 win against Green Bay on Nov. 3. KU was led by sophomore Flory Bidunga who scored a career-high 23 points on 9-of-11 shooting with six rebounds and three blocked shots. Freshman guard Darryn Peterson scored 21 points in his collegiate debut on 7-of-11 shooting with three threes, three assists, and two steals. Senior Melvin Council Jr. added 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting with a team-high four assists. The win marked KU’s 53rd consecutive home opening victory, a streak that started in the 1973-74 season.

Kansas allowed 51 points in the season opener against Green Bay, marking the fewest allowed in a season opener since allowing 50 to Western Michigan 69-50 in 1993.

Kansas returns six letterwinners from the 2024-25 season. Bidunga started six games last season. Elmarko Jackson was a redshirt in 2024-25. He started 17 games in 2023-24 and returns after a torn patella injury that occurred in June 2024. Sophomore Jamari McDowell took a redshirt in 2024-25. McDowell played in 31 games in 2023-24 and averaged 7.2 minutes per contest.

Kansas welcomes eight newcomers to the KU squad, featuring Peterson, the top-rated recruit in the nation. There are four upperclassmen transfers on the newcomers list with Council, senior Jayden Dawson, graduate Nginyu “Gee” Ngala, and Tre White.

Peterson, the third No. 1-ranked national recruit to play for Self at Kansas, joining Andrew Wiggins and Josh Jackson, is surrounded by a talented freshman class this year, including Kohl Rosario, Paul Mbiya, Tiller, Samis Calderon, and Corbin Allen.

ABOUT NORTH CAROLINA

Located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, No. 25 North Carolina won its opener, 94-54, against Central Arkansas on Nov. 3. The Tar Heels are coached by UNC alum Hubert Davis who is 102-45 in his fifth season at UNC. Freshman F Caleb Wilson led North Carolina in the season opener scoring 22 points. Junior G Kyan Evans had 15 points and led the team with five assists and four steals. Redshirtjunior C Henri Veesaar posted a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds, while senior G Seth Trimble had 12 points and four assists and junior G Luka Bogavac poured in 10 points.

North Carolina went 23-14 last year and 13-7 in the ACC. UNC returns two starters and five letterwinners from last season and has 10 newcomers on its roster.

THE KU/UNC SERIES

The Jayhawks and Tar Heels meet for the 14th time in the series history with Kansas holding a 7-6 edge. The two teams last met on Nov. 8, 2024, in Allen Fieldhouse with Kansas winning 92-89. This will be the first meeting between the two schools in Chapel Hill.

The first meeting was in the 1957 NCAA title game won by UNC, 54-53 in triple overtime at historical Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Missouri.

CONNECTIONS

— North Carolina assistant coach Brad Frederick’s father is former Kansas Athletics Director Bob Frederick who served as AD from 1987-2001 and passed away in June

— Bob Frederick hired Roy Williams who coached at Kansas for 15 seasons.

— Jonas Sahration is in his 22nd year as the North Carolina strength and conditioning coach. Sahration was in the same role at Kansas for five years, including Bill Self’s first season at KU in 2003-04.

— Kansas women’s basketball Associate Head Coach Morgan Paige’s brother, Marcus Paige, is a former North Carolina player and is currently in his third season as assistant coach at UNC.

— Legendary North Carolina coach Dean Smith was born in Emporia, Kansas, and graduated from KU in 1953. He was a member of Kansas’ 1952 NCAA National Championship team. Smith coached at North Carolina from 1961-97 and won two titles in 1982 and 1993, defeating Kansas, coached by Williams, in the 1993 title game.

— Hall of Fame coach Roy Williams’ first head coaching job was at Kansas from 1989-2003. Williams guided KU to four Final Fours (1991, 1993, 2002, 2003), nine conference regular-season titles, and four league tournament titles, amassing a 418-101 record. Williams returned to his alma mater and guided UNC to three NCAA titles (2005, 2009, 2017) and concluded with a career record of 903-264.

— Hall of Fame coach Larry Brown was an assistant coach at North Carolina from 1965-67. Brown coached five seasons at Kansas from 1983-88, guiding the Jayhawks to two Final Fours, including the 1988 NCAA National Championship.

A KANSAS WIN WOULD…

— Make Kansas 2-0 for the fifth-consecutive season and the 14th time in Bill Self’s 23rd season at KU … Give Kansas six-straight wins against North Carolina, making the series 8-6 in favor of KU … Make Bill Self 611-156 while at Kansas, 818-261 all-time and 7-1 versus North Carolina, 6-0 while at Kansas … Make Kansas 2,416-909 all time.

A KANSAS LOSS WOULD…

— Make Kansas 1-1 for the first time since the 2020-21 season… End a Kansas five-game winning streak against North Carolina, making the all-time series tied at 7-7 … Make Bill Self 610-157 while at KU, 817-262 all-time and 6-2 versus North Carolina, 5-1 while at Kansas … Make KU 2,415-910 all time.

GREEN BAY LEFTOVERS

— The win gave Kansas its 53rd consecutive home opening win, a streak that began in 1973-74

–The Jayhawks had nine players make their Kansas debut. All nine players scored in the victory. The players making their debuts included: Peterson (21 points), Melvin Council Jr. (10), Tre White (9), Bryson Tiller (7), Kohl Rosario (6), Jayden Dawson (5), Nginyu Ngala (5), Samis Calderon (1) and Paul Mbiya (1).

— Kansas allowed 51 points in the season opener, marking the fewest allowed in a season opener since allowing 50 to Western Michigan 69-50 in 1993.

— The Jayhawks finished with 20 assists to just three turnovers in the win. It marks the first time Kansas registered 20 or more assists with three or less turnovers since at least the 1989-90 season.

— Kansas’ three turnovers were its fewest since KU had two turnovers against Oklahoma on Jan. 13, 2024 and is tied for the program’s second-fewest turnovers in a game in the Big 12 era. The Jayhawks also turned it over three times against Texas in 2015 in Austin.

— Eight different Jayhawks made a three-point field goal. The last time that happened was against Omaha (12.11.2020).

— Flory Bidunga recorded his first 20-point game and set a new career high with 23 points on 9-11 shooting from the field. Bidunga also led the team with six rebounds and shot 5-6 from the free throw line. Bidunga made his first nine shots of the game, which ties for the third most consecutive shots made by a Jayhawk.

— Freshman Darryn Peterson’s 21 points marked the most points in a Kansas debut by a freshman since Gradey Dick had 23 against Omaha (11-7-2022).

— Senior Melvin Council Jr. recorded his 58th game with 10-plus points in Division I after scoring 10 points on 4-5 shooting from the field. Council recorded his 1,000th career point scored at the NCAA D1 level.

— Freshman Kohl Rosario led the team with three offensive rebounds. Rosario finished the game with six points, three assists, and five total rebounds.