UNC Unites, Races Past Kansas With Second-Half Scoring Spree

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — North Carolina’s home locker room boomed with the sound of different voices at halftime on Friday, with the Tar Heels trailing by eight against No. 19 Kansas.

UNC committed 10 turnovers, shot 10-30 from the field (3-15 from three) and trailed by double digits at one point against the Jayhawks. Outside of a few splash plays here and there, and a brief lead off a Henri Veesaar 3-pointer, North Carolina wasn’t on par with Kansas’ production for most of the first 20 minutes.

“I feel like everybody, really, was talking,” Caleb Wilson said on Friday. “And that’s what I liked about it. It wasn’t just one person talking. Everybody was passionate about getting the win.”

After uniting at halftime and addressing the areas that needed fixing, North Carolina opened the second half with both conviction and pace. UNC took off with an 8-2 run out the gate to cut Kansas’ lead to two, as two dunks from Veesaar and two transition layups from Seth Trimble forced Bill Self to call a timeout just two minutes into the half. 

UNC took its first second-half lead with a Kyan Evans 3-pointer — his first made shot of the game — and re-took it soon after with a pair of Wilson free throws. North Carolina never relinquished the lead after that, controlling the scoreboard for the final 16 minutes and winning 87-74 to advance to 2-0.

“We said, ‘Look, if we would just take care of the basketball, and on the defensive end, just box out and rebound, we could be back in this game within three minutes,’” Hubert Davis said after the game. “They called a timeout, there was like 17 on the clock, it was (almost) a tie score. And was like, ‘Guys, we’re right there. Let’s just continue to do that.’ So for a new team, a new group, to respond that way, and it wasn’t just one, it was the whole team, that was really, really encouraging.”

North Carolina’s victory against Kansas was the program’s first win against the Jayhawks since 2002, snapping a five-game losing streak in the series.

The confidence increased with every dunk, steal and 3-pointer the team earned. North Carolina took outside shots in rhythm, and its ability to dominate the paint offensively, with Wilson and Veesaar each scoring 20 or more points, allowed it to run past Kansas in the second half.

The Tar Heels were sharper in their ball movement, too, turning it over just once after halftime. But the team didn’t just play cleaner — it played faster as well. Even after made baskets from Kansas, inbounders took the ball out of the rim to get the offense going. North Carolina scored 14 points off the Jayhawks’ eight second-half turnovers.

“I think we just settled in,” Evans said. “First big home game with the crowd. First half was a little shaky, and then I think we just settled in the second half and just started playing more like ourselves.”

From Evans looking to the bench and holding up three fingers after hitting a shot from deep, to Veesaar skipping around after forcing Flory Bidunga into a travel, North Carolina kept the crowd engaged throughout the second half of Friday’s marquee matchup. 

The Smith Center crowd came ready for the Jayhawks, booing them heavily from the student section as they took the court during warmups. UNC fans quieted down at the end of the first half and into halftime with Kansas in the lead, but the Tar Heels woke them up with their 58-point second half.

At the end of the game, Evans, Trimble and Wilson all looked at the student section and waved their arms up to the crowd to raise the volume before the buzzer sounded.

“We love the crowd,” Evans said. “They brought us energy. And we have to have a little give and take with them. So it’s fun just to interact.”

North Carolina rose to the occasion in its first true test of the season. The win against Kansas gets the Tar Heels an early-season signature win they could have used last year.

North Carolina will stay at home for its next three games against Radford, North Carolina Central and USC Upstate before the non-conference schedule ramps up. UNC will face St. Bonaventure and No. 22 Michigan State in Fort Myers before heading to Lexington to face No. 9 Kentucky. Games against Georgetown and Ohio State also remain before conference play begins.

Despite going into a hole in the first half, North Carolina responded with authority coming out of the locker room. That assertive play boosted UNC in Friday’s win.

“We all kind of unite as a team, and we’re all competitors,” Veesaar said. “We want to win. So we know that as long as we play hard and have effort, everything is going to come together.”