By R.L. Bynum
CHAPEL HILL — RJ Davis remembers well the last time he faced Ryan Griffen. It didn’t go well.
With the long 6–6 guard aggressively defending him all game, Davis missed all nine 3-point attempts and was 4 of 20 shooting in Carolina’s 89–87 Sweet 16 loss in Los Angeles to Alabama.
After helping the Tide make the Final Four, Griffen transferred to Kansas and will likely guard Davis again when the No. 9 Tar Heels (1–0) visit the No. 1 Jayhawks (1–0) at 7 p.m. ET Friday night (ESPN).
“Obviously [they] had a longer defender just to make it difficult for me to make the tough shots,” said Davis, who remembers also facing Griffen in CP3 camp. “Kind of pushed [me] out on the perimeter to catch the basketball.”
Davis said at a Smith Center press conference Wednesday that he’s rewatched that game.
“Most of the shots were all good looks,” Davis said. “They weren’t anything that were difficult for me to make. I just missed them. But he’s a great defender.”
On the defensive end, Davis guarded Aaron Estrada rather than Griffen.
Griffen, a junior, scored 19 points and five 3-pointers for Alabama in the game and is one of several transfers who make up the No. 3 transfer portal class Coach Bill Self lured to Kansas.
“He can really shoot,” UNC coach Hubert Davis said. “He’s got great length. He’s really good in transition. But he’s not just a shooter. He can put the ball on the floor; he can attack. He can finish at the basket, [has a] mid-range game, can get to the free-throw line. He’s a heck of a basketball player.
“He had success against us in the NCAA tournament,” Coach Davis said. “He’ll continue to do that at Kansas, and he’s one of the many guys on their roster that, from a defensive standpoint, we have to stay close to and take away those open looks from 3-point range.”
Griffen had five points, one 3-pointer and three assists Monday in Kansas’ 87–57 opening-game win at home over Howard.
Kansas has retooled its roster after going 10–8 in the Big 12 last season, its worst league winning percentage since Coach Roy Williams’ first Jayhawks team went 6–8 in 1988–89.
The Jayhawks lost a pair of second-round NBA draft picks (guards Kevin McCullar Jr. and Johnny Furphy) but returned three starters — fifth-year 7–2 center Hunter Dickinson (16 points, six rebounds, three steals and two blocks against Howard), senior 6–7 forward K.J. Adams Jr. (seven points, four rebounds and three assists) and fifth-year 6–2 guard Dajuan Harris Jr. (six points, three assists).
The only other transfer who started against Howard was 5–11 former Northern Illinois guard David Coit (eight points, four assists, two rebounds and two steals).
Kansas also added 6–4 senior Zeke Mayo (19 points against Howard), the Summit League Player of the Year for South Dakota State last season, 6–7 junior AJ Storr (five points) from Wisconsin and 6–1 fifth-year guard Shakeel Moore, who has played at N.C. State and Mississippi State.
Moore broke a bone in a foot and missed nine weeks of practice. He’s now practicing fully but he didn’t play against Howard because his foot hurt after Sunday’s practice.
NOTES — Carolina is 14–18 against No. 1 teams, and Kansas will be the 13th program the Tar Heels have faced when that team is No. 1. UNC is 6–7 in road games against No. 1 teams, the last coming on Feb. 20, 2019, an 88–72 victory over Duke as the No. 8 team. … This will be the second UNC game at Kansas and the first since the Tar Heels’ 78–80 win on Feb. 17, 1960, under Coach Frank McGuire behind 25 points from York Larese. … The teams have split 12 games, but the Jayhawks have won the last four meetings, all in the NCAA tournament, including two in the Final Four. Kansas beat Carolina 72–69 in the 2022 NCAA championship at the Superdome in New Orleans. … Carolina’s last win was 67–56 on Nov. 27, 2002, in the Preseason NIT at Madison Square Garden under Coach Matt Doherty. … UNC won the first three meetings, with the 54–53 triple-overtime victory in the 1957 NCAA championship game the first one. … Larese, Hubert Davis and Rashad McCants share the record for most points against Kansas with 25. McCants’ 25 came in that 2002 game, and Davis’ came in the 79–73 Final Four loss on March 30, 1991, under Coach Dean Smith when Williams was the Kansas coach.
UNC-Kansas series
| Date | Month/day | Time/ score | Opponent/event (current ranks) | TV/ record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October | ||||
| 15 | Tuesday | W, 84–76 | at Memphis | Exhibition |
| 27 | Sunday | W, 127–63 | vs. Johnson C. Smith | Exhibition |
| November | ||||
| 4 | Monday | W, 90–76 | vs. Elon | 1–0 |
| 8 | Friday | 7 p.m. ET | at No. 1 Kansas | ESPN2 |
| 15 | Friday | 8 p.m. | vs. American | ACCN |
| 22 | Friday | 12:30 a.m ET | at Hawaii | ESPN2 |
| Maui Invitational | ||||
| 25 | Monday | 11:30 p.m. ET | Dayton | ESPN2 |
| 26 | Tuesday | 8:30 or 11 ET | No. 11 Auburn or Iowa State | ESPN or ESPNU |
| 27 | Wednesday | 2:30 ET, 5 p.m., 9:30 or midnight | Memphis, No. 3 UConn, Colorado or Michigan State | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| December | ACC/SEC Men’s Challenge | |||
| 4 | Wednesday | 7:15 | vs. No. 2 Alabama | ESPN |
| ————————— | ||||
| 7 | Saturday | 2 p.m. | vs. Georgia Tech | ACCN |
| 14 | Saturday | 4 p.m. | vs. LaSalle | The CW |
| Jumpman Invitational in Charlotte | ||||
| 17 | Tuesday | 7 p.m. | No. 21 Florida | ESPN |
| CBS Sports Classic at Madison Square Garden | ||||
| 21 | Saturday | 3 p.m. | UCLA | CBS |
| ————————— | ||||
| 29 | Sunday | 8 p.m. | vs. Campbell | ACCN |
| January | ||||
| 1 | Wednesday | TBA | at Louisville | ACCN |
| 4 | Saturday | Noon | at Notre Dame | CBS |
| 7 | Tuesday | 9 p.m. | vs. SMU | ACCN |
| 11 | Saturday | 4 p.m. | at N.C. State | ACCN |
| 15 | Wednesday | 7 p.m. | vs. Cal | ACCN |
| 18 | Saturday | 2:15 | vs. Stanford | The CW |
| 21 | Tuesday | 9 p.m. | at Wake Forest | ESPN |
| 25 | Saturday | 2:15 p.m. | vs. Boston College | The W |
| 28 | Tuesday | 9 p.m. | at Pittsburgh | ESPN |
| February | ||||
| 1 | Saturday | 6:30 p.m. | at No. 7 Duke | ESPN |
| 8 | Saturday | 4 p.m. | vs. Pittsburgh | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| 10 | Monday | 7 p.m. | at Clemson | ESPN |
| 15 | Saturday | 6 p.m. | at Syracuse | ESPN |
| 19 | Wednesday | 7 p.m. | vs. N.C. State | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| 22 | Saturday | 4 p.m. | vs. Virginia | ESPN |
| 24 | Monday | 7 p.m. | at Florida State | ESPN |
| March | ||||
| 1 | Saturday | Noon | vs. Miami | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| 4 | Tuesday | 7 p.m. | at Virginia Tech | ESPN, ESPN2 orESPNU |
| 8 | Saturday | 6:30 | vs. No. 7 Duke | ESPN |
| 11– 15 | Tues.–Sat. | ACC tournament Spectum Center, Charlotte |
Photo via @KUHoops
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