By R.L. Bynum
The No. 19 Jayhawks’ first trip in program history to Chapel Hill to face No. 25 North Carolina will come with all the weight of storied programs’ histories.
For Self, the 7 p.m. Friday game (ESPN) is not only a marquee matchup but a bucket-list moment.
“I’ve never been to Chapel Hill to play, so I am personally excited,” Self said Wednesday at his weekly press conference. “I know the players are and will be a lot more as we get closer. But I’m excited about it.”
Self sees games like this as vital for college basketball’s visibility during a time of the year when the focus is on football, since casual fans don’t start following his sport until February.
“I think these are the type of games that we have to play, need to play for our sport,” said Self, who added that he’d like to have his team play Duke at Cameron Indoor Stadium someday. “Anything to promote our sport at a time when football is at its peak. These are the type of games that we have to play.”
More on the game
— UNC coach Hubert Davis says that the Tar Heels must be physical to win the inside battles.
— How, when to watch, Jayhawks highlights, players to watch, game notes
Kansas boasts one of the top freshmen in the country in 6–6, 205-pound point guard Darryn Peterson, who The Athletic projected this week as the top pick in the 2026 NBA draft and was No. 2 in the Class of 2025. But Self said that UNC’s Caleb Wilson, No. 5 in the class, is “probably off to as good a start as any freshman in the country.”
Self acknowledged that Peterson’s lingering cramping issues are a concern.
“We’re not going to be near as effective with him playing 16 minutes a game,” Self said. “But it’s something that we don’t anticipate being anything that lasts.”
Peterson played 22 minutes in Monday’s 94–51 home win over Green Bay, and still scored 21 points. Self said that he hoped Peterson could play 32 to 35 minutes on Friday. He sat out the 71-35 exhibition win over Fort Hays State and scored 26 points in 25 minutes in the 90–82 exhibition win at Louisville.
“We’re taking it serious and feel like we’re in better shape than we were a week ago,” Self said of Peterson.
Self expects a battle between two teams still searching for their identity, who don’t yet know how good they are, but have a chance to be really good.
“They’re big, they’re always great on the glass,” Self said. “They’re always great in transition, and they’re skilled on the perimeter and make shots. Playing at their place in front of [21,750] will be a tough challenge, but one that we need to go through to see where we’re at.”
Self said he will need his frontcourt to play big and for his guards to stay aggressive. Self likes what he’s seen from his group, even if some players are still adjusting to the spotlight.
Kohl Rosario, a 6–6, 200-pound freshman guard who shot 39% from 3-point range during his senior season in high school and was No. 70 in the class, was 1 of 6 from 3-point range against Green Bay.
“I love him as a player,” Self said. “He competes, he wants to get better. The ball is not going in the hole like it was earlier, in large part because I think he’s too amped up and too excited.”
Self’s admiration for North Carolina runs deep from when he was growing up in Oklahoma, following Coach Dean Smith’s exploits.
“I’ve always been so impressed. I always thought Coach Smith was one of the most innovative,” he said. “And then, of course, Coach Roy Williams obviously continued that, and actually did a lot of the same things they did at Carolina at Kansas, at times even better than the past.”
The programs’ histories, he said, are inseparable when you consider that Smith played at Kansas and Williams coached at both schools.
“Is Carolina really Carolina without Kansas? And is Kansas really Kansas without Carolina? And the answer is no,” Self said
Self grew up studying the sport closely and recalls watching Carolina teams loaded with future pros, including the 1982 championship squad featuring Michael Jordan, James Worthy and Sam Perkins.
“As good as Carolina has been over time, they were one of the five favorites to win a national championship most every year,” he said. “When you talk about Blue Bloods — Kentucky and Carolina, Duke, Kansas, Indiana — nobody can claim more history to our sport than what these schools do.”
Friday’s game is the second in a home-and-home agreement between the schools after the Tar Heels played at Allen Fieldhouse last season. Self said that he’d love to play more home-and-homes with UNC, but he never wanted to do that when Williams was coaching at Carolina, and that it was never discussed.
“I don’t know that that would’ve been the right thing to do anyway. It would suck for him, and it would suck for me,” said Self, who took over at Kansas in 2003 when Williams left to take the UNC job. “But I do think it’s different with Hubert [Davis].”
For Self, Friday will be a chance to measure his team, honor the game’s history, and finally experience one of the sport’s most iconic arenas.
| Date | Month/day | Time | Opponent/event (current ranks) | TV/ record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October | ||||
| 24 | Friday | L, 78–76 | vs. No. 10 BYU in SLC | Exhib. |
| 29 | Wednesday | W, 95–53 | vs. Winston-Salem St. | Exhib. |
| November | ||||
| 3 | Monday | W, 94–54 | vs. Central Arkansas | 1–0 |
| 7 | Friday | W, 87–74 | vs. No. 17 Kansas | 2–0 |
| 11 | Tuesday | W, 89–74 | vs. Radford | 3–0 |
| 14 | Friday | W, 97–53 | vs. N.C. Central | 4–0 |
| 18 | Tuesday | W, 73–61 | vs. Navy | 5–0 |
| Fort Myers Tip-Off | ||||
| 25 | Tuesday | W, 85–70 | vs. St. Bonaventure | 6–0 |
| 27 | Thursday | L, 74–58 | vs. No. 9 Michigan State | 6–1 |
| December | ACC/SEC Men’s Challenge | |||
| 2 | Tuesday | W, 67–64 | at Kentucky | 7–1 |
| ————————— | ||||
| 7 | Sunday | W, 81–61 | vs. Georgetown | 8–1 |
| 13 | Saturday | W, 80–62 | vs. USC Upstate | 9–1 |
| 16 | Tuesday | W, 77–58 | vs. ETSU | 10–1 |
| CBS Sports Classic in Atlanta | ||||
| 20 | Saturday | 3 p.m. | vs. Ohio State | CBS |
| ————————— | ||||
| 22 | Monday | 8 p.m. | vs. East Carolina | ACCN |
| 30 | Tuesday | 7 p.m. | vs. Florida State | ESPN2 |
| January | ||||
| 3 | Saturday | 2:15 | at SMU | The CW |
| 10 | Saturday | 6 p.m. | vs. Wake Forest | ACCN |
| 14 | Wednesday | 9 p.m. | at Stanford | ACCN |
| 17 | Saturday | 4 p.m. | at California | ACCN |
| 21 | Wednesday | 7 p.m. | vs. Notre Dame | ESPN2 |
| 24 | Saturday | 2 or 2:30 | at No. 23 Virginia | ESPN or ESPNU |
| 31 | Saturday | 2 p.m. | at Georgia Tech | ACCN |
| February | ||||
| 2 | Monday | 7 p.m. | vs. Syracuse | ESPN |
| 7 | Saturday | 6:30 | vs. No. 3 Duke | ESPN |
| 10 | Tuesday | 7 p.m. | at Miami | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| 14 | Saturday | 2 p.m. | vs. Pittsburgh | ESPN |
| 17 | Tuesday | 7 p.m. | at N.C. State | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| 21 | Saturday | 1 p.m. | at Syracuse | ABC |
| 23 | Monday | 7 p.m. | vs. No. 11 Louisville | ESPN |
| 28 | Saturday | 6:30 or 8:30 | vs. Virginia Tech | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| March | ||||
| 3 | Tuesday | 7 p.m. | vs. Clemson | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| 7 | Saturday | 6:30 | at No. 3 Duke | ESPN |
| 10–14 | Tues.-Sat. | ACC tournament | Spectrum Center, Charlotte |
Photo via kuathletics.com
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