By R.L. Bynum
No. 19 Kansas (1–0) at No. 25 North Carolina (1–0)
When: 7:01 p.m. Friday
TV: ESPN; Dan Shulman play-by-play, Jay Bilas analyst
Radio: Tar Heel Sports Network (affiliates list; streams on the Varsity Network app);
Jones Angell play-by-play, Tyler Zeller analyst
Series: Kansas leads 7–6 (first meeting in Chapel Hill; see list below)
Line: UNC by 1½
Moneylines: Kansas -104; UNC -115
Over/under: 154½
Kansas results
Oct. 24: 90–82 exhibition win at Louisville
Oct. 28: 71–35 exhibition win vs. Fort Hays State
Monday: 94–51 win vs. Green Bay
Projected Kansas starters
PG: Darryn Peterson (top photo) | 6–6, 205 | freshman
— Opener: 22 minutes, 21 points, 7–11 FG, 3–7 3FG, 4–4 FT, 4 rebounds, 1 foul, 3 assists, 1 turnover, 1 block, 2 steals
— The Athletic projects the Big 12 Preseason Freshman of the Year to be the top pick in the 2026 NBA draft. Green Bay coach Doug Gottlieb called Peterson the “closest thing to Kobe [Bryant] I’ve seen. Kid is awesome.” He dealt with cramping issues during the preseason that forced him to miss the Fort Hays State exhibition. Seth Trimble figures to get the defensive assignment on Peterson, but it could go to Jarin Stevenson.
G: Kohl Rosario | 6–6, 200 | freshman
— Opener: 20 minutes, 6 points, 2–7 FG, 1–6 3FG, 1–2 FT, 5 rebounds, 2 fouls, 3 assists
— Boasting a 6–9 wingspan, he shot 39% from 3-point range as a high school senior but has struggled shooting through two exhibitions and the opener.
G: Melvin Council Jr. | 6–4, 180 | senior
— Opener: 26 minutes, 10 points, 4–5 FG, 2–2 FT, 5 rebounds, 4 assists
— The St. Bonaventure transfer earned All-A10 Third Team honors and averaged 14.6 points and 4.1 assists per game.
F: Tre White | 6–7, 215 | senior
— Opener: 20 minutes, 9 points, 4–7 FG, 1–3 3FG, 1 rebound, 3 fouls, 3 assists, 1 steal
— Four-star recruit out of high school, who has played at USC (Pac-12 All-Freshman Team), Louisville and Illinois, and averaged 10.5 points and 5.5 rebounds last season for the Illini.
C: Flory Bidunga | 6–10, 235 | sophomore
— Opener: 25 minutes, career-high 23 points, 9–11 FG, 5–6 FT, 6 rebounds, 3 fouls, 1 assist, 3 blocks
— A native of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, he was a five-star recruit and Indiana Gatorade Player of the Year twice. Bidunga, who starts this season after backing up Hunter Dickinson last season, has recorded multiple blocks 14 times. His physicality will present a challenge for Henri Veesaar.
Kansas roster
— Kansas is the first of five marquee conference opponents, along with Michigan State at the Fort Myers Tip-Off on Nov. 27, a visit to No. 9 Kentucky for the ACC/SEC Men’s Challenge on Dec. 2, a Dec. 7 home game against Georgetown, and a CBS Sports Classic matchup on Dec. 20 against Ohio State in Atlanta. UNC will be the heavy favorites against the Hoyas and in all of the other nonconference games.
— Friday’s game is the second of five consecutive home games, the first time UNC has opened with five straight home games since 1919, when the opener wasn’t until Jan. 23 (two games against Durham YMCA and one each against Guilford, Wake Forest and Elon).
— This is the seventh meeting with both teams ranked, but with the lowest combined ranking of any of those games at 44. The previous low was 21 in 1960 when No. 5 UNC beat No. 16 Kansas 78–70 at Allen Fieldhouse. Carolina was unranked in two of the previous three meetings.
— This is the first meeting with neither team ranked in the top 10 since 1959, when both teams were unranked.
— The last time Kansas played UNC as an unranked team was when the No. 1 Tar Heels won 74–67 in Charlotte on Nov. 28, 1981, in Michael Jordan’s college debut.
— Carolina’s last victory over Kansas came 67–56 in Madison Square Garden under Matt Doherty in the 2002 Preseason NIT. That was the only time UNC faced Kansas under Doherty.
— UNC and Kansas have combined for 10 NCAA championships, 247 NCAA tournament wins, 36 Final Fours and 4,811 wins.
— This will be the third UNC-Kansas game in North Carolina but the first in Chapel Hill. After Friday, St. John’s will be the only program ranked in the top 10 of all-time wins to never have played in Chapel Hill.
— While UNC wants to push the pace with Seth Trimble and Kyan Evans, Kansas thrives on controlled half-court sets.
— Kansas shot 56.9% from the floor and 37% from 3-point range in its opener.
More on the game
— UNC coach Hubert Davis says that the Tar Heels must be physical to win the inside battles.
— Kansas coach Bill Self relishes the chance to play at the Smith Center, but says that he didn’t want to do that when Roy Williams was the coach because it “would suck for him and it would suck for me.”
— Kansas is second in all-time wins with 2,414, and UNC is third at 2,395.
— Carolina won six of the first eight meetings, including the 1957 national championship game (54–53 in three OTs), but Kansas has won the last five meetings (including four NCAA tournament games) and leads the all-time series 7–6.
— In the Big 12 Tournament on March 13 last season, Veesaar scored 19 points in Arizona’s 88–77 loss to Kansas.
— Caleb Wilson’s 22 points were the fourth-most by a UNC freshman in his debut since they became eligible in 1972–73. The top-five freshman scoring debuts: Cole Anthony, 34 points vs. Notre Dame on Nov. 6, 2019; Rashad McCants, 28 vs. Penn State on Nov. 18, 2002; Joseph Forte, 24 vs. USC on Nov. 22, 1999; Wilson, 22 vs. Central Arkansas on Monday; and Tyler Hansbrough, 21 vs. Gardner-Webb on Nov. 19, 2005.
Opening-game boxes
KenPom comparison
| Category | Kansas | UNC |
| KenPom ranking | 19 | 30 |
| Offensive efficiency | 115.2 (35) | 116.4 (25) |
| Defensive efficiency | 92.8 (7) | 96.6 (42) |
| Effective FG Pct. | 65.5 (13) | 58.5 (54) |
| Turnover pct. | 4.7 (1) | 15.9 (93) |
| Offensive rebound pct. | 32.1 (135) | 37.5 (74) |
| FTA/FGA | 41.4 (103) | 33.8 (153) |
| Strength of schedule | 244 | 254 |
Series: Kansas 7, UNC 6
| 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 courtesy of Kansas Athletics
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