What we learned from UNC basketball’s big early-season win over Kansas

The last time these two storied programs met — the first game of the first home-and-home series between Kansas and UNC, at around this time last year — Hubert Davis got pretty animated at halftime. He was fiery and loud as he delivered a clear message to his team, which had fallen behind the Jayhawks: “We’ve got to be tough. We’ve got to want to fight.” That’s how Seth Trimble recalled the speech, at least.

This time, however, Davis was calm and positive, per Colorado State transfer Kyan Evans.

“Everybody knew what we had to do,” Evans said. “It was just looking forward to coming out and changing it.”

After a few Henri Veesaar dunks and two Trimble layups to start the second half, the No. 25 Tar Heels were off to the races — erasing a double-digit first-half deficit in an 87-74 win over No. 19 Kansas and North Carolina’s first victory over the Jayhawks since the Matt Doherty era.

Following a grueling first half with plenty of scoring droughts for both sides, the second half unfolded more like a heavyweight bout. Both teams continued to trade blows, but the knockout might’ve been when Bryson Tiller drew his fifth and final foul. That came with just over nine minutes remaining in the game, taking out the Jayhawks’ second-best scorer, behind Darryn Peterson.

The UNC students in the rafters waved goodbye in unison. North Carolina continued to fire away, with guards Jonathan Powell and Luka Bogavac both connecting from deep. The team as a whole found its shooting touch in the second half, connecting on 66.7% of its shots after halftime.

Wilson and Veesaar lead the early charge

Entering Friday, it would’ve been fair to say that Caleb Wilson has turned out to be everything the UNC coaching staff thought he’d be — and maybe a bit more.

But this? When Wilson wasn’t crashing the boards, or dunking, he relentlessly attacked loose balls or fired the crowd up by forcing a 10-second backcourt violation. Wilson initiated offense. He drew fouls. He did it all, finishing with a game-high 24 points.

“Him diving on loose balls and just his energy and effort and enthusiasm, [that is] one of the things that we talk about,” Davis said. “We just need one and everybody will follow suit.”

Veesaar, too, provided a bulk of UNC’s early offense. He finished the first half with 10 points on four-of-five shooting — including a pair of three-pointers. And the seven-footer could’ve done even more. There were a few times when Veesaar had great position inside, but a guard failed to find him or looked too late.

The duo of Wilson and Veesaar proved crucial in an otherwise stagnant first half for the Tar Heels’ offense. And they didn’t slow down in the second half, either.

Veesaar and Wilson combined for 44 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists on the game.

Tar Heels handle ball better in second half

Kansas limited the Tar Heels to 10-of-30 shooting from the field in the first half. Meanwhile, UNC did plenty to help the Jayhawks’ offense on the other end.

Davis emphasized the importance of taking care of the basketball ahead of this game, as he does with pretty much any contest. Along with rebounding and defending without fouling, it’s one of the pillars he preaches to his players. But 17 of Kansas’ first-half points came off of North Carolina turnovers. The Tar Heels, on the other hand, recorded just two points off of turnovers in the opening period.

But after committing 10 turnovers in the first half, UNC turned the ball over just once in the second half. The team’s ball movement as a whole appeared much more seamless, with the Tar Heels accruing 11 of their 16 assists on the game in that second frame.

“It just wasn’t good offense for us,” Davis said of the first half. “And so, in the second half, it was the exact opposite. We always changed sides of the floor. We had great ball and player movement that allowed us to find lanes to be able to attack the basket.”

If your name isn’t Henri or Caleb…

Veesaar and Wilson combined for 22 of UNC’s 29 points in the first half on 8-of-10 shooting. As for the rest of the team? 2-of-20 and seven points.

Trimble had four of those points (two came from the free throw line), while Zayden High added one three-pointer (he also gave up a few to Kansas’ Tiller).

Despite the Tar Heels’ less-than-ideal performance from beyond the arc in the season opener — North Carolina was 10-for-29 from three against Central Arkansas — Trimble maintained after the game that he had full confidence in his teammates’ shooting ability.

“We’re an incredible shooting team,” Trimble said on Monday. “I think everybody can knock it down this year. So why not shoot the looks that we get… but we want to generate them from getting inside, dominate points in the paint, getting to the free throw line and then allowing it to come from there.”

His teammates proved him right on Friday. Wilson and Veesaar stayed productive in the second half, but the rest of the Tar Heels chipped in, too. Evans added 12 second-half points. Trimble had 13 in that frame. Jarin Stevenson, Powell and Bogovac all got on the board as well.

That versatility was crucial on Friday, and will continue to be for this team.

This story was originally published November 7, 2025 at 9:21 PM.