UNC Basketball Moments After – UNC vs. Kansas 87-74 Win
UNC Tar Heels Basketball Team Throttles Kansas in the Second Half and Wins Their First Marquee Game of the Season
by Derrick Isaiah Clyburn
The North Carolina basketball team faced off against #19 Kansas on Friday night. Although there have been several matchups between the two historic basketball programs, this was the first time Kansas played in Chapel Hill. In the opening minutes of the game, Kansas jumped out to an early lead, 7-2, after some uncharacteristic turnovers from the Tar Heels that led to the Jayhawks’ transition and early offense buckets. Once the Heels settled in, it would be a back-and-forth game with both teams trading baskets and the two star freshmen from UNC, Caleb Wilson, and Kansas, Darryn Peterson, showing out with their shot-making and energy brought to the game. There were also stretches where both teams went through scoring droughts, and that’s when both teams went on their runs.
North Carolina’s scoring drought came late in the first half due to stagnant offense, questionable shot attempts, lack of ball movement and player movement, and being loose with the basketball, which allowed Kansas to take a commanding 37-29 lead into halftime. UNC was very sloppy and careless with the ball throughout the first half, resulting in 10 turnovers that led to 17 of Kansas’ 37 first-half points. The Heels also passed up some open shots that they needed to take. It was hard for UNC to catch a rhythm offensively because the guards weren’t being aggressive, driving to the basket, looking to create their own shot, create a shot for others, or taking the best shot available. Seth Trimble, Kiyan Evan, Luka Bogavac, Derek Dixon, and Jonathan Powell all combined for just 4 points before halftime. Caleb Wilson and Henri Veesar kept the Heels in the game with their production and activity on the glass and in the paint, but the guards needed to step up for Carolina to have a chance in this game.
In the second half, the Tar Heels came out with a different level of energy, intensity, and effort on both ends of the floor. The Heels went on an 11-2 run to take the lead coming out of halftime. Carolina’s pressure, activity level, and use of size, length, athleticism, and versatility defensively is what got the Heels back in the game and took Kansas out of their game. Once UNC started to move the ball, attack the basket aggressively, and take high-percentage shots on the perimeter and in the paint, their offense started to click on all cylinders. Carolina scored on 10 of their first 11 offensive possessions and just got whatever they wanted offensively.
About midway through the second half, the Tar Heels took a double-digit lead and had Kansas completely figured out. Kansas had no answers for North Carolina’s pick-and-roll game and couldn’t keep the Heels from scoring in the paint. The Tar Heels just overwhelmed the Jayhawks with their ball pressure, contested every Kansas shot, and were able to get out in transition for easy baskets. After giving UNC basically nothing in the first half, Seth Trimble and Kyan Evans made up for it in the second half with their scoring and playmaking, leading the charge for the Heels in the second half. Carolina outscored Kansas 58-37 after halftime, doubling up the points they scored in the first half, and played with relentless energy, effort, and intensity on both ends of the floor. UNC shot 66% from the field and committed just one turnover in the second half, putting on a beautiful display of basketball. The Tar Heels had a 28-point advantage in the paint and outrebounded the Jayhawks 39-27. Four different UNC players finished in double figures, including Caleb Wilson, Henri Veesar, Seth Trimble, and Kyan Evans as North Carolina got their first ranked win of the season.
UNC Stats
| 1 | 2 | T | |
| 19 Kansas 1-1 | 37 | 37 | 74 |
| 25 North Carolina 2-0 | 29 | 58 | 87 |
| Starters | PTS | REB | AST | FG | 3PT | FT | PF | MIN | STL | BLK | TO |
| C. Wilson | 24 | 7 | 4 | 9/12 | 0/1 | 6/9 | 3 | 30 | 4 | 0 | 1 |
| H. Veesaar | 20 | 4 | 4 | 8/12 | 2/5 | 2/2 | 3 | 38 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| S. Trimble | 17 | 8 | 3 | 7/17 | 0/5 | 3/3 | 2 | 36 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| K. Evans | 12 | 2 | 3 | 5/11 | 2/7 | 0/1 | 1 | 32 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| J. Stevenson | 3 | 6 | 1 | 1/3 | 1/3 | 0/1 | 2 | 24 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| Bench | PTS | REB | AST | FG | 3PT | FT | PF | MIN | STL | BLK | TO |
| L. Bogavac | 5 | 3 | 1 | 2/6 | 1/3 | 0/0 | 1 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Z. High | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1/2 | 1/1 | 0/1 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| J. Powell | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1/3 | 1/2 | 0/0 | 2 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| D. Dixon | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| J. Young | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| I. Denis | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| I. Matlekovic | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| J. Brown | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| E. Davis | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| J. Holbrook | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| E. Smith | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Total | 87 | 33 | 16 | 34/66 | 8/27 | 11/17 | 15 | – | 9 | 2 | 11 |
| Starters | PTS | REB | AST | FG | 3PT | FT | PF | MIN | STL | BLK | TO |
| D. Peterson | 22 | 3 | 3 | 8/14 | 3/5 | 3/5 | 2 | 29 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| T. White | 10 | 2 | 0 | 3/6 | 1/4 | 3/4 | 2 | 24 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| F. Bidunga | 8 | 7 | 2 | 4/9 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 1 | 36 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| K. Rosario | 7 | 0 | 0 | 2/4 | 2/4 | 1/2 | 1 | 20 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| M. Council Jr. | 6 | 2 | 7 | 2/11 | 0/4 | 2/2 | 1 | 33 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Bench | PTS | REB | AST | FG | 3PT | FT | PF | MIN | STL | BLK | TO |
| B. Tiller | 12 | 2 | 0 | 4/5 | 4/4 | 0/0 | 5 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| E. Jackson | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2/5 | 1/1 | 1/2 | 5 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| J. Dawson | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1/3 | 1/2 | 0/0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| J. McDowell | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0/1 | 0/1 | 0/0 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| S. Calderon | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| P. Mbiya | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| W. Evers | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| J. Cross | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| W. Thengvall | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| N. Ngala | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Total | 74 | 23 | 14 | 26/58 | 12/25 | 10/15 | 18 | – | 6 | 3 | 12 |
UNC Bright Spots
Caleb Wilson had 24 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, and 4 steals.
Henri Veesar had 20 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, and 1 block
Seth Trimble had 17 points, 8 rebounds, and 3 assists.
Kyan Evans had 12 points, 3 assists, 2 rebounds, and 2 steals
Needs Work
The Tar Heels need to make sure they are not getting stagnant offensively in the halfcourt. There needs to be constant ball movement and player movement to create advantages for someone to take a quality shot. They also must do a better job of protecting the basketball, not being sloppy with the ball, trying to make the spectacular or difficult pass, or having careless turnovers.
Final Observations
The Tar Heels improve to 2-0 on the season and beat a very talented Kansas Jayhawks squad. This Carolina team has a lot of talent, and when they are locked in and focused on both ends of the floor can and will be a dangerous team. It was on display tonight with all the different things each player brings to the court. Everyone on the floor for the Tar Heels was just making an impact on the floor, whether it be Seth Trimble’s dribble penetration and on-ball defense, Kyan’s three point shooting, paint scoring, and defensive activity, Henri Veesar’s activity on the glass, rim protection, ability to score in the paint and be a lob threat at the rim, Caleb Wilson’s scoring prowess, supreme athleticism, and relentless energy and effort on both ends of the floor, Luka Bogavac scoring off the dribble and off the catch, and Jarin Stevenson’s spot up three point shooting, rebounding, and ability to guard 1-5 defensively.
This Tar Heels team is just different from the past few teams we’ve seen over the last couple of years. If you want to see defense, high flying dunks, three-point shooting, efficient offense, suffocating defense, and high energy basketball this team does just that. They love to defend, play unselfish basketball, play at a fast pace and move the ball to the open man or to whoever has the advantage on that offensive possession. This is a very exciting team and are only going to get better as the season progresses. Caleb Wilson has gotten off to a tremendous start to the season, scoring 20 points in every game thus far and is already one of the best freshmen the Tar Heels have had in the last few years. Wilson will be a top 10 pick in the NBA draft next year and became the second player in the last 20 years to score at least 20 points on 75 percent shooting or better in the first two games of their college career. Next up is Radford on Tuesday November 11 at 7:00 P.M. on the ACC Network.
As hyped as I was about Caleb Wilson’s game, I was more proud of the way the guards stepped up in the second half!! Peterson is that dude for Kansas, but our guards stepped up and met the challenge. Seth, Kyan, and Luka got the job done.
It’s always good to get top 20 win early in the season.Would they won this game if it had been played at Kansas? As the year goes, looking forward to seeing this team gelling into a 10 man rotation. Outstanding coverage of this game. Thank you Derrick.