Kansas basketball and UNC face off in the biggest game of the college basketball season to date.
A rematch of the 2022 championship game, both team come in ranked in the top 10 in the AP Poll. UNC ranks 9th, while Kansas sits at the top at 1st. This is the second game of the season for both teams, who are coming off home wins against mid-major opponents.
General Information
Teams: Kansas (1-0) and UNC (1-0)
Tip Time: 6 p.m CST (7 p.m EST)
Watch: ESPN2
Listen: Jayhawk Radio Network
What to know about UNC
UNC had a bit of a scare in the first game of the season, being tied up with Elon, a team they were favored to beat by 27.5, with 6:30 left in the game. They woke up shortly after, ending the game on a 19-5 run.
This team is led by R.J Davis, who may end up being the best player in the country by March. He started off the season with a bang, going for 24 points and adding 7 rebounds and 7 assists. Davis is 5th all-time in UNC history in points scored and needs 34 to reach 4th, which he is more than capable of doing against Kansas. If you don’t know much about UNC, keep an eye on #4 at all times.
Elliott Cadeau and Seth Trimble are the other guards to watch. Both scored 15+ in the debut and shot 3-4 from three apiece. If all three are scoring at that level, it will be tough to take down this team.
Hubert Davis, head coach of the UNC Tar Heels, lost to Kansas in the championship in his first season as a head coach and would love to get revenge in a hostile environment.
Latest on Kansas basketball
Kansas basketball looked dominant in their opening win against Howard. They won by 30, but were up by even more for most of the game. They jumped out to an early lead, and never allowed the game to get even a bit competitive.
Hunter Dickinson finished second in scoring, with 16 points in 21 minutes. If Kansas wants to win this game, they’ll need to play through Dickinson, who is arguably RJ Davis’ biggest competition for player of the year. UNC’s frontcourt is definitely not their strong suit, so if he and KJ Adams can control the paint, that will open up the floor for the rest of the team.
Bill Self will put a lot of trust in Dajuan Harris, the 5th year point guard to shut down Davis. Harris is an elite defender who held Davis’ teammate to 5-24 shooting in the championship game, and if he can hold the star guard to a similar statline, the Jayhawks should have no trouble with the Tar Heels.
Zeke Mayo and Flory Budinga both made strong first impressions in their Kansas debuts on Monday. Mayo scored 19 points in 23 minutes to lead all scorers, which included 5 three-point makes. Budinga, the five-star center, added 13 points on 6-6 shooting and 8 rebounds in 17 minutes. Having both guys contribute off the bench will be crucial for the Jayhawks.
[…] the preview article, the key point to this game was whether Dajuan Harris and the Kansas guards would be able to […]
[…] the preview article, the key point to this game was whether Dajuan Harris and the Kansas guards would be able to […]