Men's Basketball Hosting Kansas Friday Night

Friday, November 7

Chapel Hill

7 p.m.

North Carolina

Kansas

Photo by: Jeffrey A. Camarati

November 6, 2025 | Men's Basketball

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• Carolina hosts Kansas on Friday, November 7, in a matchup of two of the premier programs in college basketball and the first-ever game between the teams in Chapel Hill.
• Tip is 7:01 p.m. Dan Shulman and Jay Bilas have the call on ESPN.
• Both teams are 1-0 after season-opening home wins on Monday night. The Tar Heels defeated Central Arkansas, 94-54, while the Jayhawks dispatched Green Bay, 94-51.
• Carolina broke open a 21-13 game with an 18-0 run and extended the lead to 28 at the half. The Tar Heels then shot 57.1% from the floor in the second half to built the lead to 40.
• Forward Caleb Wilson led five Tar Heels in double figures with 22 points. Center Henri Veesaar recorded his first collegiate double-double and point guard Kyan Evans had 15 points, six rebounds, five assists and four steals to lead Carolina to its 21st straight win in a season opener.
• More details on the win over Central Arkansas may be found on page 23.
• The Kansas game is the second of five consecutive home games to begin the regular season for the Tar Heels. This is the first time UNC has opened with five straight home games since 1918-19 (that stretch included two games vs. the Durham YMCA and one each vs. Guilford, Wake Forest and Elon).

WILSON'S 22-POINT OPENER
• Freshman Caleb Wilson made 8 of his 10 field goal attempts and led all scorers with 22 points in the win over Central Arkansas.
• The 22 points were the fourth-most by a Tar Heel freshman in his debut since first-year players became eligible in 1972-73.
• The top-five freshman scoring debuts in the last 50 years include Cole Anthony's 34 points vs. Notre Dame on 11/6/19, Rashad McCants' 28 vs. Penn State on 11/18/2002, Joseph Forte's 24 vs. USC on 11/22/1999, Wilson's 22 and Tyler Hansbrough's 21 vs. Gardner-Webb on 11/19/2005.

EVANS FILLS THE STAT SHEET
• Kyan Evans, playing in his first game as a Tar Heel after two seasons at Colorado State, was a key contributor in the win over Central Arkansas.
• The junior from Kansas City, Mo., drained four three-pointers en route to 15 points and added six rebounds (which tied a career best), five assists and four steals.
• Evans became the first Tar Heel to hit each of those numbers in the first game of the season and just the second to accomplish that in the last 25 seasons (Marcus Paige vs. Syracuse on 1/26/15).
• It was the fifth time in his career he made at least four three-pointers in a game.

UNC-KANSAS
• Friday's game between No. 25 Carolina and No. 19 Kansas marks the 14th in the series and the third in the state of North Carolina but the first in Chapel Hill.
• Kansas and St. John's are the only two schools that rank in the top 10 all-time in wins never to have played in Chapel Hill.
• The teams have previously played two regular-season games in the state of North Carolina – Dec. 11, 1959, in Raleigh's Reynolds Coliseum and Nov. 28, 1981, in the Charlotte Coliseum in Michael Jordan's first game as a Tar Heel.
• This is the first time the Tar Heels and Jayhawks have played when at least one of the teams was not ranked in the top 10 in the AP poll since they played in 1959.
• The Jayhawks have won the last five games and lead the all-time series, 7-6. That includes the 92-89 KU win last November in Lawrence, UNC's second-ever trip to Allen Fieldhouse.
• Seth Trimble led UNC in last year's game with a then-career-high 19 points.
• Carolina trailed by 20 points in the first half (KU led 49-29 and 51-31), but the Tar Heels rallied back to take a four-point lead at 87-83.
• Carolina made 28 of 31 free throws, a percentage of .903. That was the fifth-best free throw percentage in UNC history in a game when it attempted 30 or more free throws. It was the highest ever in a road game.
• Carolina and Kansas have combined for 10 NCAA Tournament championships, 247 NCAA Tournament wins, 36 Final Fours and 4,811 wins.
• KU is second in NCAA history in all-time wins (2,415) and the Tar Heels are third (2,396).
• Carolina is first all-time in NCAA Tournament wins (134) and Final Fours (21), second in appearances (54) and third in championships (6); Kansas is third all-time in NCAA Tournament appearances (52), fourth in wins (113), fifth in Final Fours (15) and seventh in titles (4).
• Thirty (30) former UNC and Kansas players and coaches are inducted in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Tar Heels and Jayhawks have won a combined 22 National Player-of-the-Year awards and 131 first-team All-America honors.
• Dean Smith played for Phog Allen at Kansas, where he was a member of the 1952 NCAA champions and 1953 NCAA finalists, and was head coach for 36 years at UNC, where he won two NCAA titles, led the Tar Heels to 11 Final Fours and retired as the winningest coach in col-lege basketball history. Following his graduation from KU in 1953, Smith began his Hall of Fame coaching career the following season as a volunteer assistant to Allen and Dick Harp at KU.
• Roy Williams was the head coach at Kansas from 1988-2003 and Carolina from 2003-21, leading the two programs to a combined nine Final Fours. Williams won NCAA championships with the Tar Heels in 2005, 2009 and 2017, and he is the only individual in college basketball history to win 400 games at two schools (418 at Kansas and 485 at Carolina).
• Larry Brown played for and coached under Smith at UNC and was the head coach of the Jayhawks for five seasons, leading KU to a pair of Final Fours and the 1988 NCAA championship.
• Harp was head coach of the Jayhawks when they played the Tar Heels in a historic triple-
overtime game for the 1957 NCAA championship and was later a member of Smith's coaching staff in Chapel Hill.
• Brad Frederick played for Smith at UNC and is in his 12th year as a member of the Tar Heel coaching staff. His father, Dr. Bob Frederick, was the director of athletics at Kansas for 14 years and hired Williams, who was an assistant coach at UNC, to be the Jayhawks' head coach in 1988.
• Steve Robinson, Joe Holladay, Jerod Haase, C.B. McGrath, Matt Doherty and Jonas Sahratian were on staff at both Carolina and Kansas, and Haase and McGrath played for Williams at Kansas. Doherty played for the Tar Heels, was an assistant in Lawrence with Williams and was head coach at his alma mater for three seasons.
• Carolina and Kansas have played seven times in the NCAA Tournament, including two championship games (1957 and 2022) and three times in the national semifinals (1991, 1993 and 2008). UNC-Kansas is the most frequently-played matchup in the Final Four, two more times than any other pair of teams have played in the Final Four.
• Led by National Player of the Year Lennie Rosenbluth, Carolina won the first of its six NCAA championships in 1957 by defeating Wilt Chamberlain and KU, 54-53, in three overtimes in Kansas City, Mo.

PRESEASON ALL-ACC, POLL
• The Tar Heels were picked to finish third in the 18-team Atlantic Coast Conference by the media at the ACC's preseason media day in Charlotte.
• Caleb Wilson was voted to the league's preseason All-ACC second team and the All-Freshman team.
• UNC was picked No. 25 in the country in the Associated Press preseason poll.
• This is the 69th different season in the 78-year history of the AP poll the Tar Heels have been ranked in the AP poll.
• The preseason AP poll is the 963rd time Carolina has been ranked, the second-most in college basketball history.

PRESEASON RECOGNITION
• The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame released its preseason watch lists for its five positional and they included three Tar Heels.
• Seth Trimble is on the Jerry West Shooting Guard Award list, Caleb Wilson is on the Karl Malone Power Forward Award list and Henri Veesaar is on the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center Award list.
• Tar Heels have won four of the Hall of Fame's positional awards – three Bob Cousy Point Guard Awards (Raymond Felton in 2005, Ty Lawson in 2009 and Kendall Marshall in 2012) and one Jerry West Award (RJ Davis in 2024).
• Wilson is also on the preseason watch lists for the Naismith and Oscar Robertson (USBWA) Trophies.

PROBABLE STARTERS
0 – Kyan Evans, Junior, Guard
7 – Seth Trimble, Senior, Guard
8 – Caleb Wilson, Freshman, Forward
13 – Henri Veesaar, R-Junior, Center
15 – Jarin Stevenson, Junior, Forward

• Carolina's probable starters have made a combined 94 college starts. That includes 37 by Kyan Evans, 28 by Jarin Stevenson, 22 by Seth Trimble, six by Henri Veesaar and one by freshman Caleb Wilson.

FRESHMAN STARTERS
• Wilson became the 40th Tar Heel to start his first game as a freshman since first-year players became eligible in 1972-73. Prior to Wilson, the most recent were guards RJ Davis and Caleb Love in 2020-21 against the College of Charleston.
• The last UNC frontcourt player to start his first game as a freshman had been Armando Bacot in 2019-20.

NEW-LOOK ROSTER
• Carolina's 16-man roster includes five returning players and 11 newcomers. However, only senior guard Seth Trimble played rotational minutes at Carolina last season, as he averaged 11.6 points and 5.0 rebounds in 28.6 minutes per game. Trimble started the first dozen games and 18 times overall on the wing before coming off the bench in the final 11 contests.
• The Tar Heels return 14.0% of their scoring from last year, 13.8% of their rebounds, 8.0% of their assists and 8.4% of their three-pointers. Trimble accounts for 396 of the 419 returning points, 169 of the 188 rebounds and all 44 assists and 25 three-pointers.
• This is the first time since 2005-06 UNC does not return a player who started at least half the team's games in the previous season.
• The season-opener vs. Central Arkansas marked the first time UNC played a regular season or postseason game without RJ Davis since 3/11/2020 in the ACC Tournament vs. Syracuse. Davis never missed a game in five seasons, setting the all-time ACC record for games played (175) and finishing with 2,725 points, the second-most ever by a Tar Heel (he was fifth on the UNC scoring list through four seasons).
• The 11 newcomers include three incoming freshmen, six collegiate transfers, one player who competed internationally and a former member of UNC's junior varsity team.
• The six collegiate transfers combined last season for 1,464 points, 578 rebounds, 256 assists and made 226 of 641 three-pointers (35.3%).

RECAPPING 2024-25
• Carolina was 23-14 overall, a No. 11 seed in the NCAA South Regional, tied for fourth in the ACC at 13-7 and advanced to the semifinals in the ACC Tournament.
• The Tar Heels went 2-1 in the ACC Tournament and 1-1 in the NCAA Tournament, defeating San Diego State by 27 points in the First Four in Dayton and losing, 71-64, to No. 6 seed Ole Miss in the first round in Milwaukee.
• It was the 55th time in 72 years of competing as a member of the ACC the Tar Heels won 20 or more games.
• Carolina tied Wake Forest and SMU for fourth place in the 18-team ACC. It was the 62nd time in 72 seasons the Tar Heels finished in the top four in the ACC.
• Seven of Carolina's 14 losses came against NCAA No. 1 seed Duke (three times), No. 1 seed Auburn, No. 1 seed Florida, No. 2 seed Alabama and No. 2 seed Michigan State.
• In addition to those seven losses to top-two seeds, UNC also lost at Clemson, Kansas (at the time ranked No. 1) and Louisville.
• RJ Davis averaged 17.2 points to lead the Tar Heels in scoring for the second straight season. Freshman Ian Jackson (11.9) and Seth Trimble (11.6) also averaged in double figures.
• Davis finished his five-year career as the ACC's all-time leader in games played and double-figure scoring games (140) and Carolina's all-time leader in three-pointers (359) and free throw percentage (.861). Davis' 2,725 points are the third-most in ACC history.
• Carolina's 74-71 loss to Duke in the ACC Tournament semifinals was its 11th one-possession game of the season (games decided by one, two or three points). Those were the most played by the Tar Heels in the three-point era, which began in 1986-87.
• Freshman Drake Powell became the 55th Tar Heel selected in the first round of the NBA Draft. He was selected by the Atlanta Hawks, who traded his draft rights that evening to the Brooklyn Nets.

HUBERT DAVIS: YEAR FIVE
• The 2025-26 season is Hubert Davis' fifth as head coach at the University of North Carolina and his 14th on the coaching staff at his alma mater. He is the only Tar Heel head coach to win 20 or more games in each of his first four seasons.
• Davis, 55 (turns 56 on May 17, 2026), has won National and ACC Coach-of-the-Year honors, led the Tar Heels to a national title game appearance, 101 wins, a 56-24 record and 24 road wins in ACC regular-season play, a regular-season ACC title and a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Only one other team has won more ACC games in the last four years.
• Two of his players – RJ Davis and Armando Bacot – rank second and third, respectively, in all-time UNC scoring, set numerous records and earned national and All-ACC awards.
• Carolina won its 100th game under Davis in the 2025 ACC Tournament, making him the third-fastest coach in UNC history and the sixth-fastest in ACC history to win 100 games. Only Duke's Vic Bubas, UNC's Roy Williams and Frank McGuire, Wake Forest's Skip Prosser and Maryland's Lefty Driesell reached 100 wins in fewer games than Davis (who won his 100th in 143 games).
• Over the last four seasons, UNC has the 10th-most wins among teams in the ACC, Big East, Big Ten, Big 12 and SEC.
• Under Davis, Carolina is 8-3 in NCAA Tournament play, including wins against three national championship-winning coaches (Baylor's Scott Drew, Duke's Mike Krzyzewski and Michigan State's Tom Izzo) and three other coaches who have taken teams to the Final Four (Marquette's Shaka Smart, UCLA's Mick Cronin and San Diego State's Brian Dutcher).
• Davis has led the Tar Heels to 14 wins over nationally-ranked opponents, including eight over top-10 teams (No. 4 Duke, No. 4 Baylor and No. 9 Duke in 2022; No. 6 Virginia in 2023; and No. 10 Tennessee, No. 7 Oklahoma, No. 7 Duke and No. 9 Duke in 2024).

2025-26 SCHEDULE NOTES
• In ACC play, the Tar Heels play host to FSU (Dec. 30), Wake Forest (Jan. 10), Notre Dame (Jan. 21), Syracuse (Feb. 2), Duke (Feb. 7), Pitt (Feb. 14), Louisville (Feb. 23), Virginia Tech (Feb. 28) and Clemson (March 3).
• Carolina plays at SMU (Jan. 3), Stanford (Jan.14), Cal (Jan. 17), Virginia (Jan. 24), Georgia Tech (Jan. 31), Miami (Feb. 10), NC State (Feb. 17), Syracuse (Feb. 21) and Duke (March 7).
• UNC is not scheduled to play Boston College.
• This will mark the first season since 1919 the Tar Heels are not playing NC State in Chapel Hill.
• On November 7, the Tar Heels welcome Kansas to Chapel Hill for the first time ever. Last year, the Jayhawks defeated UNC in Lawrence. This is just the third on-campus matchup in 14 games between the Tar Heels and KU.
• Carolina makes its first appearance in the Skechers Fort Myers (Fla.)Tip-Off at Suncoast Credit Union Arena. UNC faces St. Bonaventure (for the second time ever) on November 25 and Michigan State two days later on Thanksgiving Day. This is the third consecutive year the Tar Heels will be playing the Spartans. Carolina won in Charlotte in the 2024 NCAA second round and Michigan State won in overtime last November in Maui.
• The Tar Heels are making their first trips as ACC opponents to SMU, Stanford and Cal. UNC is 1-0 all-time against the Mustangs in Dallas (12/30/1986), 2-0 vs. the Cardinal in Maples Pavilion (12/3/1983 and 11/20/2017) and 1-0 vs. the Bears in Haas Pavilion (12/22/1972, when its was Harmon Gym).
• Carolina returns to Rupp Arena in Lexington to play Kentucky for the eighth time and the first time since 12/13/2014. UNC is 1-1 in the ACC/SEC Challenge with a home win over Tennessee and loss to Alabama.
• UNC plays Ohio State in Atlanta on December 20 in the CBS Sports Classic. The Tar Heels are 7-4 in the annual event, including 3-0 vs. the Buckeyes.

NEARING 500 WINS IN THE SMITH CENTER
• This is the 41st season the Tar Heels are playing their home games in the Dean E. Smith Center.
• Carolina is 10 wins shy of 500 with an overall record (not counting preseason or exhibition games) of 490-90.
• The Tar Heels are 233-19 in the Smith Center against non-conference opponents.
• The Tar Heels have played 46% of their home games all-time in the Smith Center (580 of 1,264).
• Central Arkansas, Kansas, Navy and USC Upstate each will be playing in the Smith Center for the first time.
• Kansas is the 152nd different opponent to play a regular-season or NIT game in the Smith Center against the Tar Heels.
• Carolina has won 490 games in the Smith Center, 210 in Woollen Gym (1939-65), 170 in Carmichael Auditorium (1965-86, 2010), 130 in the Indoor Athletic Court (1924-38) and 63 in Bynum Gym (1911-23).

TAR HEELS IN THE NBA
• Eleven former Tar Heels were on NBA Opening Day rosters, including Cole Anthony (Milwaukee), Harrison Barnes (San Antonio), Tony Bradley (Indiana), Harrison Ingram (San Antonio), Cameron Johnson (Denver), Walker Kessler (Utah), Caleb Love (Portland), Pete Nance (Milwaukee), rookie Drake Powell (Brooklyn), Day'Ron Sharpe (Brooklyn) and Coby White (Chicago).
• Powell averaged 7.4 points as a freshman last season and was selected by Atlanta with the 22nd pick in the 2025 NBA Draft. His rights were traded the night of the Draft to the Brooklyn Nets.
• Powell was the 55th Tar Heel selected all-time in the first round.