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University of North Carolina Athletics
Friday, November 7
Chapel Hill
7 p.m.
North Carolina
2-0,0-0ACC
87
vs
74
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Kansas
1-1,0-0Big 12
1
2
F
Kansas
37
37
74
North Carolina
29
58
87
Caleb Wilson
Photo by: Jeffrey A. Camarati
Dominant Second Half Leads Tar Heels By Kansas, 87-74
November 7, 2025 | Men's Basketball
CHAPEL HILL, N.C.—Caleb Wilson, Henri Veesaar and Seth Trimble led the way as No. 25 North Carolina shot a blistering 66.7 percent in the second half to roar from behind and pull away from 19th-ranked Kansas, 87-74, on Friday night in the Smith Center.
After trailing, 37-29, and leading for just 53 seconds in the first half, Carolina opened the second half on a 29-9 run and built a lead that quickly grew to 16 points. In the end, the Tar Heels spanked the Jayhawks, 58-37, in an unstoppable, second-half onslaught.
Wilson contributed all over the court throughout, scoring a season-high 24 points on 9-for-12 shooting with 10 rebounds, four assists and four steals. He is the first UNC freshman to score 20+ points in his first two college games.
Veesaar scored a team-high 12 in the first half and finished 20 points, four boards and four assists in an emotional performance.
Ballyhooed Kansas freshman guard Darryn Peterson impressed and had 22 points to lead Kansas.
Seth Trimble scored 17 points and grabbed a game-high eight rebounds with three assists for UNC, while also focusing defensively on guarding Peterson all over the court.
"He blanketed Darryn [Peterson] in a way that, to me, was terrific," Kansas head coach Bill Self said of Trimble afterward. "Caleb [Wilson] was the best player probably in the game, but you can make a strong case for Henri [Veesaar] and for Seth, too, from my vantage point, without watching the tape, because of the way he guarded Darryn and playing on top of everything."
Kyan Evans excelled for the second game in a row in his first official week as a Tar Heel. After an 0-for-4 start from the floor in the first half, he had 12 points on 5-for-7 shooting with two three-pointers, three assists and two steals after halftime.
Carolina improved to 2-0 this season and won its first game over Kansas since November 27, 2002, a game in the Preseason NIT in Madison Square Garden. Kansas fell to 1-1 and saw its five-game winning streak in the series come to an end.
"In the first half, from an offensive standpoint, I think it was two things," UNC head coach Hubert Davis said. "One, we were turning the ball over. We had 10 turnovers, and I think they had 17 points off those turnovers. So it was almost like pick-sixes for us — lot of standing, lot of holding, lot of dribbling.
"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. And in the second half, we were pretty good."
UNC shot 51.5 percent in the game after going just 10 for 30 (33.3 percent) in the first half. Carolina improved to 37-1 in five seasons under Davis when shooting 50.0 percent or better.
The Tar Heels dominated the boards, 39-27, including 16-7 on the offensive glass. The interior advantage allowed Carolina to pile up 48 points in the paint to just 20 for KU.
After Kansas scored 17 points off 10 first-half UNC turnovers, the Tar Heels committed just one miscue in the second half.
"Obviously, it had to be something we ate or something I said at halftime, because we came out and we weren't any good, and they were great," Self half-joked. "But I think it got away from us, the first five minutes of the second half."
Notes
• Carolina started the same lineup as in its two preseason games: Evans and Trimble in the backcourt with a tall frontcourt composed of Jarin Stevenson, Wilson and Veesaar.
• The game was the 14th all-time meeting between UNC and KU but the first in Chapel Hill. The series is now tied, 7-7, between the Tar Heels and Jayhawks.
• It was the first meeting in the series in which neither team was ranked in the AP top 10 since 1959.
• Kansas ranks second in NCAA history in all-time wins, while Carolina is third.
• A bevy of former Tar Heel players were in the raucous crowd, including Tyler Hansbrough, Phil Ford, Marcus Ginyard, Kennedy Meeks, Shammond Williams, Deon Thompson, Tyler Zeller, Joel Berry II, Melvin Scott, Dewey Burke, Surry Wood, Buzz Peterson, former head coach Roy Williams and former assistant coaches Steve Robinson and C.B. McGrath.
How It Happened
First Half
• Carolina missed 8 of its first 9 three-pointers and trailed for most of the first half.
• Wilson hit his first three shots scored 10 of UNC's first 17 points in the opening 12:06 of the game. During that stretch, the rest of the Tar Heels combined to shoot 3 for 14 from the floor.
• Carolina took its first lead at 25-22 with 5:59 left in the half on a three-pointer by Veesaar. KU responded with a 13-0 run immediately thereafter to retake the lead at 35-25.
• Peterson scored seven points in the first 10 minutes for Kansas, then sat for several minutes after picking up his second foul. He finished the half with 11 points.
• Wilson was whistled for his second personal foul with 6:56 left in the half and sat for over five minutes of game action as the Jayhawks went on their run.
• Kansas forced 10 first-half Carolina turnovers and dominated points off miscues by a 17-2 margin.
• Veesaar and Wilson combined to shoot 8 for 11 in the first while the remaining UNC starters were 1 for 12.
Second Half
• Carolina opened the second half with an 8-2 run in 2:03, forcing a quick KU timeout.
• UNC retook the lead at 44-43 on a pair of free throws by Wilson with 15:58 remaining. The next time down the floor, the freshman hit a turnaround jumper in the lane, and a few moments later he dished to Stevenson for a three-pointer. After a KU three-pointer, Evans responded in kind to make it a 23-9 UNC spurt to start the second half.
• The Jayhawks couldn't seem to slow the deluge of points, and UNC eventually posted a 29-9 run to start the half, taking a 10-point lead at the second media timeout.
• UNC hit 18 of its first 23 shots of the second half (78.3 percent) and finished 66.7 percent after halftime.
• After committing 10 turnovers that led to 17 Kansas points in the first half, the Tar Heels only turned it over once in the second half.
Up Next
Carolina will play the third of its five consecutive home games to start the season when it hosts Radford on Tuesday night at 7 p.m.
After trailing, 37-29, and leading for just 53 seconds in the first half, Carolina opened the second half on a 29-9 run and built a lead that quickly grew to 16 points. In the end, the Tar Heels spanked the Jayhawks, 58-37, in an unstoppable, second-half onslaught.
Wilson contributed all over the court throughout, scoring a season-high 24 points on 9-for-12 shooting with 10 rebounds, four assists and four steals. He is the first UNC freshman to score 20+ points in his first two college games.
Veesaar scored a team-high 12 in the first half and finished 20 points, four boards and four assists in an emotional performance.
Ballyhooed Kansas freshman guard Darryn Peterson impressed and had 22 points to lead Kansas.
Seth Trimble scored 17 points and grabbed a game-high eight rebounds with three assists for UNC, while also focusing defensively on guarding Peterson all over the court.
"He blanketed Darryn [Peterson] in a way that, to me, was terrific," Kansas head coach Bill Self said of Trimble afterward. "Caleb [Wilson] was the best player probably in the game, but you can make a strong case for Henri [Veesaar] and for Seth, too, from my vantage point, without watching the tape, because of the way he guarded Darryn and playing on top of everything."
Kyan Evans excelled for the second game in a row in his first official week as a Tar Heel. After an 0-for-4 start from the floor in the first half, he had 12 points on 5-for-7 shooting with two three-pointers, three assists and two steals after halftime.
Carolina improved to 2-0 this season and won its first game over Kansas since November 27, 2002, a game in the Preseason NIT in Madison Square Garden. Kansas fell to 1-1 and saw its five-game winning streak in the series come to an end.
"In the first half, from an offensive standpoint, I think it was two things," UNC head coach Hubert Davis said. "One, we were turning the ball over. We had 10 turnovers, and I think they had 17 points off those turnovers. So it was almost like pick-sixes for us — lot of standing, lot of holding, lot of dribbling.
"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. And in the second half, we were pretty good."
UNC shot 51.5 percent in the game after going just 10 for 30 (33.3 percent) in the first half. Carolina improved to 37-1 in five seasons under Davis when shooting 50.0 percent or better.
The Tar Heels dominated the boards, 39-27, including 16-7 on the offensive glass. The interior advantage allowed Carolina to pile up 48 points in the paint to just 20 for KU.
After Kansas scored 17 points off 10 first-half UNC turnovers, the Tar Heels committed just one miscue in the second half.
"Obviously, it had to be something we ate or something I said at halftime, because we came out and we weren't any good, and they were great," Self half-joked. "But I think it got away from us, the first five minutes of the second half."
Notes
• Carolina started the same lineup as in its two preseason games: Evans and Trimble in the backcourt with a tall frontcourt composed of Jarin Stevenson, Wilson and Veesaar.
• The game was the 14th all-time meeting between UNC and KU but the first in Chapel Hill. The series is now tied, 7-7, between the Tar Heels and Jayhawks.
• It was the first meeting in the series in which neither team was ranked in the AP top 10 since 1959.
• Kansas ranks second in NCAA history in all-time wins, while Carolina is third.
• A bevy of former Tar Heel players were in the raucous crowd, including Tyler Hansbrough, Phil Ford, Marcus Ginyard, Kennedy Meeks, Shammond Williams, Deon Thompson, Tyler Zeller, Joel Berry II, Melvin Scott, Dewey Burke, Surry Wood, Buzz Peterson, former head coach Roy Williams and former assistant coaches Steve Robinson and C.B. McGrath.
How It Happened
First Half
• Carolina missed 8 of its first 9 three-pointers and trailed for most of the first half.
• Wilson hit his first three shots scored 10 of UNC's first 17 points in the opening 12:06 of the game. During that stretch, the rest of the Tar Heels combined to shoot 3 for 14 from the floor.
• Carolina took its first lead at 25-22 with 5:59 left in the half on a three-pointer by Veesaar. KU responded with a 13-0 run immediately thereafter to retake the lead at 35-25.
• Peterson scored seven points in the first 10 minutes for Kansas, then sat for several minutes after picking up his second foul. He finished the half with 11 points.
• Wilson was whistled for his second personal foul with 6:56 left in the half and sat for over five minutes of game action as the Jayhawks went on their run.
• Kansas forced 10 first-half Carolina turnovers and dominated points off miscues by a 17-2 margin.
• Veesaar and Wilson combined to shoot 8 for 11 in the first while the remaining UNC starters were 1 for 12.
Second Half
• Carolina opened the second half with an 8-2 run in 2:03, forcing a quick KU timeout.
• UNC retook the lead at 44-43 on a pair of free throws by Wilson with 15:58 remaining. The next time down the floor, the freshman hit a turnaround jumper in the lane, and a few moments later he dished to Stevenson for a three-pointer. After a KU three-pointer, Evans responded in kind to make it a 23-9 UNC spurt to start the second half.
• The Jayhawks couldn't seem to slow the deluge of points, and UNC eventually posted a 29-9 run to start the half, taking a 10-point lead at the second media timeout.
• UNC hit 18 of its first 23 shots of the second half (78.3 percent) and finished 66.7 percent after halftime.
• After committing 10 turnovers that led to 17 Kansas points in the first half, the Tar Heels only turned it over once in the second half.
Up Next
Carolina will play the third of its five consecutive home games to start the season when it hosts Radford on Tuesday night at 7 p.m.
Team Stats
KU
UNC
FG%
.448
.515
3FG%
.480
.296
FT%
.667
.647
RB
27
39
TO
14
11
STL
6
9
Game Leaders
Pts
24
FGM
9
3FGM
0
FTM
6
Pts
20
FGM
8
3FGM
2
FTM
2
Pts
17
FGM
7
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Pts
12
FGM
5
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballC
/ Men's BasketballF
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