No. 1 Kansas beats No. 9 UNC, 92-89, in early-season thriller

LAWRENCE, Kan. — The ball hung on the rim for what felt like forever.

Finally, guard Zeke Mayo’s layup dropped through the net, tying the game at 89-all.

That’s how it went Friday night. Whenever the No. 1-ranked Kansas Jayhawks needed a bucket in their men’s basketball showdown against the No. 9-ranked North Carolina Tar Heels, the Lawrence native delivered.

And no moment was too big for the South Dakota transfer as KU defeated UNC, 92-89, at Allen Fieldhouse.

Mayo finished with a game-high 21 points off the bench, while teammate Hunter Dickinson scored 20 and grabbed 10 rebounds.

Seth Trimble scored a team-high 19 points for UNC, which had a chance to hit a game-winning shot with 10 seconds left, but guard Elliot Cadeau missed his 3-pointer.

The outcome came with a historical milestone: With the win, Kansas coach Bill Self tied the legendary Phog Allen at 590 victories in his career — most all time in the history of the storied Jayhawks program.

Here’s what happened before that:

Dickinson hit an inside bucket to put the Jayhawks up 91-89 with 1:07 left in the game. On the next possession, UNC’s Jalen Washington missed a 3-pointer with 38 seconds. Dickinson would get fouled on the next possession and make 1 of 2 free throws with 11 seconds left.

At one point, the Tar Heels had trailed by 20 points until roaring back.

KU also earned its fifth straight win over UNC, making the series 7-6 in favor of Kansas.

KU’s starting lineup was Dajuan Harris, David Coit, KJ Adams, Dickinson and Rylan Griffen.

Up next: The Jayhawks will travel to Atlanta to play Michigan State in the Champions Classic on Tuesday.

Until then, here are three takeaways from Friday’s game

Kansas bench does its part

Self had one goal this offseason: “I told my staff, we got to get guys that are good enough — eight starters that can play meaningful starter minutes at Kansas if something happens.” So far, so good.

KU’s bench had 45 points vs. Howard in the season opener. The bench continued its excellent play vs. UNC.

The Jayhawks’ bench had 24 points ... at half. Last season, Kansas averaged 11.8 bench points.

The difference? Kansas guards Mayo, AJ Storr, and freshman big man Flory Bidunga.

That trio accounted for all 24 of KU’s bench points in the first half.

Mayo’s shooting ability allows him to play with any player, while Bidunga has the makings of the next star KU big man. And Storr? Well, he averaged 16.8 points per game for Wisconsin last season. Talk about a lethal trio.

The Jayhawks finished with 42 bench points.

KU’s offense red-hot early

Boy, can Kansas score in a lot of different ways.

KU shot a blistering 55.6% from the field in the first half. Kansas did an excellent job getting quality looks inside, as KU had 30 paint points.

UNC bigs struggled to defend Adams and Dickinson, who combined for 21 points in the first half. The Jayhawks were also active on the boards, leading to 10 second-chance points.

The offense cooled off a bit in the second half.

KU finished the night shooting 37 for 76 (48.7%), including 6 for 21 (28.6%) on 3-pointers. The Jayhawks also had 16 points of turnovers.

Kansas and Dickinson struggle on defense

Dickinson is KU’s best player by far.

Most of that is because of his offense, but his defense is usually good enough. Well, that wasn’t the case in the second half against UNC.

North Carolina made it a point to pick on Dickinson as it chipped away at KU’s lead. Dickinson allowed two pivotal back-to-back buckets, leading to UNC taking the lead.

First, he momentarily lost his man, Jae’lyn Withers, who canned a 3-pointer. On the very next possession, Dickinson overhelped, which led to an easy drive for Withers.

On that bucket, the Tar Heels took the lead.

Overall, Kansas struggled to play defense against UNC without fouling. The Tar Heels shot 28 for 31 (90.3%) from the free throw line. UNC also shot 50% from the field in the second half.