The sting of No. 19 Kansas’ 87-74 loss to No. 25 UNC Tar Heels is still in the air after what was a dominant second-half display, which saw UNC mount 58 points in the second period in what turned into a disappointing day for the Jayhawks.
There were several players who had their share of the spotlight for Hubert Davis’ side. Seven-foot Arizona transfer Henri Veesaar notched 20 points, five-star freshman forward Caleb Wilson led all scorers with 24 points on an efficient 9-12 shooting; however, when senior guard Seth Trimble was brought up thanks to his elite play in transition, Kansas head coach Bill Self had this to say.
“He blanketed Darryn [Peterson] in a way that to me was terrific. Caleb was the best player, probably in the game, but you can make a strong case for Henry and for Seth, from my vantage point, without watching the tape,” marked the two-time NCAA National Championship-winning coach.
“…Even though Darryn got off 14 shots, that was a situation where he probably needed to get off 20 or 22 for us to have a realistic shot in here tonight.”
Self would go on to say that Peterson played “fine” offensively. Peterson totaled 22 points on 8-14 shooting with a strong 3-5 from beyond the arc, yet as the game wore on and UNC had knocked down dagger after dagger in the second half, it became clear that Peterson could not take down the Tar Heels on his own; no one could.
Not only did UNC find success by limiting Peterson’s effort, the Tar Heels ate the paint with a staggering 48 points compared to Kansas’ 20. While a number of stats kept the two sides close, it was UNC’s emphasis inside the paint that kept their momentum stringing along.
On the day, Davis’ squad compiled four different players who scored 10+ points. While the Jayhawks were able to tally three of their own (Peterson with 22, Bryson Tiller with 12, and Tre White with 10), freshman Tiller’s early foul-out kept him at bay, and sloppy turnovers at crucial points in the second half kept UNC ahead without much strife. Kansas needlessly gave the ball away eight different times in the second half, while UNC turned it over just once.
By no means should the alarm bells be ringing; it is only game two of what is a long season, and a calm Bill Self exuded confidence postgame, but Kansas’ inability for such a young team to reel in opposition momentum is a worrying sight.
The next chance to see the Jayhawks play is next Tuesday at 8 p.m. CT against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, with streaming available on ESPN+.
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