No. 1 Kansas blows 20-point first-half lead, holds on to beat No. 9 North Carolina 92-89

LAWRENCE, Kan. -- Hunter Dickinson had 20 points and 10 rebounds for No. 1 Kansas, which blew a 20-point first-half lead against No. 9 North Carolina before holding on for a 92-89 victory when the Tar Heels’ Elliot Cadeau missed a 3-pointer as time expired Friday night.

Zeke Mayo had 21 points and KJ Adams Jr had 14 for the Jayhawks (2-0), who led 49-29 in the first half but trailed 87-83 with 3:28 to go. Dickinson and Mayo responded with a series of baskets to tie the game at 89, and Dickinson’s basket with 1:15 to go and free throw with 12 seconds remaining made it a three-point game.

The Tar Heels (1-1) raced up the floor, but Cadeau’s 3 from the wing was contested and never had a chance.

Seth Trimble scored 19 points to lead North Carolina. RJ Davis had 16 points and Cadeau finished with 12.

It was just the 13th matchup of the Tar Heels and Jayhawks, and first since Kansas rallied from a 16-point deficit to win the 2022 national championship. The only other time they have met on campus was in 1960, when Larry Brown — who would later coach the Jayhawks to the 1988 title — helped the Tar Heels win in Allen Fieldhouse.

Kansas made a repeat seem unlikely when it built a 20-point first-half lead.

But the Tar Heels trimmed the deficit in the second half, and Jae'Lyn Withers' 3-pointer gave them an 80-79 lead with 7:06 to go. The two bluebloods wrestled it away several other times before Kansas finally put the game away.

North Carolina stayed alive by getting to the basket and drawing fouls, ultimately going 28 of 31 from the line. But the lack of production in the paint was a big problem.

Kansas avoided what would have been the biggest blown-lead loss in school history.

Dickinson's basket inside with 1:15 left gave Kansas the lead, and the All-American center's free throw forced North Carolina into needing a 3-pointer to tie the game.

20 — The lead that Kansas had in the first half. And that the Tar Heels overcame in the second.

North Carolina plays American next Friday night. The Jayhawks play Michigan State on Tuesday night in Atlanta.

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