photo by: Nick Krug

Kansas forward KJ Adams Jr. (24) and Kansas guard Dajuan Harris Jr. (3) slap hands after connecting for a bucket against Howard during the first half on Monday, Nov. 4, 2024 at Allen Fieldhouse.

For the first time since they met on a fateful Monday night in April, the Kansas and North Carolina men’s basketball teams will share the same court.

“Our history is so intertwined,” KU coach Bill Self said on Thursday, “that you can’t help but respect the other because we’re not what we are, either one of us, without the other.”

The traditional powerhouses KU and UNC, which competed for the 2022 national title but also share historical connections through the likes of Larry Brown, Dean Smith and Roy Williams, will do battle again on Friday night, this time in Lawrence. They’ll even have some of the same players from 2022, such as the Jayhawks’ KJ Adams and Dajuan Harris Jr. and the Tar Heels’ RJ Davis, still in the fold.

The stakes aren’t quite as high this time around in what will only be both teams’ second game of the season — as Self put it on the Jayhawker Podcast this week, “It’s an opportunity for us to figure out who we are and get better” — but the fans at Allen Fieldhouse might not necessarily give that impression.

“The building should be on fire,” Self said.

Neither team has reached the heights of 2022 in the two seasons since, with KU suffering back-to-back second-round exits and UNC missing the tournament altogether before bouncing back to reach the Sweet 16, but both have grand aspirations this year.

The Jayhawks are No. 1 in the country and took care of business with a 30-point win over MEAC favorite Howard on Monday, led by Lawrence native Zeke Mayo. Meanwhile, the ninth-ranked Tar Heels trailed Elon 71-69 with 6:48 to go before burying the Phoenix with an 18-2 run, led by the senior Davis.

A reigning first-team All-American, Davis posted a game-high 24 points to go with seven rebounds and seven assists. Sophomore guard Elliot Cadeau, whom Self called “as true a point guard from a skill standpoint, passing the ball, as you’ll find,” scored 17 with eight more assists. Seth Trimble has moved into another starting role at guard; already a potent defender, he added 15 after scoring 33 in an exhibition against Memphis.

“When they play, they play downhill,” Self said. “They don’t play side to side. They put pressure on you, and all three of them do it equally well in that respect.”

For Alabama transfer Rylan Griffen, who while with the Tide knocked out UNC last year in the NCAA Tournament, Cadeau and Trimble’s improvement is evident.

“It looked like (Cadeau) has worked on his 3-ball,” he said. “That was something at Alabama that we wanted him to do, shoot, but it looks like he’s worked on it, he’s learned from that game, so no ‘dare’ shots for him either. Seth Trimble was the same way … I think they both took that personal and went to work on their shot and now they’re shooting great.”

The Tar Heels’ big-name transfer additions are coming off the bench, as are freshmen Ian Jackson and Drake Powell.

In all, UNC will be most likely the strongest competition KU has faced thus far, and is right there with Duke as the strongest team on the Jayhawks’ nonconference schedule.

“I know it’s going to be fun, it’s going to be competitive, it’s going to be high-level, so we’re really excited,” KU guard David Coit said.

KU has at least gotten a taste of high-level play, in a road exhibition at Arkansas on Oct. 25 that did not go well at all for the Jayhawks with several players sitting out due to injury.

“Hopefully we’ve improved since then, but we’re going to have to be really good,” Self said on the podcast. “Carolina’s got some real guys. They got pros that don’t even play a lot — at least they haven’t yet, but they will play a lot as they get more acclimated.”

photo by: AP Photo/Karl B DeBlaker

North Carolina head coach Hubert Davis talks with Seth Trimble (7) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against Elon in Chapel Hill, N.C., Monday, Nov. 4, 2024.

photo by: AP Photo/Karl B DeBlaker

North Carolina’s RJ Davis (4) moves the ball against Elon during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in Chapel Hill, N.C., Monday, Nov. 4, 2024.

photo by: AP Photo/Brandon Dill

North Carolina guard Elliot Cadeau (3) shoots against Memphis forward Tyreek Smith (5) during the Hoops for St. Jude Tip Off Classic NCAA college basketball exhibition game Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024, in Memphis, Tenn.

Keep an eye out

Puzzle pieces: Self has frequently discussed his desire to figure out exactly how his various players fit together on this year’s team, which features so many different options. Friday night will provide the most telling illustration of who has earned his trust at this early stage in the season. When KU hosted UConn last year, even though it was December, Self essentially went to a six-man rotation, with three more players getting a combined four minutes. He said he plans to open things up a bit more this time around and also “put our team in a position that we can be better moving forward in having guys’ minds right and that kind of stuff too.”

Historic implications: After the combination of vacated wins due to the IARP and a lackluster 2023-24 campaign with fewer victories than usual delayed the milestone, Self now has a chance to match Phog Allen as the all-time winningest coach in KU basketball history. Earning his 590th victory against a blue-blood program in front of a raucous Allen Fieldhouse would be a memorable moment for KU basketball, and it would give him a chance to break the record on Tuesday against another venerable team in Michigan State. Self, for his part, downplayed the prospective accomplishment, noting that it means he’s “damn old” and that KU plays more games annually than it did in Allen’s era. He also said, “I’ve been the beneficiary of a lot of good players, and good staff, and being at a place you can recruit good guys. But I don’t think I will read into it any more than that. I hold (Allen) in such high regard … He just did it in a different time, when we have a lot of advantages now, that he had to build.”

Dickinson’s rhythm: KU center Hunter Dickinson did not look fully himself on Monday in his first action since returning from a foot sprain, which he and Self both acknowledged postgame. He missed dunks, played more sparingly and generally received fewer touches than befitted his preseason All-American status. UNC doesn’t have a big-name post player anymore with Armando Bacot gone, but Dickinson will still experience a significant step up in competition and have to play more like his 2023-24 self quite quickly. He also said on Monday that he might not have been able to stay in for too many more minutes than the 21 he played. Self has said he wants to keep Dickinson below 30, but that might not necessarily apply in such a high-profile game. If it does, though, particularly with the center still knocking off rust, it could mean a trial by fire for freshman Flory Bidunga.

Off-kilter observation

UNC assistant coach Brad Frederick is the son of the late longtime KU athletic director Bob Frederick.