photo by: AP Photo/Chris Seward

Kansas guard Darryn Peterson (22) and North Carolina guard Seth Trimble (7) collide as they go for the ball during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Friday, Nov. 7, 2025, in Chapel Hill, N.C.

Chapel Hill, N.C. — With Kansas trailing 46-43 and starting to lose its grip on Friday night’s blue-blood showdown with North Carolina, freshman Kohl Rosario connected on his first 3-pointer of the night to give the Jayhawks a moment of relief and an opportunity to reset the momentum.

That moment lasted approximately 25 seconds.

UNC’s Jarin Stevenson hit a 3 of his own in short order to kick off a run of a dozen straight for the Tar Heels, and No. 19 KU watched a game it had once led by 10 turn into a deflating 87-74 loss at the Smith Center.

“They started rolling,” KU guard Darryn Peterson said, “and we kind of just let them start rolling.”

No. 25 UNC, which snapped a five-game losing streak against KU, went from 29 points in the first half to 58 on 66.7% shooting in the second, aided by improved long-range accuracy and a faster pace of play.

“I thought obviously (it) had to be something we ate or something I said at halftime,” KU coach Bill Self said, “because we came out and we weren’t any good and they were great. I think it got away from us, you know, the first five minutes of the second half, obviously.”

The Tar Heels’ star freshman Caleb Wilson was as advertised, if not better, with 24 points scored from a variety of angles and six rebounds, and center Henri Veesaar tormented the Jayhawks just as he had when he was at Arizona last March, scoring 20 points primarily on dunks. Veteran guard Seth Trimble added 17 more, and Self credited him for the way he “blanketed” Peterson defensively throughout the night.

Peterson led the Jayhawks with 22 on 8-for-14 shooting, but KU didn’t get consistent offensive production anywhere else. Bryson Tiller’s four first-half 3s helped the Jayhawks jump ahead at the break, but he had zero points and three fouls in the second period.

Wilson announced himself to the Smith Center crowd early on when he flew in for a putback dunk over Flory Bidunga and essentially the entire KU lineup. That was one of several offensive rebounds the Tar Heels grabbed in the opening minutes, but it didn’t amount to all that much. KU’s Tre White and UNC’s Veesaar traded early 3s and the Jayhawks took a 9-7 lead into the night’s first media timeout.

Peterson pulled up and made a contested jump shot through a foul by Trimble and completed a three-point play, but KU gave up some open dunks to the Tar Heels. During a stagnant stretch with Peterson on the bench, the backup forward Tiller cashed a timely corner 3 to make it 18-13, while UNC continued to struggle from beyond the arc at its end.

Wilson willed the Tar Heels back into it, replicating Peterson’s three-point play by drawing a foul on Elmarko Jackson, ripping a rebound away from Bidunga and snagging a loose ball from both White and Rosario. Then Peterson had to return to the bench after incurring his second foul while trying to defend in the post.

KU made its way into the bonus rather quickly. UNC was trailing 20-19 when the Tar Heels’ press forced a 10-second violation. They couldn’t take the lead right away, but they eventually tied it on a corner 3 by Zayden High, then the crowd erupted when Veesaar drained one from straight on to make it 25-22.

After a lone free throw by Peterson, the Jayhawks finally settled into a rhythm, or at least got hot from beyond the arc. Tiller came through with three 3s and Peterson added a fourth as KU rattled off a sudden 13-0 run.

“It was good,” Tiller said. “I felt like it kind of gave a spark to the team, but obviously it wasn’t enough. We didn’t play smart enough and we should clean that up before the next game.”

The Jayhawks didn’t lose too much ground ahead of halftime and went into the break with an eight-point lead.

KU set a poor tone out of halftime when it allowed consecutive dunks to Veesaar, and the Tar Heels cut the Jayhawks’ lead down to two points before KU coach Bill Self called timeout.

“He got behind us and our ball-screen coverage was awful the second half,” Self said. “It was actually pretty good the first half, but awful the second half, and they did a good job of attacking us and playing big.”

UNC was able to play more in transition and took the lead in the process on Kyan Evans’ first 3-pointer of the night.

Rosario tied the game at 46, but it was the Tar Heels’ turn to heat up from long range, and Stevenson and Evans added more 3s to give UNC what was then its biggest lead of the night at six points.

KU continued to unravel. With the Jayhawks down 54-46, Peterson saved the ball from going out of bounds but flung it right to Wilson for a wide-open dunk for the Tar Heels.

Jackson and Dawson connected on 3s to give KU some hope, but UNC continued to score on essentially every possession. With 9:22 to go, Tiller fouled out trying to compete for an offensive rebound.

“I just got to play smarter,” the freshman said.

The Jayhawks struggled just to get back within single digits, even with a couple of late 3-pointers by Peterson.

KU will return home to face Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Tuesday at 7 p.m.

“It’s in the past now,” Tiller said, “so all we got to do is lock in as a team, go hard in practice and be prepared for the next game.”

The Islanders are also 1-1 after losing at SMU on Thursday and will face Tarleton State on Saturday night before making the trip to Lawrence.

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