LAWRENCE, Kan. — Hunter Dickinson had 20 points and 10 rebounds for No. 1 Kansas, which squandered 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 Friday night as time passed.

Zeke Mayo scored 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 score at 89, and Dickinson’s basket with 1:15 to go and the free throw with 12 seconds left made it a three-point lead for Kansas.

The Tar Heels (1-1) ran onto the field, but Cadeau’s 3 from the wing was contested and had no chance.

North Carolina stayed alive by getting to the basket and making mistakes, going 28 of 31 from the line, but Kansas ultimately avoided the largest lead loss in school history.

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

It was only the 13th game between the Tar Heels and Jayhawks, and the first since Kansas recovered from a 16-point deficit to win the 2022 national championship. The only other time the teams met on campus was in 1960, when Larry Brown – who would later coach the Jayhawks to the 1988 title – helped the Tar Heels win at Allen Fieldhouse.

Kansas made a repeat look unlikely when it built a 20-point lead in the first half.

But the Tar Heels narrowed the deficit in the second half, and Jae’Lyn Withers’ 3-pointer gave them an 80-79 lead with 7:06 to go. The bluebloods struggled for the lead several more times before Kansas finally put the game away.