UNC survives against Kansas State, tops Wildcats, 80-70

With less than five minutes remaining in Tuesday's game against Kansas State, the No. 9 North Carolina men's basketball team trailed the Wildcats 67-59.

In danger of dropping their second game of the young season, the Tar Heels (5-1) responded, finishing the game on a 21-3 run to seize a 80-70 win in the College Basketball Experience Hall of Fame Classic championship game.

The Daily Tar Heel wasn't in Kansas City for the game against Kansas State (4-1), but here are four things to note about UNC's win:

1. Showing toughness

North Carolina struggled on both ends of the floor for a majority of the game, and the Wildcats played aggressive defense and capitalized on UNC's defensive lapses.

But when they needed to, the Tar Heels turned their intensity up a notch. This past offseason, Coach Roy Williams constantly mentioned his team's inability to close out games a season ago. But UNC mustered enough offense on Tuesday to spark the run necessary to garner the win.

The victory didn't come easy for North Carolina, but getting a gritty, comeback win like that in what was essentially a home game for Kansas State could help UNC in the future. 

2. Success at the line

An integral part of the Tar Heels' comeback was their ability to make free throws in the waning minutes of the game.

UNC went 5-for-6 from the free-throw line in the final 41 seconds to seal the victory.

North Carolina shot 80 percent from the charity stripe during the game. In the second half, the Tar Heels made 12 of their 14 free-throw attempts, good for 86 percent.

3. Hitting his stride

After a rough start to the season, sophomore wing Justin Jackson has been the catalyst for UNC's offense in its past three games.

One night removed from posting the first double-double of his career, Jackson led the Tar Heels with 22 points on 8-for-13 shooting. He missed his first three shots of the game, but he still managed to score nine points in the first half.

Perhaps his biggest points of the game came during North Carolina 21-3 run, when the sophomore made a jumper with 2:22 left to tie the contest at 68.

Tuesday marked Jackson's third consecutive 20-point game. He has averaged 22.7 points per game on 58 percent shooting during this stretch.

4. A defensive chore 

Despite the win, one of the most glaring issues for the Tar Heels going forward is their perimeter defense.

UNC entered Tuesday's contest allowing opponents to shoot 36.4 percent on 3-pointers, which was tied for 259th in the country. And after a strong shooting performance by the Wildcats, the Tar Heels will likely drop further in the rankings for that category.

North Carolina allowed Kansas State to make eight 3-pointers on Tuesday, and the Wildcats shot 50 percent from behind the arc. First-year guard Kamau Stokes — who scored a game-high 24 points — led the way with six made 3-pointers.

Many of the Wildcats' made 3-pointers resulted from UNC not closing out on shots, which could pose a problem in the Tar Heels' contest against No. 2 Maryland on Dec. 1.

@patjames24

sports@dailytarheel.com