UNC men's basketball leads Pittsburgh, 40-28, at halftime

The No. 8 North Carolina men's basketball team leads Pittsburgh, 40-28, at halftime at the Petersen Events Center.

Here are three things to know from the first half.

Pitt's senior day

Pittsburgh celebrated the careers of four seniors before the opening tip of Saturday's matchup.

Jamel Artis, Michael Young, Chris Jones and Sheldon Jeter all walked out with their families to loud cheers from the faithful at the Peterson Events Center.

Through the first 20 minutes, those four are the Panthers' four leading scorers on the court. Young (8) and Artis (7) are the only Pittsburgh players with multiple made field goals, and all four have hit a 3-pointer.

All four are major contributors to the team this season and will be hard to replace next season for head coach Kevin Stallings.

Jeter gets two quick fouls

Sheldon Jeter, Pittsburgh's best big forward, got two fouls called on him in the first three minutes.

Jeter had 29 points in Pittsburgh's 80-66 win over Florida State on Feb. 18. He shot 8-of-9 on 2-point field goals, made four of five 3-pointers and had eight rebounds, but he needed 30 minutes to put up those numbers against the Seminoles.

The early fouls cut into Jeter's playing time and allowed UNC to dominate the glass early. He finished the half with four points in 10 minutes of play.

Hicks continues to struggle

North Carolina senior forward Isaiah Hicks has been a bit of a slump recently — and he didn't break out of it in the first half against the Panthers. 

In the first eight minutes of the game, Hicks played eight minutes but was 0-for-3 from the field and had zero points. He contributed across the board later in the period but finished the half with one point, five rebounds and four assists.

His struggles come after a stretch of rocky play. He played 14 minutes in the Tar Heels' last game against Louisville and didn't score. Against NC State on Feb. 15, HIcks played just seven minutes due to foul trouble and had seven points.

His ability to stay out of foul trouble in the second half — he committed just one in the first — will be crucial if he hopes to get back on track.

@bauman_john

sports@dailytarheel.com