Preview: Two keys for No. 9 UNC men's basketball to upset No. 1 Kansas on Friday

Following No. 9 North Carolina’s season-opening 90-76 win over Elon on Monday night, the Tar Heels will travel to Lawrence, Kansas to take on the No. 1 Kansas Jayhawks on Friday. 

There's a storied rivalry and deep connection between the two schools. Former UNC head coach Dean Smith played college basketball at Kansas from 1949 to 1953. UNC legend Roy Williams was the head coach of Kansas for 15 years.

In 2022, Kansas defeated North Carolina during the NCAA National Championship, 72-69, surrendering a double digit lead at halftime. While tournament clashes are typical between the two famed programs — they have met five times in the postseason — this will only be the second time the Tar Heels have played at Allen Fieldhouse in program history.

Here are two keys for the Tar Heels to upset the No. 1 team with a win on Friday night:

Shutdown Hunter Dickinson and Rylan Griffen

Both Kansas center Hunter Dickinson and guard Rylan Griffen are no strangers to the Tar Heels. North Carolina had two bouts with Dickinson while he was at Michigan. North Carolina played Griffen more recently during last season’s Sweet 16 game against Alabama.

In the two matchups with the Tar Heels, Dickinson scored four and nine points respectively, battling center Armando Bacot in the post both times. Standing at 7-foot-2, Dickinson will have a significant size advantage over the Tar Heels, whose tallest player is 6-foot-10 junior forward Jalen Washington.

"The size of opponent really doesn't mean very much to me," head coach Hubert Davis said. "It's a will and a want to, an attitude and desire to compete on every play on both ends of the floor."

In his first year at Kansas, Dickinson averaged 17.9 points and 10.9 rebounds per game. Davis said Dickinson has become an "excellent" defender, a skilled passer from the post and a threat from three. 

While Dickinson hasn't caused North Carolina significant problems in previous games, Griffen has. Matched up with graduate guard RJ Davis in the Sweet 16, Griffen held the All-American and ACC Player of the Year to just 16 points on 4 of 20 shooting, including 0-9 from beyond the arc.

According to RJ Davis, Griffen's length — who stands at 6-foot-6 — forced him into taking tough, contested shots and also pushed him further away from the perimeter.

"They weren't anything that were difficult for me to make," he said. "I just missed them. So he's a great defender. I remember seeing him in CP3 camp as well so I'm definitely looking forward to it again."

Shutting down Dickinson while limiting the impact of Griffen on the defensive end will likely be a deciding factor for North Carolina.

Make the easy shots

On Monday night against Elon, the Tar Heels made just nine layups on 21 attempts while also missing three dunks. 

"It's important for us to dominate points in the paint through post and penetration," Hubert Davis said. "I felt like we got there and we just weren't able to finish, whether it was a lack of concentration or being affected by their size. That's no excuse. We've got to do a better job of finishing around the basket."

Throughout the game against the Phoenix, North Carolina tried to take flashy approaches to an otherwise simple play, including a double-lob attempt toward the end of the game that resulted in a turnover. 

"I think sometimes we just get out of character in the way of just, [Hubert] always says 'Make the easy play,'" RJ Davis said. "And I think sometimes we really don't do that, we just try to go for home runs."

Attempts like these are not something UNC will be able to give up against the Jayhawks. Kansas allowed 20 points in the paint in a 87-57 season opening win over Howard. 

The Tar Heels will need to focus on finishing around the rim and not let "easy play" opportunities go to waste.

@mdmaynard74

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