KANSAS CITY — The North Carolina men’s basketball team came out with a visible intensity on the defensive end and on the backboards and that resulted in a 30-21 halftime lead.
Neither team is shooting the ball particularly well as Kansas is seven-for-28 and the Tar Heels are 11-for-42, but the defense has made the difference. North Carolina has snatched eight steals compared to just one steal for the Jayhawks.
Marcus Paige has been particularly pesky, getting his hand on the ball as quickly and as often as he can. He, as well as James Michael McAdoo and P.J. Hairston, has a pair of steals.
Paige is the leading scorer for UNC at halftime with eight points but Dexter is close behind with seven.
Hairston had a slow start and needed 15 minutes before he found the net. He’s two-of-12 and hasn’t hit a 3-pointer. Paige has made two big ones.
Kansas’ leading scorer coming into the game was Ben McLemore but UNC has had Reggie Bullock and Leslie McDonald guarding him tightly and he has yet to make a field goal. McLemore has just two points so far.
Thanks to two fouls on McAdoo, Kansas center Jeff Withey has found some success inside and has nine rebounds but he’s turned it over five times.
Travis Releford, from Kansas City, leads all scorers with nine points.
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