We don't get a lot of great on-campus matchups in the opening week of any college basketball season — but we certainly have one on Friday night's schedule.
It's North Carolina vs. Kansas inside Allen Fieldhouse.
Legit title contender vs. Legit title contender.
"Our history is so intertwined that you can't help but respect the other, because we're not what we are, either one of us, without the other," said Kansas coach Bill Self. "So it just makes it a special, special series, We're happy to host them — and then we'll see how tomorrow goes and we'll decide if we want a return game."
If the Jayhawks prevail, Self will win his 590th game at KU and tie Dr. Forrest "Phog" Allen as the program's all-time winningest coach. That's a significant milestone even if Self predictably downplayed it when it was brought to him this week.
"It's a significant number because it means I'm damn old," he said. "And it also means that we play a lot more games now per year than what they did back then. If [Allen] had played 30 games a year back when he was coaching for 39 years, that record, that's 1,200 games. That record wouldn't ever be touched. So I'm sure it is significant to some, and I'm sure past players played a role in that, without question. But I've been the beneficiary of a lot of good players and good staff, and [of] being at a place [where] you can recruit good guys. But I don't think I will read into it any more than that. I hold [Allen] in such high regard that I don't think that he deserves to be thought of as [anything but] the most innovative, and the best coach, to ever coach here. So nothing that will happen from this point forward will convince me otherwise."
Kansas, led by CBS Sports First Team preseason All-American Hunter Dickinson, is No. 1 in Friday morning's updated CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 daily college basketball rankings. North Carolina, led by CBS Sports First Team preseason All-American RJ Davis, is No. 4. Friday's tip is scheduled for 7 pm ET.
Top 25 And 1 rankings
Rk | Teams | Chg | Rcrd | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Hunter Dickinson finished with 16 points and six rebounds in Monday's 87-57 win over Howard. The Jayhawks' next game is Friday against North Carolina. | -- | 3-0 |
| 2 |  | Mark Sears finished with 20 points and three rebounds in Monday's 110-54 win over UNC Asheville. The Crimson Tide's next game is Friday against Arkansas State. | -- | 3-0 |
| 3 |  | L.J. Cryer finished with 16 points and three assists in Monday's 97-40 win over Jackson State. The Cougars' next game is Saturday against Auburn. | -- | 1-1 |
| 4 |  | RJ Davis finished with 24 points and seven assists in Monday's 90-76 win over Elon. The Tar Heels' next game is Friday at Kansas. | -- | 1-1 |
| 5 |  | Alex Karaban finished with 20 points and seven assists in Wednesday's 92-56 win over Sacred Heart. The Huskies' next game is Saturday against New Hampshire. | -- | 2-0 |
| 6 |  | Tamin Lipsey finished with 16 points and four assists in Monday's 83-44 win over Mississippi Valley State. The Cyclones' next game is Monday against Kansas City. | -- | 2-0 |
| 7 |  | Nolan Hickman finished with 17 points and six rebounds in Monday's 101-63 win over Baylor. The Zags' next game is Sunday against Arizona State. | -- | 2-0 |
| 8 |  | Kon Knueppel finished with 22 points and four rebounds in Monday's 96-62 win over Maine. The Blue Devils' next game is Friday against Army. | -- | 2-0 |
| 9 |  | Denver Jones finished with 16 points and two rebounds in Wednesday's 94-43 win over Vermont. The Tigers' next game is Saturday against Houston. | -- | 2-0 |
| 10 |  | Trey Kaufman-Renn finished with 13 points and seven rebounds in Monday's 90-73 victory over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. The Boilermakers' next game is Friday against Northern Kentucky. | -- | 3-0 |
| 11 |  | Boogie Fland finished with 17 points and three assists in Wednesday's 76-60 win over Lipscomb. The Razorbacks' next game is Saturday against Baylor. | -- | 1-1 |
| 12 |  | Jordan Gainey finished with 16 points and three steals in Monday's 80-64 win over Gardner Webb. The Vols' next game is Saturday against Louisville. | -- | 2-0 |
| 13 |  | Bruce Thornton finished with 20 points and five assists in Monday's 80-72 win over Texas. The Buckeyes' next game is Monday against Youngstown State. | -- | 2-0 |
| 14 |  | Caleb Love finished with 17 points and six assists in Monday's 93-64 win over Canisius. The Wildcats' next game is Saturday against Old Dominion. | -- | 2-0 |
| 15 |  | Kam Jones finished with 32 points and three assists in Monday's 102-62 win over Stony Brook. The Golden Eagles' next game is Friday against George Mason. | -- | 3-0 |
| 16 |  | Mackenzie Mgbako finished with 31 points and nine rebounds in Wednesday's 80-61 win over SIU Edwardsville. The Hoosiers' next game is Sunday against Eastern Illinois. | -- | 2-0 |
| 17 |  | VJ Edgecombe finished 2 of 11 from the field in Monday's 101-63 loss to Gonzaga. The Bears' next game is Saturday against Arkansas. | -- | 2-1 |
| 18 |  | Tyler Bilodeau finished with 18 points and six rebounds in Monday's 85-50 win over Rider. The Bruins' next game is Friday against New Mexico. | -- | 2-1 |
| 19 |  | Chendall Weaver finished 3 of 10 from the field in Monday's 80-72 loss to Texas. The Longhorns' next game is Friday against Houston Christian. | -- | 2-1 |
| 20 |  | Ryan Kalkbrenner finished with 49 points and 11 rebounds in Wednesday's 99-86 win over Rio Grande Valley. The Bluejays' next game is Sunday against Fairleigh Dickinson. | -- | 2-0 |
| 21 |  | Wade Taylor IV finished 4 of 15 from the field in Monday's 64-61 loss at UCF. The Aggies' next game is Friday against Texas A&M Commerce. | -- | 2-1 |
| 22 |  | Alex Condon finished with 23 points and two assists in Thursday's 81-60 win over Jacksonville. The Gators' next game is Monday against Grambling State. | -- | 3-0 |
| 23 |  | Dylan Harper finished with 20 points and four assists in Wednesday's 75-52 win over Wagner. The Scarlet Knights' next game is Monday against Saint Peter's. | -- | 2-0 |
| 24 |  | Simas Lukosius finished with 20 points and two rebounds in Monday's 109-54 win over Arkansas-Pine Bluff. The Bearcats' next game is Friday against Morehead State. | -- | 2-0 |
| 25 |  | Jaylen Murray finished with 24 points and three rebounds in Monday's 90-60 win over Long Island. The Rebels' next game is Friday against Grambling State. | -- | 3-0 |
| 26 |  | Kadary Richmond finished with 16 points and nine rebounds in Monday's 92-60 win over Fordham. The Red Storm's next game is Saturday vs. Quinnipiac. | -- | 2-0 |
