LAWRENCE — Kansas basketball will be tested Friday against UNC in a way the Jayhawks weren’t Monday, in their season opener at home against Howard.

No. 1 Kansas (1-0) will be going up against a No. 10 North Carolina (1-0) team that will arrive in Lawrence with a much more talented roster. Jayhawks head coach Bill Self told reporters postgame that freshman forward Flory Bidunga made plays against Howard, plays that will build confidence, but the plays he’ll look to make against UNC will be tougher to pull off. Graduate center Hunter Dickinson highlighted how difficult it will be to guard North Carolina’s backcourt, which he described as one of the best in the nation.

The 87-57 win Monday against Howard (0-1), though, is still something Kansas can build upon. It served as another source of momentum for a team that will look to protect its home court on Friday. Here are some more takeaways from the Jayhawks’ performance inside Allen Fieldhouse.

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This is why Shakeel Moore didn’t play

Although Self thought in the lead-up to Kansas’ game against Howard that graduate guard Shakeel Moore would play, Moore missed the matchup as he continues to make his way back from an injury. Self explained Moore, who described it in the preseason as an ankle injury, felt pain the day before the game. Self added he hoped by Thursday that Moore would be back out there, as Moore’s soft-tissue issues and such improve, and also expressed hope Moore would be available in some capacity in the week ahead.

This is something that stood out to Bill Self about David Coit

Senior guard David Coit started for Kansas and finished with eight points, four assists and two rebounds. Self noted Coit, a transfer from Northern Illinois, is where they thought he would be from a developmental standpoint. What impressed Self was how Coit looked to do things other than just shoot the ball, which shows Self that Coit is figuring things out.

Hunter Dickinson returns to action

Dickinson didn’t play in either of Kansas’ exhibition games but started Monday. He finished with 16 points, six rebounds, three steals, two blocks and an assist in a bit more than 20 minutes of action. Dickinson thought he could have played a couple of more minutes, but as he works through getting back from an injury he’s thankful for more time to make progress before facing UNC.

Self also thought Dickinson looked like someone who’d lost some rhythm. However, Self did think Dickinson needed to be out there. For those purposes, Self left happy with how things went.

Flory Bidunga shines

Bidunga will have more substantial challenges ahead, but scoring 13 points, grabbing eight rebounds, notching two steals and blocking two shots was a great way to start his Kansas career. Bidunga explained he just wants to bring energy and make sure, when he comes in as a substitute, that there isn’t a letdown. Dickinson credited Bidunga’s work ethic for Bidunga’s progress.

Zeke Mayo leads Kansas in scoring off the bench

Senior guard Zeke Mayo, a Lawrence native, also played well in his first game with Kansas after transferring in from South Dakota State. He led the team with 19 points. He called the opportunity he has a blessing and added later when talking about coming off the bench that it doesn’t matter to him who starts.

Jordan Guskey covers University of Kansas Athletics at The Topeka Capital-Journal. He is the National Sports Media Association’s sportswriter of the year for the state of Kansas for 2022. Contact him at jmguskey@gannett.com or on Twitter at @JordanGuskey.

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Reviewing Kansas basketball’s regular season-opening win vs Howard