Coming off a dominant 91-67 win against Temple in their first game of the regular season, the No. 1 ranked Tar Heels look to continue their stellar play on Sunday—as they host the Fairfield Stags at the Dean Dome in the year’s first real home game.

Junior forward Kennedy Meeks led the way against Temple with 25 points and 11 rebounds, showing off a slimmer frame and some nice touch around the basket–but still his head coach, Roy Williams, would like to see more from his big man as the season progresses.

“He is more explosive, there’s no question about that,” Williams said after Friday’s game. “Other than [his] first shot, I thought he had great choices on his shot selection. He could have passed it out a little quicker out of the double team and re-posted.

“I keep challenging him, I’m not gonna anoint him. Because it was 25 points and 11 rebounds–and they had one true post player playing most of the game.”

A majority of Meeks’ points came in transition as the Owls struggled to keep up with the athletic ability of UNC’s big men.

Sophomore guard Joel Berry says that’s part of the team’s overall strategy, and is something that will likely carry over into Sunday’s game with the Stags—another team likely to concede a significant size advantage.

“Get the ball out and run,” Berry said. “That’s what we wanted to do, that’s what we like to do. Kick the ball ahead and let our big men go down and pin their big man under the rim.

“And that’s how Kennedy was able to get some easy baskets,” he added.

Meeks’ effort was part of a collaborative team goal to have everyone step up their level of play while senior point guard Marcus Paige remains on the sidelines with a broken hand.

“That’s our main focus right now while he’s gone, is just to come together and be even stronger while he’s out,” Meeks said. “He’s a great player, great leader—we miss him—but as of right now we have to focus on Fairfield next.”