No. 24 North Carolina 79, UNC Greensboro 56: Kennedy Meeks scored 18 points on 8-of-9 shooting as the Tar Heels routed the host Spartans.

Joel James matched his career high of 11 points for North Carolina (7-3). Joel Berry II, Isaiah Hicks and Brice Johnson had eight points apiece for the Tar Heels, who possessed a 51-26 rebounding advantage.

Kayel Locke scored 17 points, Diante Baldwin added 13 and Nicholas Paulos had 12 for UNC Greensboro (4-7), which missed 20 of its first 23 field-goal attempts. The Spartans shot 35.7 from the field, were 5-of-24 from 3-point range and just 11-of-26 from the free-throw line.

North Carolina controlled the game from the outset by scoring 14 of the first 16 points and held a 27-6 lead on J.P. Tokoto’s basket with 8:03 left in the half. The lead reached 27 late in the half before UNC Greensboro closed with a 7-2 run to trail 40-19 at the break.

A jumper by Meeks stretched it out to 54-27 with 13:07 to play and a free throw by James pushed the advantage to 30 with 9:10 left. The Tar Heels’ lead topped out at 32 points on Johnson’s putback dunk shortly thereafter.

GAME NOTEBOOK: North Carolina leading scorer Marcus Paige was just 1-of-8 shooting while being held to five points. … Locke was 6-of-7 from the field but just 5-of-12 from the foul line. … The Tar Heels had 20 offensive boards while dominating the glass.