NEW YORK -- Matt Doherty's mother pulled her son in to congratulate him.

It was only halftime.

But it's hard to blame her for getting in kind words early after North Carolina built a stunning 38-29 lead over No. 2 Kansas on Wednesday.

Remember, this Carolina winning thing is still new for everyone involved who went through last season's eight-win season. Even though it was only 20 minutes, she probably felt it was OK to let her son know that he was doing well.

"I told her we still had another 20,'' said Doherty, composed and not even put off by his mother's premature praise.

Doherty didn't flinch then, nor did he throughout the second half of the Tar Heels' shocking 67-56 win over No. 2 Kansas in the Owens Corning Preseason NIT semifinals at Madison Square Garden.

And, more importantly, neither did his team.

The most amazing aspect of the Tar Heels' 4-0 start is their composure in four different scenarios.

The Tar Heels, the youngest team in North Carolina history and possibly in the country this season, played outstanding defense in crushing Penn State in the opener. Then, they had to rally from a double-digit deficit to beat Rutgers in the Preseason NIT second round. Doherty put the freshmen- and sophomore-dominated team through a unique game Sunday, opening Old Dominion's new building. They weren't rattled and won in a hostile environment.

"They have shown tremendous poise,'' Doherty said earlier Wednesday. "We never felt like the game was out of our control. This is a confident group that doesn't get rattled.''

Doherty proved to be prophetic. The Tar Heels went right at a Kansas team that stepped aside for almost clear paths to the basket.

Kansas senior Nick Collison and coach Roy Williams both said they have not had good practices so far this season, not like they did last year. They said they have struggled and it showed by not matching North Carolina's intensity or its aggression toward the basket.

North Carolina's plan was to slow it down a bit until, that is, freshman Rashad McCants went right at the Jayhawks for a monster slam. He saw another opening on a backcut to the basket and easily deposited the ball in the basket to push the Jayhawks on their heels.

"I was surprised that I was able to put that first one down,'' said McCants, who put up a game-high 25 points on the Jayhawks. "I put it in my mind to be in more of an attack mode. We're just so confident in our system and our coach. We were hungry to play this team.''

They attacked the basket by looking to go at the Jayhawks. Jackie Manuel harassed Kirk Hinrich, who was not himself after he tweaked his back in the first half and ended up with a mortal five turnovers. Carolina's defense forced 21 Kansas turnovers, limited Kansas to 56 points after it had averaged 93. The Heels had 14 steals, 11 blocks and did all of this despite being outrebounded 41-28.

"This win helps our program, helps this team, and shows that we can go out there and play with anybody,'' Manuel said. "Our game plan was to slow it down, keep them in the 60s and attack. I just wanted to bug Hinrich and go wherever he goes.''

But Manuel never gloated. No one did. Even after a block, a dunk, a steal, a jumper, a 3-pointer, or a fat lead. The Tar Heels weren't a bunch of inexperienced players who don't know how to act like winners.

This group doesn't know any different. And the sophomores -- Manuel, Jawad Williams and Melvin Scott -- have benefited from the fantastic frosh. They don't care about all the attention going to McCants, Raymond Felton and Sean May. But they do acknowledge that they have made them better players and Carolina a tougher team to defend.

Kansas, meanwhile, got the same lesson that Penn State, Rutgers and Old Dominion learned.

The Jayhawks found out -- too late -- that this UNC team has no fear, nothing to lose and a bit of a chip on its shoulder even four games into the season. This ride still could get bumpy, but there is no indication that the Tar Heels are going to skirt the edge anymore. They're back on track, in their usual spot as one of the programs worth discussing.

"We have great energy, talent and quickness and we've made them better, but they've made us better, too,'' Felton said of the fantastic freshmen. "This is a great win, a great game and means a lot to me, to my teammates, to our coach. Hopefully we'll see (Kansas) again in the NCAAs. I know they'll be there. Hopefully we'll be there, too.''

See, not too cocky. Not too overconfident. Not yet, at least. That would be out of character for Felton, for any of the freshmen, for Doherty, for anyone in this program. Carolina is in a unique place with this program and, regardless of what happens against Stanford in Friday night's title game, Carolina is definitely back.

Andy Katz is a senior writer at ESPN.com.