Late Night with Roy 2015: Score and Reaction from UNC Midnight Madness

In the nation's first glimpse of the 2015-16 North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball team, the White Team defeated the Blue Team 41-32 in a split-squad game at Friday's Late Night with Roy event.

The Tar Heels' version of Midnight Madness gave fans an early peek at the new-look team that enters the 2015-16 season in a tie for first in the USA Today men's basketball coaches poll with the Kentucky Wildcats.

With the roster split into Blue and White sides, here is a look at this year's Tar Heels:

Blue Team	White Team
Joel Berry II* G	Marcus Paige* G
Kenny Williams* G	Nate Britt* G
Theo Pinson* F	Justin Jackson* F
Brice Johnson* F	Isaiah Hicks* F
Kennedy Meeks* F	Joel James* F
Stilman White G	Luke Maye F
Spenser Dalton G	Kanler Coker G
Toby Egbuna F	Justin Coleman G

In an exhibition affair in which no stats were officially held, GoHeels.com's Turner Walston noted that junior forward Isaiah Hicks led all scorers with 14 points on the night.

It's not a bad way to kick off the year for Hicks, who averaged just 6.6 points per game last season.

Even though it was a friendly intrasquad game, players weren't taking things lightly, especially senior forward Tony Egbuna, according to the Daily Tar Heel's C. Jackson Cowart:

A big program with a rich history called for plenty of fanfare and celebration as notable members of the UNC community descended upon the Dean Smith Center. The game took only 30 minutes, compared to the two-plus hours of pregame fanfare.

But before the party started, Tar Heels Nation took some time to remember the late Stuart Scott, who was inducted into the UNC Journalism Hall of Fame on Friday:

Scott's foundation was also at the Dean Smith Center to support the evening's host, former Tar Heels and NBA star Kenny Smith, who was thinking ahead toward March:

With pregame performances that included improvised skits and dance numbers from all members of the team, the stress and tribulations of the enduring college basketball season were put on the backburner for at least one night, as GoHeels TV showed:

Following a performance like that, it would be hard to take anything seriously for the rest of the night, including the basketball.

But it allowed the team and fans alike to enjoy all that the UNC community was able to bring them. As the Tar Heels prepare to make a bid to stay atop the 2015-16 rankings, they're going to need all of that support as the season progresses.