The Tar Heels are good — but how good?
Caleb Wilson is one of the ten best players in college basketball. Henri Veesaar is among the most skilled big men in the country. And Seth Trimble has recovered nicely from his fractured left arm.
Head coach Hubert Davis is almost settling on his rotation with freshman point guard Derek Dixon, but he hasn’t chosen his fifth starter between versatile Jarin Stevenson, emerging Euro shooter Luka Bogavac, and ACC veteran Jaydon Young.
In the last three games, HD started former ninth-man Young, took him out after a few minutes, and barely gave him anymore minutes. The 6-foot-10 Stevenson and 6-foot-6 Bogavac share the rest of the game. One-time starter Kyan Evans and wing Jonathan Powell each played more than Young.
After the 91-75 win at Georgia Tech and playing a Monday night game vs. Syracuse (in which they are favored), the Heels will be halfway through their 18-game ACC schedule with potentially a 6-3 record. But the last half will start at home Saturday in the first of two games against No. 4 Duke (9-1).
North Carolina forward Caleb Wilson, right, shoots over Georgia Tech guard Jaeden Mustaf during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game, Saturday, Jan. 31, 2026, in Atlanta. The Georgia native led the Tar Heels with 22 points in the homecoming game. (Photo via AP Photo/Colin Hubbard.)
The lone matchups at Miami and at N.C. State follow, plus home dates against Louisville, Virginia Tech and Clemson before closing out at Cameron Indoor Stadium on March 7. Both on paper and with the eye test, that should be a more challenging stretch of games.
The Tar Heels are in far better shape for an NCAA bid than last year with Quad 1 wins over Kansas, upsetting Kentucky in Lexington and beating Ohio State in Atlanta. But finishing 9-9 in the ACC could mean anywhere from a 7-to-9 seed in the Big Dance. The Heels might close out with a better record, but would need more stretches like their second half at Virginia, which is their best win so far.
Of course, they are capable. Hubert admits his fifth Tar Heel team doesn’t force a lot of errors — but it turned over Yellow Jackets 12 times on Saturday that resulted in an 18-0 difference in points off turnovers and also set a record for fewest turnovers ever by UNC on the road.
Carolina also had 44 points in the paint, 20 second-chance points and 16 on fast breaks. Stevenson and Bogavac came off the bench to score 20 points in a game they led for 38-plus minutes. The Tar Heels made 11 of 12 free throws for a season high 92%.
Coming off a season low of one rebound at Virgina, Veesaar got his tenth double double (20 and 12). Even though he helps Carolina be one of the tallest teams in the country, they rank only eighth in the ACC in defensive rebounding percentage and only won the rebounding battle vs. Georgia Tech by one. Davis calls that rate “non sustainable” and it may be because the 6-foot-10 Wilson and 6-foot-10 Stevenson are as much perimeter players as board bangers. And Veesaar is second only to Bogavac in 3-point makes and easily leads the team in long ball percentage 46 percentage.
But against a less talented team, UNC took care of business in the first half before letting up off the gas in the second — although Wilson was playing with clear motivation.
“It started with Caleb at the beginning of the game,” said Tyler Hansbrough on the Tar Heel Sports Network. “We knew with their limited size, they would probably have to double team the post and they did. And when you have a gifted player like Caleb who is an instinctively willing passer as soon as it touches his hands, he hits the open guy and gets the ball moving. Everybody was sharing the basketball. It’s fun to watch.”
Wilson finished with 22 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists. He has set a school record to start his career with 21 consecutive games in double figures — another reason his style of play has made him so popular in basically half of a season.
Not only were there dozens of family members and friends from Wilson’s hometown, but half of the arena also fought off the snow to see their favorite Tar Heel for the second and last time this season. In the 71-70 win over the Buckeyes at the State Farm Arena in the CBS Sports Classic, Wilson had 20 points and 15 rebounds.
Former Carolina All-Americans who live in Atlanta were among the throng, including Charlie Scott ’70 and Kenny Smith ’87 who played four years for Dean Smith, along with Georgia Tech All-American Mark Price who was the MVP of the 1985 ACC tournament after the Jackets edged the Heels 57-54 at the old Omni. The two Tar Heels met up with Wilson after the game, with The Jet later detailing what it was like to introduce the incredible freshman to a pioneer like Scott.
Legendary photo. pic.twitter.com/kuhqOQVm8K
— Carolina Basketball (@UNC_Basketball) January 31, 2026
After UNC’s win over Georgia Tech, @TheJetOnTNT introduced freshman Caleb Wilson to Charlie Scott.
Scott was the first African-American student-athlete to receive a scholarship to UNC ? pic.twitter.com/9Oad1TEWLW
— ESPN (@espn) February 1, 2026
Continuing the trend of record-setting days: Carolina also set the school record for fewest turnovers in three consecutive games with 14 (eight vs. Notre Dame, four at Virginia and four at Georgia Tech), committing both of its turnovers in the first half and had none in the second half. Wilson’s 15th 20-point game saw him surpass Tyler Hansbrough for the most scored in a freshman season. The forward also led UNC with five assists, the seventh time he led the team in assists and the sixth time he led in both scoring and assists. He has led Carolina in points and assists in four of the last five games.
The senior captain Trimble was 8-for-14 from the floor and scored 18 points, his 10th double-figure scoring game in his 11 starts this season. He has averaged 17.0 points in the last two road wins and continues to thrive when UNC is able to push the tempo. And Bogavac played one of his best games, scoring 16 points — which tied his second-highest output of the season — alongside three assists and no turnovers. He was 6-for-10 from the floor and had a plus/minus of +16, his best in an ACC game.
North Carolina forward Caleb Wilson, left, high-fives guard Seth Trimble, right, during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against Georgia Tech, Saturday, Jan. 31, 2026, in Atlanta. (Photo via AP Photo/Colin Hubbard.)
Carolina’s bench outscored Tech’s non-starters, 26-18, helped by Bogavac and Stevenson not starting and another reason for the last seven games that the Tar Heel bench outscored the opponents. The 18-0 margin in points off turnovers was the largest this season and the Tar Heels have outscored their last three opponents (Notre Dame, Virginia and Georgia Tech) 44-6 in points off turnovers.
So: how good is Carolina? When they rebound well, play engaged defense that leads to fast breaks, and get scoring contributions outside of the Wilson-Veesaar-Trimble core, they sure look good. Especially amid a historic run by Wilson. But the team is only a few weeks removed from failures on all three of those fronts — and even tougher competition lies ahead with the Blue Devils awaiting next Saturday.
But first, the Orange. The Tar Heels beat the snow back to Chapel Hill and got in a short meeting Sunday to prepare for Syracuse Monday at 7 p.m. In the new expanded ACC schedule, the Orange is the only other team besides Duke that has a home-and-home against Carolina, which visits the JMA Wireless Dome on Feb. 21. We’ll see who takes Round 1.
Art Chansky is a veteran journalist who has written ten books, including best-sellers “Game Changers,” “Blue Bloods,” and “The Dean’s List.” He has contributed to WCHL for decades, having made his first appearance as a student in 1971. His “Sports Notebook” commentary airs daily on the 97.9 The Hill WCHL and his “Art’s Angle” opinion column runs weekly on Chapelboro.Chapelboro.com does not charge subscription fees, and you can directly support our efforts in local journalism here. Want more of what you see on Chapelboro? Let us bring free local news and community information to you by signing up for our newsletter.
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