<\/p>\n
CAROLINA-ST. BONAVENTURE<\/strong> CAROLINA-MICHIGAN STATE<\/strong> LAST TIME IN MAUI (UNC-MSU)<\/strong> WILSON MAKING HISTORY<\/strong> Most Points by a Tar Heel, First Five Games<\/strong> Most Rebounds by a Tar Heel, First Five Games<\/strong> Highest FG% by a Tar Heel, First Five Games<\/strong> Most Blocks by a Tar Heel, First Five Games<\/strong> \u2022 He netted 22 points vs. UCA and 24 vs. Kansas to become the first Tar Heel freshman ever to score more than 20 points in his first two games. BY THE NUMBERS<\/strong> AP RANKING<\/strong> EARLY ACCOLADES<\/strong> PROBABLE STARTERS VS. ST. BONAVENTURE<\/strong> \u2022 None of the probable starters were Tar Heels last season. VEESAAR’S POST PRESENCE<\/strong> PRESEASON ALL-ACC, POLL<\/strong> PRESEASON RECOGNITION<\/strong> NEW-LOOK ROSTER<\/strong> FRESHMAN STARTERS<\/strong> HUBERT DAVIS: YEAR FIVE<\/strong> 2025-26 SCHEDULE NOTES<\/strong> NEARING 500 WINS IN THE SMITH CENTER<\/strong> TAR HEELS IN THE NBA<\/strong>
\n\u2022 This is the second game between the Tar Heels and Bonnies.
\n\u2022 Fourth-ranked UNC defeated third-ranked St. Bonaventure, 91-72, on 3\/15\/1968 in Raleigh, N.C. (Reynolds Coliseum) in the NCAA East Region semifinal.
\n\u2022 All-America and ACC Player of the Year Larry Miller scored 27 points and had 16 rebounds, Charlie Scott scored 21 and Rusty Clark had 18. Future Naismith Hall of Famer Bob Lanier and Bill Butler led the Bonnies with 23 points apiece.
\n\u2022 Carolina went on to beat Davidson in the regional final and advance to the second of three consecutive Final Fours.<\/p>\n
\n\u2022 The Tar Heels are 13-5 all-time against Michigan State, although the Spartans won the previous meeting, 94-91 in overtime last November in Maui.
\n\u2022 Fort Myers is the 13th different city to play host to a UNC-Michigan State game, joining (in order) Kansas City, Mo.; Raleigh, N.C.; East Lansing; Chapel Hill; Lahaina, Maui; Greensboro, N.C.; St. Louis, Mo.; Winston-Salem, N.C.; Detroit; San Diego (aboard the USS Carl Vinson); Portland, Ore.; and Charlotte, N.C.
\n\u2022 Carolina is 9-3 against the Spartans at neutral sites.<\/p>\n
\n\u2022 Carolina trailed by as many as 14 in the first half and nine at halftime but Seth Trimble<\/a><\/dfn> hit a three-pointer with 4.3 seconds left to tie the game at 80 and send it to overtime.
\n\u2022 In OT, the Tar Heels made two of eight from the floor, while the Spartans were three for four from the floor and made six of eight free throws.
\n\u2022 Carolina missed its first nine field goal attempts but still shot 50% from the floor.
\n\u2022 It was the first time the Tar Heels shot 50% or better from the floor in a loss since 2\/15\/2020 against Virginia. Carolina had won the previous 33 times it shot 50%.
\n\u2022 UNC shot 51.9% in the first half and 55.2% in the second.
\n\u2022 The Spartans shot 54.1% from the floor, made eight more free throws, were plus eight in second-chance points and scored 50 points in the paint.
\n\u2022 The Spartans outrebounded UNC, 37-29, and converted eight offensive boards into 11 points. The Tar Heels managed five offensive rebounds for three points.
\n\u2022 Freshman Drake Powell<\/a><\/dfn> made four three-pointers and led UNC with a season-high 18 points.<\/p>\n
\n\u2022 Caleb Wilson<\/a><\/dfn> is averaging 20.6 points, 10.0 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 2.0 steals and 1.8 blocks while shooting 67.3% from the floor.
\n\u2022 His five-game totals include 103 points, 50 rebounds, 13 assists, 10 steals and nine blocks. In the last 50 years, no other Tar Heel ever compiled those totals in any five-game stretch.
\n\u2022 Against Navy, he became the first Tar Heel ever to score 23 points, grab 12 rebounds, make three blocks and four steals in any game.
\n\u2022 He is the first Tar Heel freshman with three consecutive double-doubles since Armando Bacot in 2019-20.
\n\u2022 Wilson has scored 103 points and grabbed 50 rebounds. He is first Tar Heel freshman to score 100 or more points in his first five games since Cole Anthony in 2019-20.<\/p>\n
\nLennie Rosenbluth 151
\nLarry Miller 118
\nRashad McCants (freshman) 106
\nCole Anthony (freshman) 104
\nRobert McAdoo 103
\nCaleb Wilson<\/a><\/dfn> (freshman) 103<\/strong><\/p>\n
\nLennie Rosenbluth 82
\nBilly Cunningham 77
\nRusty Clark 62
\nLarry Miller 54
\nBobby Lewis 51
\nCaleb Wilson<\/a><\/dfn> (freshman) 50<\/strong>
\nJoe Quigg 50<\/p>\n
\nBobby Jones .735
\nCaleb Wilson<\/a><\/dfn> (freshman) .673<\/strong><\/p>\n
\nSam Perkins (freshman) 10
\nHenri Veesaar<\/a><\/dfn> 10<\/strong>
\nSean May<\/a><\/dfn> (freshman) 10
\nRasheed Wallace (freshman) 10
\nCaleb Wilson<\/a><\/dfn> (freshman) 9<\/strong><\/p>\n
\n\u2022 Lennie Rosenbluth and Donald Washington scored more than 20 in their first two games as sophomores in 1954-55 and 1972-73, respectively.
\n\u2022 Wilson compiled a game-high 24 points with seven rebounds, four assists and four steals in the win over Kansas. He became just the second Tar Heel freshman (with Coby White against Virginia Tech in 2018-19) and the fourth Tar Heel regardless of class (with Walter Davis and Mike O’Koren) to have at least 24 points, seven rebounds, four assists and four steals in a game.
\n\u2022 His 22 points in the opener vs. Central Arkansas were the fourth-most by a Tar Heel freshman in his debut since first-year players became eligible in 1972-73.
\n\u2022 The top-five freshman scoring debuts in the last 50 years include Cole Anthony’s 34 points vs. Notre Dame on 11\/6\/19, Rashad McCants’ 28 vs. Penn State on 11\/18\/2002, Joseph Forte’s 24 vs. USC on 11\/22\/1999, Wilson’s 22 and Tyler Hansbrough’s 21 vs. Gardner-Webb on 11\/19\/2005.<\/p>\n
\n\u2022 As of Monday, the Tar Heels were fourth in the country in field goal percentage defense, holding the five opponents to a combined 32.7% from the floor.
\n\u2022 Four of the five opponents have shot under 40%, while Kansas shot a season-high 48.1% in Carolina’s 87-74 win.
\n\u2022 Carolina has held each of its last three opponents below 35% from the floor and under 30% from three. That happened only one other time in UNC history, a three-game stretch vs. Florida, Iowa and ECU in 2014-15.
\n\u2022 UNC is 49-4 in five seasons under head coach Davis when holding opponents under 40% from the floor.
\n\u2022 Carolina is also seventh in the country in rebounding (47.0 per game), 16th in rebound margin (plus 13.4) and 23rd in scoring margin (plus 24.8).
\n\u2022 The Tar Heels have attempted 23 or more three-pointers in each of the five games and are averaging 27.6 per game. That would shatter the previous school record for attempts per game, which was 23.94 in 2018-19, when the Tar Heel lineup included Cameron Johnson, Coby White, Kenny Williams and Luke Maye.
\n\u2022 Seven players made three-pointers against Central Arkansas and NC Central. In four other seasons there were two games when seven Tar Heels made threes. It’s never happened three times in one season.
\n\u2022 The UNC record for one game is eight players making a 3FG, at Wake Forest in 2018-19 and against NC A&T in 2001-02.
\n\u2022 Carolina has shot 50% or higher from the floor in three of the first five games. The Tar Heels are 38-1 under Davis when they make at least 50% from the floor.
\n\u2022 Carolina has out-rebounded its five opponents by 15, 12, 12, 21 and seven. The Tar Heels are 94-24 under Davis when they win the boards.
\n\u2022 Carolina is outscoring the opponents, 77-24, in fastbreak points, an average of 15.4 to 4.8 per game.<\/p>\n
\n\u2022 Carolina is ranked No. 16 in the nation in the Associated Press poll, up from 18th the previous two weeks.
\n\u2022 UNC was ranked 25th in the preseason poll and then moved up seven spots in the November 10 poll. That was the largest jump from the preseason poll by the Tar Heels since the AP began ranking 25 teams in the 1989-90 season.
\n\u2022 In 1984-85, when the AP ranked 20 teams, the Tar Heels went from unranked to 19th after the first week of the regular season.
\n\u2022 Carolina is 1-0 against ranked teams this season (Kansas).<\/p>\n
\n\u2022 Freshman forward Caleb Wilson<\/a><\/dfn> was one of five players named National Player of the Week by the USBWA for the week of November 3-9.
\n\u2022 Wilson also was both the Co-ACC Player and Rookie of the Week following his performances in the wins over Central Arkansas and Kansas.
\n\u2022 Wilson shared the player and rookie awards with Virginia Tech’s Neoklis Avdalas.
\n\u2022 Wilson is the first Tar Heel freshman to also win ACC Player-of-the-Week honors since Cole Anthony in 2019-20.
\n\u2022 Wilson is the eighth Tar Heel to win ACC Player-of-the-Week honors as a freshman, joining Jerry Stackhouse (1994), Antawn Jamison (1996), Rashad McCants (2003), Tyler Hansbrough (2006), Brandan Wright (2007), Coby White (2019) and Anthony.<\/p>\n
\n\u00a0 0 \u2013 Kyan Evans<\/a><\/dfn>, Junior, Guard
\n44 \u2013 Luka Bogavac<\/a><\/dfn>, Junior, Guard
\n\u00a0 8 \u2013 Caleb Wilson<\/a><\/dfn>, Freshman, Forward
\n13 \u2013 Henri Veesaar<\/a><\/dfn>, R-Junior, Center
\n15 \u2013 Jarin Stevenson<\/a><\/dfn>, Junior, Forward<\/p>\n
\n\u2022 Seth Trimble<\/a><\/dfn>, who is out with an injured left arm, started 18 of UNC’s 37 games last season. Even with Trimble’s return, this is the first season in which UNC did not return a player who started at least half the games in the previous season since 2005-06, when the Tar Heels replaced all five starters from a national championship team.
\n\u2022 Carolina’s probable starters have made a combined 91 college starts. That includes 41 by\u00a0Evans, 32 by Stevenson, 10 by\u00a0Veesaar, five by freshman Wilson and three by\u00a0Bogavac.<\/p>\n
\n\u2022 Red-shirt junior center Henri Veesaar<\/a><\/dfn>, a transfer from Arizona, leads the team with 10 blocks, is second in scoring (14.8), rebounding (7.8) and field goal shooting (64.3%).
\n\u2022 The Estonia native has two double-doubles, the first of his college career. He also has single-game career highs in rebounds (11) and blocks (five).
\n\u2022 He scored 20 points (10 in each half) vs. Kansas, the second time in his career he scored 20 or more in a game.<\/p>\n
\n\u2022 The Tar Heels were picked to finish third in the 18-team Atlantic Coast Conference by the media at the ACC’s preseason media day in Charlotte.
\n\u2022 Caleb Wilson<\/a><\/dfn> was voted to the league’s preseason All-ACC second team and the All-Freshman team.
\n\u2022 UNC was picked No. 25 in the country in the Associated Press preseason poll.
\n\u2022 This is the 69th different season in the 78-year history of the AP poll the Tar Heels have been ranked in the AP poll.
\n\u2022 The preseason AP poll is the 963rd time Carolina has been ranked, the second-most in college basketball history.<\/p>\n
\n\u2022 The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame released its preseason watch lists for its five positional and they included three Tar Heels.
\n\u2022 Seth Trimble<\/a><\/dfn> is on the Jerry West Shooting Guard Award list, Caleb Wilson<\/a><\/dfn> is on the Karl Malone Power Forward Award list and Henri Veesaar<\/a><\/dfn> is on the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center Award list.
\n\u2022 Tar Heels have won four of the Hall of Fame’s positional awards \u2013 three Bob Cousy Point Guard Awards (Raymond Felton in 2005, Ty Lawson in 2009 and Kendall Marshall in 2012) and one Jerry West Award (RJ Davis<\/a><\/dfn> in 2024).
\n\u2022 Wilson is also on the preseason watch lists for the Naismith and Oscar Robertson (USBWA) Trophies.<\/p>\n
\n\u2022 Carolina’s 16-man roster includes five returning players and 11 newcomers. Those figures include senior guard Seth Trimble<\/a><\/dfn> who is injured but averaged 11.6 points and 5.0 rebounds in 28.6 minutes per game last season.
\n\u2022 The 11 newcomers include three incoming freshmen, six collegiate transfers, one player who competed internationally and a former member of UNC’s junior varsity team.
\n\u2022 The six collegiate transfers combined last season for 1,464 points, 578 rebounds, 256 assists and made 226 of 641 three-pointers (35.3%).<\/p>\n
\n\u2022 Caleb Wilson<\/a><\/dfn> became the 40th Tar Heel to start his first game as a freshman since first-year players became eligible in 1972-73. Prior to Wilson, the most recent were guards RJ Davis<\/a><\/dfn> and Caleb Love in 2020-21 against the College of Charleston.
\n\u2022 The last UNC frontcourt player to start his first game as a freshman had been Armando Bacot in 2019-20.<\/p>\n
\n\u2022 The 2025-26 season is Hubert Davis<\/a><\/dfn>‘ fifth as head coach at the University of North Carolina and his 14th on the coaching staff at his alma mater. He is the only Tar Heel head coach to win 20 or more games in each of his first four seasons.
\n\u2022 Davis, 55 (turns 56 on May 17, 2026), has won National and ACC Coach-of-the-Year honors, led the Tar Heels to a national title game appearance, 106 wins, a 56-24 record and 24 road wins in ACC regular-season play, a regular-season ACC title and a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Only one other team has won more ACC games in the last four years.
\n\u2022 Two of his players \u2013 RJ Davis<\/a><\/dfn> and Armando Bacot \u2013 rank second and third, respectively, in all-time UNC scoring, set numerous records and earned national and All-ACC awards.
\n\u2022 Carolina won its 100th game under Davis in the 2025 ACC Tournament, making him the third-fastest coach in UNC history and the sixth-fastest in ACC history to win 100 games. Only Duke’s Vic Bubas, UNC’s Roy Williams and Frank McGuire, Wake Forest’s Skip Prosser and Maryland’s Lefty Driesell reached 100 wins in fewer games than Davis (who won his 100th in 143 games).
\n\u2022 Over the previous four seasons, UNC had the 10th-most wins among teams in the ACC, Big East, Big Ten, Big 12 and SEC.
\n\u2022 Under Davis, Carolina is 8-3 in NCAA Tournament play, including wins against three national championship-winning coaches (Baylor’s Scott Drew, Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski and Michigan State’s Tom Izzo) and three other coaches who have taken teams to the Final Four (Marquette’s Shaka Smart, UCLA’s Mick Cronin and San Diego State’s Brian Dutcher).
\n\u2022 Davis has led the Tar Heels to 14 wins over nationally-ranked opponents, including eight over top-10 teams (No. 4 Duke, No. 4 Baylor and No. 9 Duke in 2022; No. 6 Virginia in 2023; and No. 10 Tennessee, No. 7 Oklahoma, No. 7 Duke and No. 9 Duke in 2024).<\/p>\n
\n\u2022 In ACC play, the Tar Heels play host to FSU (Dec. 30), Wake Forest (Jan. 10), Notre Dame (Jan. 21), Syracuse (Feb. 2), Duke (Feb. 7), Pitt (Feb. 14), Louisville (Feb. 23), Virginia Tech (Feb. 28) and Clemson (March 3).
\n\u2022 Carolina plays at SMU (Jan. 3), Stanford (Jan.14), Cal (Jan. 17), Virginia (Jan. 24), Georgia Tech (Jan. 31), Miami (Feb. 10), NC State (Feb. 17), Syracuse (Feb. 21) and Duke (March 7).
\n\u2022 UNC is not scheduled to play Boston College.
\n\u2022 This will mark the first season since 1919 the Tar Heels are not playing NC State in Chapel Hill.
\n\u2022 The Tar Heels played Kansas to Chapel Hill for the first time ever. Last year, the Jayhawks defeated UNC in Lawrence. The November 7 game was just the third on-campus matchup in 14 games between the Tar Heels and KU.
\n\u2022 Carolina makes its first appearance in the Skechers Fort Myers (Fla.) Tip-Off at Suncoast Credit Union Arena. UNC faces St. Bonaventure (for the second time ever) on November 25 and Michigan State two days later on Thanksgiving Day. This is the third consecutive year the Tar Heels will be playing the Spartans. Carolina won in Charlotte in the 2024 NCAA second round and Michigan State won in overtime last November in Maui.
\n\u2022 The Tar Heels are making their first trips as ACC opponents to SMU, Stanford and Cal. UNC is 1-0 all-time against the Mustangs in Dallas (12\/30\/1986), 2-0 vs. the Cardinal in Maples Pavilion (12\/3\/1983 and 11\/20\/2017) and 1-0 vs. the Bears in Haas Pavilion (12\/22\/1972, when its was Harmon Gym).
\n\u2022 Carolina returns to Rupp Arena in Lexington to play Kentucky for the eighth time and the first time since 12\/13\/2014. UNC is 1-1 in the ACC\/SEC Challenge with a home win over Tennessee and loss to Alabama.
\n\u2022 UNC plays Ohio State in Atlanta on December 20 in the CBS Sports Classic. The Tar Heels are 7-4 in the annual event, including 3-0 vs. the Buckeyes.<\/p>\n
\n\u2022 This is the 41st season the Tar Heels are playing their home games in the Dean E. Smith Center.
\n\u2022 Carolina is six wins shy of 500 with an overall record (not counting preseason or exhibition games) of 494-90.
\n\u2022 The Tar Heels are 237-19 in the Smith Center against non-conference opponents.
\n\u2022 The Tar Heels have played 46% of their home games all-time in the Smith Center (584 of 1,268).
\n\u2022 Central Arkansas, Kansas, Navy and USC Upstate each will be playing in the Smith Center for the first time.
\n\u2022 Navy was the 153rd different opponent to play a regular-season or NIT game in the Smith Center against the Tar Heels.
\n\u2022 Carolina has won 494 games in the Smith Center, 210 in Woollen Gym (1939-65), 170 in Carmichael Auditorium (1965-86, 2010), 130 in the Indoor Athletic Court (1924-38) and 63 in Bynum Gym (1911-23).<\/p>\n
\n\u2022 Eleven former Tar Heels were on NBA Opening Day rosters, including Cole Anthony (Milwaukee), Harrison Barnes (San Antonio), Tony Bradley (Indiana), Harrison Ingram (San Antonio), Cameron Johnson (Denver), Walker Kessler (Utah), Caleb Love (Portland), Pete Nance (Milwaukee), rookie Drake Powell<\/a><\/dfn> (Brooklyn), Day’Ron Sharpe (Brooklyn) and Coby White (Chicago).
\n\u2022 Powell averaged 7.4 points as a freshman last season and was selected by Atlanta with the 22nd pick in the 2025 NBA Draft. His rights were traded the night of the Draft to the Brooklyn Nets. Powell was the 55th Tar Heel selected all-time in the first round.
\n\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n