Key Highlights
- UNC faces NC Central in a 9 p.m. game at the Dean E. Smith Center on Friday, November 14.
- The Tar Heels start the season 3-0 with Luka Bogavac leading four players in double figures against Radford.
- Caleb Wilson has been named National Player of the Week and ACC Rookie of the Week for his performances.
- This is UNC’s fourth straight home game to begin the regular season, the longest such stretch since 1918-19.
UNC Set to Host NC Central in Season Opener
The University of North Carolina Tar Heels men’s basketball team is set to face off against North Carolina Central Eagles at the Dean E. Smith Center on Friday, November 14. The game will be broadcasted on the ACC Network with Doug Sherman and Chris Spatola calling the action.
UNC’s Early Season Success
The Tar Heels have started their season strong with a record of 3-0. In their most recent victory, they defeated Radford by an impressive margin of 89-74 at the Smith Center on November 11. Luka Bogavac led four players in double figures, contributing 19 points and five assists to the win.
Key Player Caleb Wilson
Caleb Wilson, a freshman forward, has been a standout player for UNC this season. He was named National Player of the Week by the USBWA for the week of November 3-9. Wilson also won both the ACC Player and Rookie of the Week honors following his performances against Central Arkansas and Kansas.
Wilson is the first Tar Heel freshman to win ACC Player-of-the-Week honors since Cole Anthony in the 2019-20 season.
His performance has been particularly noteworthy, scoring 21 points on 34 field goal attempts (61.8%) in his first three games. Against Radford, he recorded a double-double with 13 points and 14 rebounds, marking the most by any Tar Heel this season.
Starting Lineup Changes
The probable starters for UNC against NC Central include Kyan Evans at guard (junior), Luka Bogavac also at guard (junior), Caleb Wilson as forward (freshman), Henri Veesaar in the center position (red-shirt junior), and Jarin Stevenson at forward (junior). None of these players started for the Tar Heels last season, making this a significant change from the previous lineup.
UNC’s probable starters have made a combined 81 college starts. Kyan Evans leads with 39 starts, while Jarin Stevenson has 30, Henri Veesaar has eight, Caleb Wilson has three, and Luka Bogavac has one start under his belt.
Hubert Davis’ Fifth Season at the Helm
The 2025-26 season marks Hubert Davis’s fifth year as head coach of UNC and his 14th on the coaching staff. Davis, who turned 56 in May 2026, has led the Tar Heels to numerous successes, including multiple ACC Coach-of-the-Year honors and a national title game appearance.
Under Davis’s leadership, UNC has seen strong performances from key players like RJ Davis and Armando Bacot. The team is also set for an exciting season with Caleb Wilson leading the charge as the first freshman in recent history to score over 20 points in his first two games.
Future Outlook
The upcoming schedule includes several tough opponents, both in ACC play and away from home. UNC will face teams like Florida State, Wake Forest, Notre Dame, Syracuse, Duke, and Pitt among others. The season is shaping up to be a challenging yet promising one for the Tar Heels.