Men's Basketball Set For #8 BYU Friday Night

Friday, October 24

Salt Lake City, Utah

9 p.m. ET

North Carolina

BYU (preseason)

Henri Veesaar dunks in the Blue-White scrimmage earlier this month.

Photo by: Maggie Hobson

October 24, 2025 | Men's Basketball

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TAR HEELS IN UTAH
• Carolina plays BYU at the Delta Center, home of the NBA's Utah Jazz, on Friday, October 24, in the first of two preseason games.
• The game tips at 9 p.m. Eastern (7 p.m. Mountain) and will be streamed on ESPN+.
• Carolina's second and final preseason game will be against Winston-Salem State on Wednesday, October 29, at 7 p.m. in Chapel Hill.
• The preseason game vs. BYU will mark Carolina's first appearance in Salt Lake City since 1988, when the Tar Heels beat North Texas and Loyola Marymount in the Huntsman Center in the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament.
• Carolina is 4-1 all-time in Salt Lake City. The Tar Heels lost to Utah on 12/22/1970; beat Utah in the Sweet 16 in the 1981 NCAA West Regional; beat Kansas State in the 1981 NCAA West Regional final; and defeated North Texas and Loyola Marymount in the 1988 NCAA Tournament.
• Carolina is 6-1 in the state of Utah. The Tar Heels are 2-0 in Ogden, with wins over Utah and UAB in the 1986 NCAA Tournament.
• Five former Tar Heels have played for the Utah Jazz, including current Jazz center Walker Kessler, who played for Carolina as a freshman in 2020-21. Other UNC/Utah alumni include Pete Chilcutt, Marvin Williams, Ed Davis and Tony Bradley.

CAROLINA VS. BYU
• The Tar Heels are 5-0 all-time vs. the Cougars. This is the first time the teams will have played in Utah. Only one of the games, the first meeting on 12/20/1976, was played on either campus, a 113-93 Tar Heel win in Carmichael Auditorium.
• The five previous games have been played in Chapel Hill, Honolulu, Charlotte, Maui and Las Vegas.
• Three of Carolina's incoming transfers played against BYU last season at their previous schools. Jonathan Powell (West Virginia) and Henri Veesaar (Arizona) both played home-and-home series vs. BYU as members of the Big 12, while Jarin Stevenson (Alabama) competed against BYU in Newark, N.J., in the Sweet 16 in the NCAA Tournament.
• Powell scored 11 points in Morgantown and had six points in 33 minutes in Provo.
• Veesaar was 8 for 10 from the floor and scored 17 points at BYU and had 12 points in Tucson.

SERIES VS. BYU: UNC 5-0
Date W–L NC BYU Site Rank Coach
12-20-76 W 113 93 home, Carmichael 11/- DES
12-28-77 W 94 81 Honolulu, Rainbow Classic 2/- DES
12-4-93 W 97 65 Charlotte, Diet Pepsi 4/- DES
11-22-04 W 86 50 Maui Invitational, Lahaina CC 11/- RW
11-24-07 W 73 63 Las Vegas Invitational 1/- RW

PRESEASON ALL-ACC, POLL
• 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.
• Caleb Wilson was voted to the league's preseason All-ACC second team and the All-Freshman team.
• UNC was picked No. 25 in the country in the Associated Press preseason poll.
• 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.
• The preseason AP poll is the 963rd time Carolina has been ranked, the second-most in college basketball history.

NEW LOOK ROSTER
• Carolina's 16-man roster includes five returning players and 11 newcomers. However, only senior guard Seth Trimble played rotational minutes last season, as he averaged 11.6 points and 5.0 rebounds in 28.6 minutes per game. Trimble started the first dozen games and 18 times overall on the wing before coming off the bench in the final 11 contests.
• This is the first time since 2005-06 UNC does not return a player who started at least half the team's games in the previous season.
• The season-opener vs. Central Arkansas on November 3 will mark the first time UNC has played without RJ Davis since 3/11/2020 in the ACC Tournament vs. Syracuse. Davis never missed a game in five seasons, setting the all-time ACC record for games played (175) and finishing with 2,725 points, the second-most ever by a Tar Heel (he was fifth on the UNC scoring list through four seasons).
• 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.
• The six collegiate transfers combined last season for 1,464 points, 578 rebounds, 256 assists and made 226 of 641 three-pointers (35.3%).

RETURNING STAT LEADERS (2024-25 stats)
UNC all teams
Minutes Per Game Seth Trimble 28.6 Jonathan Powell (WVU) 30.1
Points Trimble 396 Trimble 396
Points Per Game Trimble 11.6 Trimble 11.6
Field Goals Made Trimble 128 Henri Veesaar (Arizona) 129
FG Pct. (min. 100 FGA) Trimble 42.8% Veesaar (Arizona) 59.2%
Three-Pointers Made Trimble 25 Kyan Evans (CSU) 70
Three-Point Pct. Trimble 26.6% Evans (CSU) 44.6%
Free Throws Made Trimble 115 Trimble 115
Free Throw Pct. Trimble 82.1% Evans (CSU) 85.2%
Offensive Rebounds Trimble 40 Veesaar (Arizona) 80
Rebounds Trimble 169 Veesaar (Arizona) 185
Rebounds Per Game Trimble 5.0 Trimble & Veesaar 5.0
Assists Trimble 44 Evans (CSU) 111
Assists Per Game Trimble 1.3 Evans (CSU) 3.1
Blocks Trimble 11 Veesaar (Arizona) 42
Steals Trimble 46 Trimble 46

RECAPPING 2024-25
• Carolina was 23-14 overall, a No. 11 seed in the NCAA South Regional, tied for fourth in the ACC at 13-7 and advanced to the semifinals in the ACC Tournament.
• The Tar Heels went 2-1 in the ACC Tournament and 1-1 in the NCAA Tournament, defeating San Diego State by 27 points in the First Four in Dayton and losing, 71-64, to No. 6 seed Ole Miss in the first round in Milwaukee.
• It was the 55th time in 72 years of competing as a member of the ACC the Tar Heels won 20 or more games.
• Carolina tied Wake Forest and SMU for fourth place in the 18-team ACC. It was the 62nd time in 72 seasons the Tar Heels finished in the top four in the ACC.
• Seven of Carolina's 14 losses came against NCAA No. 1 seed Duke (three times), No. 1 seed Auburn, No. 1 seed Florida, No. 2 seed Alabama and No. 2 seed Michigan State.
• In addition to those seven losses to top-two seeds, UNC also lost at Clemson, Kansas (at the time ranked No. 1) and Louisville.
• RJ Davis averaged 17.2 points to lead the Tar Heels in scoring for the second straight season. Freshman Ian Jackson (11.9) and Seth Trimble (11.6) also averaged in double figures.
• Davis finished his five-year career as the ACC's all-time leader in games played and double-figure scoring games (140) and Carolina's all-time leader in three-pointers (359) and free throw percentage (.861). Davis' 2,725 points are the third-most in ACC history.
• Carolina's 74-71 loss to Duke in the ACC Tournament semifinals was its 11th one-possession game of the season (games decided by one, two or three points). Those were the most played by the Tar Heels in the three-point era, which began in 1986-87.
• Freshman Drake Powell became the 55th Tar Heel selected in the first round of the NBA Draft. He was selected by the Atlanta Hawks, who traded his draft rights that evening to the Brooklyn Nets.

HUBERT DAVIS: YEAR FIVE
• The 2025-26 season is Hubert Davis' 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.
• 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, 101 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.
• Two of his players – RJ Davis and Armando Bacot – rank second and third, respectively, in all-time UNC scoring, set numerous records and earned national and All-ACC awards.
• 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).
• Over the last four seasons, UNC has the 10th-most wins among teams in the ACC, Big East, Big Ten, Big 12 and SEC.
• 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).
• 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).

2025-26 SCHEDULE NOTES
• 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).
• 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).
• UNC is not scheduled to play Boston College.
• This will mark the first season since 1919 the Tar Heels are not playing NC State in Chapel Hill.
• On November 7, the Tar Heels welcome Kansas to Chapel Hill for the first time ever. Last year, the Jayhawks defeated UNC in Lawrence. This is just the third on-campus matchup in 14 games between the Tar Heels and KU.
• 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.
• 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).
• 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.
• 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.

PLAYER NOTES
• Seth Trimble has played in 102 games in three seasons for Carolina. Last year, he started more than half of the team's games and averaged 11.6 points and 5.0 rebounds, scoring in double figures 24 times with a high of 27 in a win over Dayton. The Menomonee Falls, Wis., native won the Marvin Williams Carolina Way award, given to the Tar Heel who best exemplifies playing hard, being unselfish and putting the team first.
• The incoming college transfers include Kyan Evans, a 6-2 junior guard from Kansas City, Mo.; Ivan Matlekovic, a 7-0 sophomore center from Sisak, Croatia; Jonathan Powell, a 6-6 sophomore wing from Centerville, Ohio; Jarin Stevenson, a 6-10 junior forward from Chapel Hill; Henri Veesaar, a 7-0 junior forward from Tallinn, Estonia; and Jaydon Young, a 6-4 junior guard from Goldsboro, N.C.
• Kyan Evans (like Ryan with a K) played two seasons at Colorado State, where he led the Mountain West Conference last season in true shooting percentage and earned All-MWC Tournament honors in leading the Rams to the title. He averaged 10.6 points and 3.1 assists and shot 44.6% from three-point range and 85.2% from the free throw line. He scored in double figures 23 times, all as a sophomore, including a career-best 23 points vs. Memphis in the 2025 NCAA Tournament.
• Ivan Matlekovic (EE-von mat-LEH-ko-vitch) appeared in five games last season as a freshman at High Point University. Before that, he played two seasons for HAKK Mladost Zagreb in the Prva Liga (Croatian Basketball League) and two seasons for the Cedevita Olimpia Ljubljana U18 team in Slovenia.
• Jonathan Powell averaged 8.3 points and 3.1 rebounds last season at West Virginia. He scored in double figures 15 times, with a season-high 17 points against NC Central and Oklahoma State. He made 64 three-pointers, including multiple threes 19 times. He connected on four or more five times, with a season-high five against Oklahoma State and UCF.
• Jarin Stevenson played in 74 games for Alabama over the previous two seasons, helping the Crimson Tide win the 2024 NCAA West Regional. He averaged 5.4 points and 3.0 rebounds and made 63 three-pointers for the Tide. The 2023 North Carolina High School Gatorade Player of the Year scored in double figures 13 times. He scored a career-high 22 as a sophomore against Texas. He made five three-pointers and netted 19 points vs. Clemson in the 2024 Elite Eight win that sent the Tide to the Final Four. Stevenson played against the Tar Heels in each of his two seasons at Alabama.
• Henri Veesaar (Henry VEH-sarr) spent the last three seasons at Arizona, playing in 2022-23 and 2024-25 with a red-shirt year in between. He averaged 9.4 points and 5.0 rebounds and shot 59.2% from the floor last season as the Wildcats advanced to the Sweet 16, where he had 13 points and six rebounds in 28 minutes against Duke. He scored a career-high 22 points in a win over Arizona State and had 19 on 9 of 11 shooting from the floor in a victory over Baylor.
• Jaydon Young played in 58 games over two seasons at Virginia Tech. He averaged 8.1 points and shot 34.7% from three as a sophomore. He made multiple three-pointers 18 times with a high of five in a win at Miami and scored in double figures 11 times with highs of 27 against the Hurricanes and 26 in an overtime win over Syracuse. Young made 57 threes in two seasons and shot 84.1% from the free throw line.
• Luka Bogavac (BO-guh-vahts) comes to Chapel Hill after playing the previous two seasons in his native country of Montenegro for SC Derby Podgorica in the AdmiralBet ABA League (Adriatic Basketball Association). He averaged 14.9 points in 29 games in 2024-25. He scored in double figures 23 times last season with a career-high 27 points against Serbia's Mega Basket.
• Zayden High, James Brown and John Holbrook have each played one season for the Tar Heels. High totaled 18 points and 26 rebounds in 23 games in 2023-24, and Brown had 21 points, 15 boards in 18 games last season.
• The three incoming freshmen include Derek Dixon of Vienna, Va., Isaiah Denis of Charlotte and Caleb Wilson of Atlanta, Ga.
• Derek Dixon was the 2025 Gatorade Player of the Year in the District of Columbia, where he averaged 14.1 points and 2.6 assists and led Gonzaga College High School to the 2025 DC State Athletic Association Class AA championship.
• Isaiah Denis missed half of his senior season at Davidson Day School due to an injury but averaged 16.7 points in 19 games. He led Davidson Day to the 2024 state title.
• Caleb Wilson, the 2025 Gatorade Player of the Year in Georgia, led Holy Innocents Episcopal School to the 2025 private school state title. He averaged 21.7 points, 11.0 rebounds and 5.0 assists as a senior.

NEARING 500 WINS IN THE SMITH CENTER
• This is the 41st season the Tar Heels are playing their home games in the Dean E. Smith Center.
• Carolina is 11 wins shy of 500 with an overall record (not counting preseason or exhibition games) of 489-90.
• The Tar Heels have played 46% of their home games all-time in the Smith Center (579 of 1,263).
• Central Arkansas, Kansas, Navy and USC Upstate each will be playing in the Smith Center for the first time.

TAR HEELS IN THE NBA
• Eleven former Tar Heels were on NBA Opening Day rosters this week, 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 (Brooklyn), Day'Ron Sharpe (Brooklyn) and Coby White (Chicago).
• 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.