No. 12 MBB To Face Ohio State In Atlanta Saturday

Saturday, December 20

Atlanta, Ga.

3 p.m.

North Carolina

Ohio State

Atlanta native Caleb Wilson

Photo by: DALTON T. WAINSCOTT

December 19, 2025 | Men's Basketball

Live Stats UNC Notes Ohio State Notes Watch Listen Media Central Digital Program

• The 12th-ranked Tar Heels (10-1) return to Atlanta's State Farm Arena when they play Ohio State (8-2) on Saturday, December 20, in the 12th annual CBS Sports Classic.
• The game is the second in a doubleheader that also includes Kentucky vs. St. John's, which tips at 12:37 p.m. Carolina-Ohio State will begin approximately 25 minutes after the Kentucky-St. John's game, but no earlier than 3 p.m.
• Brad Nessler, Bill Raftery, Bruce Pearl and Jenny Dell have the call on CBS.
• The Tar Heels are 10-1 for the first time since 2017-18 and are looking for their first 11-1 start or better since going 11-1, 12-0 and 12-0 in consecutive seasons in 2006-07, 2007-08 and 2008-09.
• This is the 43rd time the Tar Heels are 10-1 or 11-0 to begin a season (10-1 31 times and 11-0 12 times).
• Carolina is 8-0 in Chapel Hill and 2-1 away from home. That includes a road win at Kentucky and a 1-1 record in Fort Myers, Fla. (beat St. Bonaventure and lost to Michigan State).
• Henri Veesaar and Caleb Wilson combined for 46 of UNC's 77 points and 16 rebounds in the 77-58 win over ETSU on Tuesday.
• Veesaar scored a career-high 26 points on 10 of 11 field goals, while Wilson netted 20 points for the third game in a row.
• The Tar Heels led, 33-30, with one minute to play in first half but extended the lead to eight at the break and then opened the second half with seven straight points to stretch the lead to 15. Veesaar hit a pair of three-pointers in that 12-point run.
• Ohio State beat West Virginia, 89-88, in double overtime on December 13. Each of the Buckeyes' last four games have been within eight points, including a four-point win over Northwestern and close losses to Pitt and Illinois.
• Carolina is Ohio State's third ACC opponent this season. The Buckeyes beat Notre Dame, 64-63 and loss to Pitt, 67-66.
• This is Carolina's first trip to Atlanta since Georgia Tech beat the Tar Heels, 74-73, on 1/30/2024.
• The Tar Heels are 2-2 in State Farm Arena. UNC went 2-1 in the 2012 ACC Tournament and lost to Kentucky on 12/16/2023 in the CBS Sports Classic.
• The win over ETSU was Carolina's 2,405th all-time. UNC joined Kentucky and Kansas as the only three programs in college basketball history with 2,400 victories with its win over Navy on November 18.
• Carolina freshman Caleb Wilson returns home to Atlanta for the first time as a Tar Heel. He played at Holy Innocents Episcopal Schools in Sandy Springs, Ga.

CBS SPORTS CLASSIC
• The Tar Heels are 7-4 in the CBS Sports Classic, including 3-0 vs. Ohio State.
• Atlanta is the fourth city in which the Tar Heels and Buckeyes have played each other in the CBS Sports Classic along with Chicago, New Orleans and New York.
• Carolina is 3-0 vs. UCLA, 3-0 vs. Ohio State and 1-4 vs. Kentucky in the Classic.
• Justin Jackson holds the record for most points by a Tar Heel in a CBS Sports Classic game. The first-team All-America and ACC Player of the Year scored 34 against Kentucky in a 103-100 loss in Las Vegas on 12/17/2016.
• Pete Nance hit a turnaround jumper as time expired to send the game to overtime, where the Tar Heels won, 89-84, on 12/1/7/2022, in the last time UNC played Ohio State in the CBS Sports Classic. Armando Bacot led all scorers with 26 points.
• Last year, the Tar Heels overcame a 16-point deficit to edge UCLA, 76-74, in Madison Square Garden. Ian Jackson led Carolina with 24 points. RJ Davis made two free throws with 13.6 seconds to play to tie the game and give UNC the lead.

lost to Kentucky, 100-103, 12/17/2016 (Las Vegas)
def. Ohio State, 86-72, 12/23/2017 (New Orleans)
lost to Kentucky, 72-80, 12/22/2018 (Chicago)
def. UCLA, 74-64, 12/21/2019 (Las Vegas)
def. Kentucky, 75-63, 12/19/2020 (Cleveland)
lost to Kentucky, 69-98, 12/18/2021 (Las Vegas)
def. Ohio State, 89-84 (OT), 12/17/2022 (New York)
lost to Kentucky, 83-87, 12/16/2023 (Atlanta)
def. UCLA, 76-74, 12/21/2024 (New York)

UNC-OHIO STATE
• The Tar Heels are 13-3 against the Buckeyes.
• Carolina is 8-1 against Ohio State at neutral sites (3-0 in the CBS Sports Classic).
• The one neutral-site loss was in Lexington, Ky., in the 1992 NCAA Tournament Sweet 16. Hubert Davis scored 21 points in his final college game.
• This is the first time UNC and Ohio State are playing in Atlanta.
• Seth Trimble had one assist in nearly 11 minutes in the Tar Heels' 89-84, overtime win over Ohio State on 12/17/22, the last time the teams played. Trimble is the only current Tar Heel who played in that game.
• Jaydon Young scored six points at Ohio State in a 2024 NIT game while playing for Virginia Tech.
• Jarin Stevenson scored three points vs. the Buckeyes as a freshman at Alabama.

FRONTCOURT FORCES
• Seven-foot junior center Henri Veesaar and 6-10 freshman forward Caleb Wilson are leading the Tar Heels in numerous statistical categories on both ends of the floor.
• The frontcourt duo has combined for 36.4 points and 19.5 rebounds per game. They have combined for 28 blocked shots, 46 assists, shot 59.2% from the floor and attempted 141 free throws.
• Wilson is averaging 19.5 points and 10.4 rebounds, while Veesaar is averaging 16.9 points and 9.1 rebounds.
• They combined to score 46 of Carolina's 77 points (59.7%) in the Tar Heels' 77-58 win over ETSU on Tuesday.
• The last time two Tar Heels averaged at least 16 points and nine rebounds was 1959-60 (18.2 points and 11.2 rebounds by Lee Shaffer and 16.8 points and 11.3 rebounds by Doug Moe). Those are the only pairs of Tar Heels to average at least 16 and nine in a season.
• Wilson and Veesaar are the first Tar Heels to average 9.0 rebounds in the same season since John Henson (9.9) and Tyler Zeller (9.6) in 2011-12.
• Either Veesaar or Wilson has led the team in scoring and rebounding in 10 of the first 11 games.

DOUBLE TROUBLE
• Henri Veesaar and Caleb Wilson both have recorded double-doubles in points and rebounds four times (NC Central, St. Bonaventure, Kentucky and Georgetown).
• Wilson and Veesaar rank fifth & 15th, respectively, in the nation in double-doubles. No other team has two players in the top 15.
• The next time they both have double-doubles in a game will tie the eighth-most in a season by a pair of Tar Heels.

John Henson & Tyler Zeller 2011-12 9
Rusty Clark & Larry Miller 1966-67 8
Pete Brennan & Lennie Rosenbluth 1955-56 7
Phil Ford & Mitch Kupchak 1975-76 6
Lee Dedmon & Charlie Scott 1969-70 6
Brennan & Rosenbluth 1956-57 6
Brennan & Joe Quigg 1956-57 6
Billy Cunningham & Ray Respess 1963-64 5
Raymond Felton & Sean May 2004-05 5
Quigg & Rosenbluth 1956-57 5
Kupchak & Tom LaGarde 1975-76 5
Clark & Miller 1967-68 5
Quigg & Rosenbluth 1955-56 5

NO ORDINARY ROOKIE
• Caleb Wilson may be a freshman, but he is averaging 19.5 points, 10.4 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.2 blocks while shooting 54.6% from the floor and 73.1% from the free throw line.
• He leads the Tar Heels in scoring, rebounding, offensive rebounds, steals and free throws (made and attempted).
• Tyler Hansbrough (in 2005-06) is the only Tar Heel freshman to lead the team in both scoring and rebounding.
• Joseph Forte (16.7 ppg in 1999-2000), Rashad McCants (17.0 in 2002-03), Hansbrough (18.9 in 2005-06), Harrison Barnes (co-leader at 15.7 in 2010-11) and Cole Anthony (18.5 in 2019-20) are the freshmen who have led UNC in scoring.
• Hansbrough (7.8 rpg in 2005-06), Antawn Jamison (9.7 in 1995-96) and J.R. Reid (7.4 in 1986-87) are the freshmen who have led UNC in rebounding.
• Eighteen Tar Heels have averaged a double-double in points and rebounds in a season, but none of them were a freshman.
• Wilson leads the country with 33 dunks.
• He has scored in double figures in all 11 games and has seven double-doubles. He has 12 or more rebounds in six of his seven double-doubles, including a season-high 14 vs. Georgetown.
• The Atlanta native has the third-longest streak of double-figure scoring games by a freshman to begin a season. Only Rashad McCants (20 in 2002-03) and Brandan Wright (18 in 2006-07) have more.
• Wilson is 12th in the nation in rebounds per game (10.4), which leads the ACC and also leads all freshmen nationally. He has seven or more rebounds in each of the last 10 games.
• He also leads the ACC and is fifth in the country in double-doubles (7).
• He set a UNC freshman record with four consecutive double-doubles against Radford, NC Central, Navy and St. Bonaventure. Armando Bacot (twice), Antawn Jamison and Mike O'Koren were the only Tar Heel freshmen with three in a row.
• Wilson has made at least five throws in every game, becoming the fifth Tar Heel in the ACC era (1953-present) to make five or more in 11 consecutive games.

Consecutive Games by a Tar Heel with Five or
More Made Free Throws (in ACC era)
12 Bobby Lewis 1965-66
12 Pete Brennan 1957-58
12 Lennie Rosenbluth 1956-57
11 Caleb Wilson 2025-26
11 Tyler Hansbrough 2008-09*
11 Lennie Rosenbluth 1956-57
* accomplished over two seasons

• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.

FROM ESTONIA TO CHAPEL HILL
• Red-shirt junior center Henri Veesaar, a transfer from Arizona, leads the team in field goal shooting (64.5%) and blocks (15) and is second in scoring (16.9) and rebounding (9.1).
• The Estonia native scored a game-high 17 points in the win at Kentucky and grabbed a career-best 15 rebounds in the win over Georgetown.
• Veesaar has five double-doubles in 11 games as a Tar Heel, the first five of his collegiate career. He played in 66 games over two seasons at Arizona.
• He is third in the ACC and 15th nationally in double-doubles.
• Veesaar is second in the ACC and 18th in the country in field goal shooting.
• Veesaar has set numerous career bests as a Tar Heel, including points (26 vs. ETSU), rebounds (15 vs. Georgetown) and blocks (five vs. NC Central).
• He has established career highs in rebounds four times – 10 vs. Central Arkansas, 11 vs. NC Central, 13 vs. St. Bonaventure and 15 vs. Georgetown.
• He has scored 20 or more points three times – 26 vs. ETSU, 24 vs. the Bonnies and 20 points vs. Kansas. He had one 20-point game in his first two seasons at Arizona.
• Veesaar leads UNC in plus/minus at plus 188.

BY THE NUMBERS
• The Tar Heels are 11th in the country in field goal percentage defense, holding their opponents to a combined 37% from the floor. They've held five opponents below 35% and seven under 40%, including Georgetown, USC Upstate and ETSU in the last three games.
• The opponents' field goal percentage of .370 would be the lowest allowed by Carolina since 1956-57, when the opponents shot 35.2%.
• The last time UNC held the opponents below 40% over a season was 2014-15, when the opponents made 39.8%.
• UNC is 7-0 this season and 52-4 under head coach Hubert Davis when holding opponents under 40% from the floor.
• The Tar Heel defense is third in the country in two-point field goal percentage defense (40.6%) and sixth in effective field goal percentage (42.3%).
• The opponents have shot under 40% from the floor in 13 of 22 halves.
• The Tar Heels have held each of their first 11 opponents to fewer than 75 points, something they have done just one other time in the post-Dean Smith era. The 1997-98 Tar Heels didn't yield 75 or more points in the first 12 games.
• Carolina is attempting 25.0 three-pointers per game, which would break the previous school record for attempts per game, which was 23.9 in 2018-19, when the Tar Heel lineup included Cameron Johnson, Coby White, Kenny Williams and Luke Maye.
• The Tar Heels are making 8.2 three-pointers per game, while allowing 6.7 per game. UNC is in on track to make more 3FGs than its opponents for the fifth consecutive year. From 2006-07 to 2019-20, Carolina made more threes one time (in 2012-13).
• The Tar Heels have won the last 15 times they made more three-pointers than their opponent.
• Carolina has shot 50% or higher from the floor in six of the first 11 games. The Tar Heels are 41-1 under Davis when they make at least 50% from the floor.
• Michigan State is the only team this season that has outrebounded Carolina. The Tar Heels are 98-24 under Davis when they outrebound their opponents.
• Carolina made eight three-pointers in its win over ETSU. That was the 999th consecutive game in which the Tar Heels made at least one three-point field goal. The last time UNC didn't make a three was 12/13/1997, in a 50-42 home win over Princeton. Carolina attempted only 40 field goals, including going 0 for 4 from three-point range.
• Carolina has outscored its opponents by 109 points in the second half, an average margin of 9.9 points over the final 20 minutes.
• The Tar Heels have outscored their opponents in the second half in all 10 wins this season, including by 29 in the win over NC Central and 21 vs. Kansas. Michigan State outscored UNC by 11 in the second half in the only loss of the season.
• UNC is plus 10 or better in the second half in six of the 11 games.

AP RANKING
• For the second week in a row the Tar Heels moved up two spots in the Associated Press poll to No. 12.
• 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.
• 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.
• Carolina is 2-1 against ranked teams this season (with wins over Kansas and Kentucky and the loss to Michigan State).

EARLY ACCOLADES
• Freshman forward Caleb Wilson was one of five players named National Player of the Week by the USBWA for the week of November 3-9.
• Wilson also was both the Co-ACC Player and Rookie of the Week following his performances in the wins over Central Arkansas and Kansas.
• Wilson is the first Tar Heel freshman to also win ACC Player-of-the-Week honors since Cole Anthony in 2019-20.
• Wilson became 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.

PROBABLE STARTERS VS. OHIO STATE
0 – Kyan Evans, Junior, Guard
44 – Luka Bogavac, Junior, Guard
8 – Caleb Wilson, Freshman, Forward
13 – Henri Veesaar, R-Junior, Center
15 – Jarin Stevenson, Junior, Forward

• None of the probable starters were Tar Heels last season.
• Seth Trimble, who has not played in the last nine games due to 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.
• Carolina's probable starters have made a combined 121 college starts. That includes 47 by Kyan Evans, 38 by Jarin Stevenson, 16 by Henri Veesaar, 11 by freshman Caleb Wilson and nine by Luka Bogavac.

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 at any point in the AP poll.

PRESEASON RECOGNITION
• The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame included three Tar Heels on the preseason watch lists for its five positional awards.
• Seth Trimble is a candidate for the Jerry West Shooting Guard Award list, Caleb Wilson for the Karl Malone Power Forward Award and Henri Veesaar for the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center Award.
• Tar Heels have won four Hall of Fame positional awards – 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 in 2024).
• Wilson is also on the preseason watch lists for the Naismith and Oscar Robertson (USBWA) Trophies.

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, 111 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 previous four seasons, UNC had 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 16 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
• Carolina has two more December home games, playing host to ECU on Monday, December 22, and Florida State on the 30th.
• Those will be the ninth and 10th regular-season home games in November/December. This is the first season in which UNC will have played 10 home games before the New Year since 2009-10.
• Carolina plays only two games in Chapel Hill in January. This is the first time since the 1990-91 season UNC will play only twice at home in January.
• In ACC play, the Tar Heels play host to Florida State (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.
• 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.
• 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).

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 three wins shy of 500 with an overall record (not counting preseason or exhibition games) of 497-90.
• The Tar Heels are 240-19 in the Smith Center against non-conference opponents.
• The Tar Heels have played 46.2% of their home games all-time in the Smith Center (587 of 1,271).
• USC Upstate was the 154th different opponent to play a regular-season or NIT game in the Smith Center against the Tar Heels.
• Carolina has won 497 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).

TAR HEELS IN THE NBA
• 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 (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.