MBB To Kick Off ACC Play Tuesday Vs. Florida State

Tuesday, December 30

Chapel Hill

7 p.m.

North Carolina

Florida State

Tickets From $57 - $78

Seth Trimble

Photo by: AINSLEY E. FAUTH

December 29, 2025 | Men's Basketball

Live Stats UNC Notes Media Central Watch Listen Tickets

GAME 14 VS. FLORIDA STATE
• The Tar Heels (12-1) return to action after an eight-day break by opening Atlantic Coast Conference play against Florida State (7-6) at home on Tuesday, December 30.
• Tip time is 7 p.m. The game will be televised on ESPN2 (Dave O'Brien and Cory Alexander).
• It is the final game in the calendar year 2025. The Tar Heels began the year with a loss at Louisville on New Year's Day and are 27-10 in 2025.
• Carolina is 58-14 in ACC openers and 64-8 in ACC home openers.
• This is the second time in three seasons Carolina is beginning ACC play against the Seminoles. The Tar Heels rallied for a 78-70 win in the Smith Center on 12/2/2023.
• The Tar Heels are 12-1 for the first time since going 12-1, 13-0 and 13-0 in consecutive seasons in 2006-07, 2007-08 and 2008-09.
• Carolina is No. 12 in the Associated Press poll and No. 15 in the NET.
• Carolina is 9-0 in Chapel Hill this season. The Tar Heels are averaging 86.3 points and have an average winning margin of 25.4 points at home this season. Carolina has won all nine games by 12 or more points.
• The Florida State game is the 10th regular-season home game in November/December. This is the first season UNC will play 10 home games before the New Year since 2009-10.
• Carolina plays only two games in Chapel Hill in January. This will be the first time since 1990-91 UNC will play only twice at home in January.
• The Tar Heels tied a school record as eight players made three-pointers in defeating ECU, 99-51, in Chapel Hill on December 22. Seven-foot center Henri Veesaar made a career-high four 3FGs, Jonathan Powell hit two and six others made one apiece. It was the third time in UNC history eight different players made a three.
• Freshman forward Caleb Wilson led UNC with 21 points, 12 rebounds, four blocks and three steals, becoming the second Tar Heel freshman ever and the first since Phil Ford in 1974-75 to score 20 or more points in five consecutive games.
• It was UNC's 52nd straight win against in-state, non-ACC teams. The Tar Heels are 182-18 all-time against in-state, non-ACC opponents.
• Carolina's prolific duo of Veesaar (16 points/10 rebounds) and Wilson (21/12) both recorded double-doubles for the sixth time this season, the most by any Tar Heel pair since Tyler Zeller and John Henson had nine-such games in 2011-12.

CAROLINA & THE ACC
• This is the 73rd season of competition in the Atlantic Coast Conference. The Tar Heels were a charter member of the league, which began play in the 1953-54 season.
• Carolina is the only school with 50 or more combined ACC men's basketball championships (33 regular season and 18 Tournament). Duke is second with 44 (21 regular season and 23 Tournament) and NC State is next with 18 (seven regular season and 11 Tournament).
• Hubert Davis is 56-24 in regular-season ACC games. Only one other team has more ACC wins in the previous four seasons.
• Davis has led the Tar Heels to ACC records of 15-5, 11-9, 17-3 and 13-7. The 2023-24 team won the regular-season title, Carolina's 33rd.
• Carolina is 771-320 (.707) in regular-season ACC games. The 771 wins are the most in ACC history. Duke is second with 676.

UNC-FLORIDA STATE
• The Tar Heels have won six in a row and are 54-16 all-time against the Seminoles.
• Carolina is 24-4 all-time vs. FSU in Chapel Hill, including 21-4 in the Smith Center.
• Carolina has won eight straight in Chapel Hill.
• UNC is 44-15 against FSU since the Seminoles began play in the ACC in 1991-92.
• The teams played one time last season, a 96-85 UNC victory in Tallahassee. Carolina outrebounded the Seminoles by 14 and outscored them, 24-6, in second-chance points. RJ Davis (20) and Seth Trimble (17) were two of six Tar Heels to score in double figures.
• UNC shot 55.2% from the floor, while the Seminoles shot 62.5% in the first half and 54.0% for the game. It was the first time an opponent made 50% in a double-digit UNC win
since 2019.

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 two wins shy of 500 with an overall record (not counting preseason or exhibition games) of 498-90.
• Carolina is 257-7 (.784) in ACC games in the Smith Center.
• When Carolina wins two more home games, the Smith Center will become the ninth current ACC venue in which the host has won 500 or more games. Florida State won its 500th game in the Tucker Center earlier this season.
• The Tar Heels are 241-19 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 (588 of 1,272).
• Carolina has played 154 different opponents in regular-season or NIT games in the Smith Center.
• The Smith Center is the fifth home venue for the Tar Heels. Carolina has won 498 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).

DYNAMIC DUO
• Per Jody Zeugner's research, junior center Henri Veesaar and freshman forward Caleb Wilson are on pace to become the first pair in ACC history to average 16 points and nine rebounds and shoot 55% from the floor.
• Only four pairs of players in ACC history have both averaged at least 16 points and nine rebounds in a season and none since NC State's Vann Williford and Paul Coder in 1969-70.
• Veesaar and Wilson are combining for 36.4 points and 20.0 rebounds per game. They have blocked 36 shots, have 55 assists, shot 59.4% from the floor and attempted 162 free throws.
• Wilson is averaging 19.6 points and 10.8 rebounds, while Veesaar is averaging 16.8 points and 9.2 rebounds.
• 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 12 of the first 13 games.

DOUBLE TROUBLE
• Henri Veesaar and Caleb Wilson both have recorded double-doubles in points and rebounds six times (NC Central, St. Bonaventure, Kentucky, Georgetown, Ohio State and ECU).
• Wilson and Veesaar rank third & seventh, respectively, in the nation in double-doubles. No other team has two players in the top 10.
• Their six games with double-doubles by both players already equal the fourth-most in a season by a pair of Tar Heels.

DOUBLE-DOUBLES BY TWO TAR HEELS, SEASON
John Henson & Tyler Zeller 2011-12 9
Rusty Clark & Larry Miller 1966-67 8
Pete Brennan & Lennie Rosenbluth 1955-56 7
Henri Veesaar & Caleb Wilson, 2025-26 6
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

IMMEDIATE IMPACT
• Caleb Wilson has scored 20 points in each of the last five games and nine times this season. The only other Tar Heel freshman to score 20 or more in five consecutive games was Phil Ford in 1974-75.
• The last freshman with nine or more 20-point games in a season was Cole Anthony (nine times) in 2019-20.

20-Point Games by a UNC Freshman
Tyler Hansbrough, 2005-06 14
Rashad McCants, 2002-03 12
Phil Ford, 1974-75 10
Caleb Wilson, 2025-26 9
Cole Anthony, 2019-20 9
Joseph Forte, 1999-2000 9

• Wilson leads the Tar Heels in scoring, rebounding, offensive rebounds, steals, free throws (made and attempted) and blocks.
• 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 41 dunks, seven more than any other player (through December 28).
• He has scored in double figures in all 13 games and has nine double-doubles. He has 12 or more rebounds in eight of his nine double-doubles, including a season-high 15 vs. Ohio State.

Double-Doubles by a UNC Freshman
(all points and rebounds)
13 Antawn Jamison, 1995-96
11 Armando Bacot, 2019-20
9 Caleb Wilson, 2025-26
9 J.R. Reid, 1986-87
9 Sam Perkins, 1980-81

• The Atlanta native has the third-longest streak of double-figure scoring games by a UNC freshman to begin a season. Only Rashad McCants (20 in 2002-03) and Brandan Wright (18 in 2006-07) have more.
• Wilson leads the ACC and is third in the country in double-doubles (nine), and leads the ACC and is eighth in the nation in rebounds per game (10.8). He leads all freshmen nationally in both categories.
• 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 made five or more free throws in each of the first 11 games, 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.

ESTONIA TO SPAIN TO TUCSON TO CHAPEL HILL
• Red-shirt junior center Henri Veesaar, a transfer from Arizona, leads the team in field goal shooting (64.1%) and is second in scoring (16.8), rebounding (9.2) and blocks (16).
• The Estonia native scored the game-winner against Ohio State, had a game-high 17 points in the win at Kentucky and grabbed a career-best 15 rebounds in the win over Georgetown.
• Veesaar has seven double-doubles in 13 games as a Tar Heel, the first seven of his collegiate career. He played in 66 games over two seasons at Arizona.
• He is second in the ACC and seventh nationally in double-doubles, and 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), blocks (five vs. NC Central), assists (five vs. Ohio State) and three-pointers (four vs. ECU).
• 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 223.

3 x 7 x 3
• Henri Veesaar is Carolina's third 7-footer ever to make a three-point field goal. Prior to this season, the only 7-footers to make a three were Serge Zwikker in the ACC semifinals vs. Tim Duncan's Wake Forest Demon Deacons on 3/8/1997, and Walker Kessler vs. Northeastern on 2/17/2021.
• Vessaar is 17 for 34 from three (50%). He has made 17 threes and blocked 16 shots.

BY THE NUMBERS
• The Tar Heels are tied for fourth in the country in field goal percentage defense, holding their opponents to a combined 36.2% from the floor. They've held six opponents below 35% and nine under 40%, including Georgetown, USC Upstate, ETSU, Ohio State and ECU in the last five games.

FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE DEFENSE
34.9 Louisiana Tech
35.2 Michigan
35.8 Saint Louis
36.2 UNC
36.2 Duke

• This is the first stretch in which Carolina has held five opponents in a row below 40% from the floor since 2023-24. The last time UNC did that in six consecutive games was 2014-15, when Carolina's defense held the opponents below 40% in the first eight games.
• The opponents' field goal percentage (.362) 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 shot 39.8%.
• UNC is 9-0 this season and 54-4 under head coach Hubert Davis when holding opponents under 40% from the floor.
• The Tar Heel defense leads the country in effective field goal percentage (40.1%) and is second in the country in two-point field goal percentage defense (40.5%) .
• The opponents have shot under 40% from the floor in 16 of 26 halves.
• The Tar Heels have held each of their first 13 opponents to fewer than 75 points. This is the first time since 1985-86 UNC held its first 13 opponents under 75 points.
• The last time no opponent scored 75 or more points in the first 14 games was 1981-82, when the national champion Tar Heels played all 34 games without allowing more than 74 points (Virginia scored 74 in the Cavaliers' 74-58 win on 2/3/1982).
• Carolina is making 8.46 three-pointers per game, which is on pace for the second-most in UNC history (record is 8.67 in 2018-19, when the Tar Heel lineup included Cameron Johnson, Coby White, Kenny Williams and Luke Maye).
• Carolina is attempting 25.2 three-pointers per game, which would break the previous school record for attempts per game, which was 23.9 in 2018-19.
• The Tar Heels are making 8.5 threes per game, while allowing 6.2. UNC is in on track to make more 3FG than its opponents for the fifth consecutive year. From 2006-07 to 2019-20, Carolina made more 3FG one time (in 2012-13).
• UNC is making 2.31 more threes per game than its opponents. That equals the most by any Tar Heel team (also 2.31 more per game in 1986-87).
• The Tar Heels have won 17 straight games when making more three-pointers than their opponent.
• Carolina has shot 50% or higher from the floor in seven of the first 13 games. The Tar Heels are 42-1 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 100-24 under Davis when they outrebound their opponents.
• Carolina is averaging 10.08 turnovers, which equals the school record for fewest per game (also 10.08 in 2023-24),
• Including this season, the four-lowest turnover per game averages (and five of the six-lowest) have come in Hubert Davis' five seasons as head coach.
• Carolina's assist/turnover ratio of 1.71 is the lowest in UNC history (record is 1.65 in 2015-16).
• Carolina has outscored its opponents by 132 points in the second half, an average margin of 10.2 points over the final 20 minutes.
• The Tar Heels have outscored their opponents in the second half in 11 of their 12 wins this season, including by 29 in the win over NC Central, 25 vs. ECU 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 seven of the 13 games.

IN-SEASON AWARDS
• Freshman forward Caleb Wilson has earned National Player-of-the-Week honors twice this season. He was one of five players named National Player of the Week by the USBWA for the week of November 3-9 and he won the award from Andy Katz at NCAA March Madness for this play the week of December 15-21.
• Wilson also was named ACC Freshman of the Week twice, following the games against Central Arkansas and Kansas and against ETSU and Ohio State.
• He is the first Tar Heel to win multiple ACC Freshman-of-the-Week awards since Caleb Love was a two-time recipient in 2021.
• Wilson also was the ACC's Co-Player of the Week after the Central Arkansas and Kansas games.
• Wilson was 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. FLORIDA STATE
0 – Kyan Evans, Junior, Guard
7 – Seth Trimble, Senior, Guard
44 – Luka Bogavac, Junior, Guard
8 – Caleb Wilson, Freshman, Forward
13 – Henri Veesaar, R-Junior, Center

• Seth Trimble 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 against Florida State (the starters in the previous game vs. ECU) have made a combined 116 college starts. That includes 49 by Kyan Evans, 25 by Trimble, 18 by Henri Veesaar, 13 by freshman Caleb Wilson and 11 by Luka Bogavac.
• UNC has used three different starting lineups in the first 13 games. Evans, Wilson and Veesaar have started all 13 games.

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, 113 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).
• 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
• 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 in 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 will be 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).

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).