Talent, toughness and training.
Those are three traits that have given the 11-1 Tar Heels their best start since 2008-09, the season Carolina went on to win the national championship.
Hubert Davis and his staff have restocked their roster with more size and skill, strength and savvy and an apparent desire to get better. Those attributes were evident in Saturday’s 71-70 win over Ohio State that was a brand-building thriller at the CBS (televised) Sports Classic in Atlanta. Carolina has not had as dramatic of a regular-season victory in two years on national TV.
The trio of senior Seth Trimble, junior Henri Veesaar and freshman one-and-done Caleb Wilson scored 54 of the Heels total points, and all made critical plays.
Team captain Trimble returned after missing nine games with a broken left arm. He received medical clearance last week and stayed in shape to play the most minutes and somehow looked as sharp as he did in their first Quad 1 win over Kansas on Nov. 7. The Ben & Jerry’s franchise owner had a sweet 17 points, including three long balls in the second half to help the Heels build an 11-point lead. Despite returning from injury, he largely looked in mid-season form and led the team in playing 36 minutes.
The 7-foot Veesaar is turning into an endearing monster of the midway who is already better than anticipated after two years at Arizona. He opened and closed UNC’s scoring with decisive dunks on assists from Trimble. In between, the Estonian added another 13 points that included two three-pointers from his favorite spot at the top of the arc.
“It is a great fit for Veesaar,” gushed veteran CBS analyst Bill Rafferty during the broadcast. “Carolina has done the best job in the country of rebuilding its roster.”
Wilson was either overly unselfish or a little nervous playing in his hometown. He did not score for the first 16:30 minutes — but wound up with a game-high 20 points and career-high 15 rebounds for another double double. He blocked three shots, the last of which kept the rugged Big Ten Buckeyes from winning off an offensive rebound in the final second.
North Carolina forward Caleb Wilson (8) stops Ohio State forward Amare Bynum (1) from a basket during the second half of an NCAA basketball game, Saturday, Dec. 20, 2025, in Atlanta. (Photo via AP Photo/Mike Stewart.)
Despite Ohio State rallying and taking a 70-67 lead in the final minute, UNC’s determination was on display. Trimble scored on a pass from Veesaar to cut the deficit to one. Jarin Stevenson, whom Trimble replaced in the starting lineup, shared time with Luka Bogavac in the first half and played most of the second; it was his late, leaping steal during a full-court press that gave Carolina its final possession.
“The way they were scrambling in the backcourt,” Trimble said, “we just wanted to make it as crazy as possible, and when the ball goes up in the air we gotta get it. So we made that happen.”
After Davis called an animated timeout, Trimble drove the lane and found Veesaar for the winning dunk while losing his footing. “I didn’t mean to fall, but that pass would’ve gotten there on my feet or off my feet,” the senior captain said. “We knew we had four seconds and we really love those odds, so it was nothing else but to switch everything and get a stop.”
John Mobley, who had made the three-pointer to give OSU its last lead, missed an almost desperation heave and Wilson the incredible blocked the tip-in attempt by Devin Royal as UNC celebrated its fifth straight win.
Davis had been quick to use the depth the Heels built during Trimble’s absence, and it paid off by inserting Stevenson, Derek Dixon and Jonathan Powell at the first TV timeout. Powell hit a long bomb right away, Jaydon Young hit one later in the half and Dixon connected to give Carolina a 34-31 lead at the break.
Hubert said he also prepared for the game with faith, listening to a sermon about being steadfast.
“Honestly, it played perfectly into what I talked to the team about before the game,” he said. “I told them the meaning of steadfast is immovable. You’re gonna get knocked down, but you gotta keep moving forward. And for us, these are great moments where you have to step up and make plays.
“When Seth made his last basket, we said let’s press in the backcourt and get a steal,” Davis added. “And we got the steal by Jarin. I’m glad that we had timeouts left to get organized for those plays. But it’s all about execution on both ends of the floor and it just takes those last minutes to execute defensively. And on the offensive end, we set a play for Seth to drive to the basket. They did a good job cutting him off, but he found Henri who was able to score and then we got another defensive stop.”
The rally from the Buckeyes, now 8-3, while Carolina hit a scoring drought speaks to their own toughness. The massive four-point play to snatch the lead with 48 seconds remaining looked like it could be a back-breaker for the Tar Heels — similar to Pete Nance’s game-tying shot in the 2022 CBS Sports Classic that sparked a UNC victory in overtime over Ohio State.
But on Saturday, the UNC stars stepped up. Trimble’s driving layup assisted by Veesaar, Stevenson’s steal, Henri’s dunk assisted by Seth, and then Wilson blocking the last layup at the buzzer.
“It just shows we’re here,” Caleb said afterward on CBS. “We’re on our way for sure.”
“It was a beautiful game,” said Davis.
Featured image via AP Photo/Mike Stewart.
Art Chansky is a veteran journalist who has written ten books, including best-sellers “Game Changers,” “Blue Bloods,” and “The Dean’s List.” He has contributed to WCHL for decades, having made his first appearance as a student in 1971. His “Sports Notebook” commentary airs daily on the 97.9 The Hill WCHL and his “Art’s Angle” opinion column runs weekly on Chapelboro.Chapelboro.com does not charge subscription fees, and you can directly support our efforts in local journalism here. Want more of what you see on Chapelboro? Let us bring free local news and community information to you by signing up for our newsletter.
