At one point in the second half of UNC’s 76-61 loss at No. 1 Duke Saturday night, Henri Veesaar received the basketball in the post but was called for a travel. On the end of the UNC bench, Caleb Wilson leaned back and put his hand over his face.
This is Carolina’s new reality now: Wilson with his right thumb in a cast, out for the season with a break in that digit. UNC learned the news Friday, barely 24 hours before its game against the Blue Devils.
Yes, the Tar Heels had played the previous six games without their star freshman. But in that stretch, the approaching return of Wilson was the light at the end of the metaphorical tunnel; something to chase, a jolt of energy and production during the season’s stretch run. Now, the group Carolina put out on the floor Saturday is the group which will lead it into the postseason.
And the Tar Heels were not happy with the product they put out on Coach K Court.
“I can’t even think about offense,” said senior guard Seth Trimble, likely referring to UNC’s paltry two points scored in more than 11 minutes of game time. “The only thing I can think about is how they outrebounded us severely in that second half.”
The Blue Devils played fiery in the final 20 minutes, diving on the floor for loose balls, tipping entry passes and generally making UNC’s life miserable. Veesaar, who scored nine points in the first half, was limited to just two in the second. In many ways, the second half of Saturday’s game resembled the first half of the first matchup between the two teams in Chapel Hill — except this time with Caleb Wilson sitting helplessly on the sideline.
Saturday night at least, UNC sans Wilson resembled a car without a motor. The Tar Heels simply had no way through Duke’s defense without him. And yet, more than any statistics or box scores, Veesaar echoed a sentiment from Trimble when asked about what went wrong.
“They definitely out-efforted us in the second half,” the seven-footer said. “That’s really where we lost the game. During that run, they got the momentum and we had a lot of people just fold. We have to play with some edge.”
Duke’s Maliq Brown (6) and North Carolina’s Luka Bogavac (44) chase a loose ball during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in Durham, N.C., Saturday, March 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Ben McKeown)
UNC’s toughness, which had carried it through gritty home wins against Louisville and Clemson, evaporated in the steamy confines of Cameron Indoor Stadium. As it turns out, it’s a lot harder to bring your lunch pail with you on the road.
So many times this season, it was Wilson who provided a spark for Carolina during its doldrums. That’s not an option anymore. The good news? UNC has plenty of experience to fall back on when not playing with a full deck. As head coach Hubert Davis noted during his postgame press conference, Carolina has played 15 games this season with its roster completely healthy and 16 without either Trimble, Wilson or Veesaar. In the 15 healthy games, UNC is 12-3. In the 16 other games, it is 12-4.
“We know the team that we can be,” Trimble said. “We know this loss doesn’t define us. We lost this game because of X, Y and Z. Not because North Carolina can’t compete anymore without Caleb.”
Up next, the ACC Tournament in Charlotte beckons. Carolina will be the No. 4 seed in the field, a placement which was locked in regardless of Saturday’s result. The Tar Heels could very well run back their final two games of the regular season in the Queen City, potentially facing No. 5 seed Clemson in the quarterfinals and – if seeds hold – No. 1 Duke in the semifinals. The Spectrum Center isn’t quite as intimidating as Cameron Indoor, but facing the Blue Devils again without Wilson could be UNC’s unenviable task next Friday night.
There are positives to glean from Saturday. Freshman guard Derek Dixon looked ready for the moment in his first visit to Cameron, drilling five three-pointers and keeping the Tar Heels in the game in the first half. Dixon, at the very least, isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. Whether the rest of his teammates can match his effort – and the clarion call for that rang out loud and clear in the aftermath of Saturday’s loss – is the question that will define UNC’s postseason.
Featured image via Associated Press/Ben McKeown
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