Written by DAVID GLENN
When the 11th-ranked North Carolina men’s basketball team trounced Pitt 79-65 at the Smith Center on Saturday, improving its record to 20-5, the Tar Heels were playing the worst team left on their regular-season schedule.
When the 21st-ranked North Carolina women’s team fell to No. 11 Duke 72-68 in Durham on Sunday, falling to 21-6 on the season, those Tar Heels were playing the best team left on their regular-season schedule.
Under fifth-year head coach Hubert Davis, the UNC men already know that — when at full strength — they’re capable of beating anyone in the country. Indeed, the Tar Heels already have head-to-head victories this season over Kansas and Duke, two teams currently ranked in the national top 10.
Against Pitt, the main question was how the Heels would fare without star freshman forward Caleb Wilson (out indefinitely with a fractured hand) and junior center Henri Veesaar, who missed the Panthers game with a far less serious ailment and is expected back soon.
In Carolina’s revised lineup, all five starters delivered — Jarin Stevenson and Seth Trimble with 19 points apiece, Luka Bogavac and Zayden High with 15 points each, and freshman point guard Derek Dixon with seven assists and only one turnover.
This week’s road trips to NC State and Syracuse will serve as much more difficult litmus tests for how UNC’s men will perform without Wilson leading the way.
The UNC women, on the other hand, have made crystal-clear who they are this season. That is, the Tar Heels are one of the top 25 teams in the country, but they’re also a group that hasn’t been able to get over the hump against the highest level of competition.
In the Tar Heels’ four games this season against their highest-ranked opponents — UCLA, Texas, Louisville and Duke, who all have spent time in the national top 10 — they are 0-4, although they took the Cardinals to overtime and the Blue Devils nearly to the final buzzer in Durham.
Under seventh-year head coach Courtney Banghart, the Tar Heels have finished in the top four in the ACC standings twice, and they have advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament twice, in both 2022 and 2025. They appear well-positioned for similar accomplishments this year.
To reach the UNC men’s peak status, though, meaning proving they’re capable of beating even their top-tier foes, they’re quickly running out of opportunities. Only four regular-season games remain, with Duke’s March 1 trip to Carmichael Arena in Chapel Hill the Heels’ final chance at a signature victory before the ACC Tournament and the remainder of March Madness.
Featured image via Todd Melet
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