Covering Carolina sports beyond just men's basketball and football — with the most complete women's basketball coverage
Elliot Cadeau’s floor leadership has No. 2 Michigan poised to be the No. 1 team in the country when the new AP Top 25 poll comes out on Monday, days after former UNC teammate Jalen Washington had the best game of his career. Meanwhile, Ven-Allen Lubin has stayed consistent despite two straight N.C. State losses leading into Tuesday’s matchup with UNC, and Cade Tyson had another big game in a loss.
North Carolina avoided what would have been a damaging Quad 3 loss by knocking off Pittsburgh at home on Saturday, 79–65, to keep its NET ranking at 25 ahead of three consecutive Quad 1 games it must traverse without Caleb Wilson.
CHAPEL HILL — North Carolina had spent much of the season leaning on Caleb Wilson and Henri Veesaar, but Saturday demanded something different. With Wilson out indefinitely with a fractured left hand and Veesaar sidelined by illness, No. 11 UNC turned to speed, versatility and a smaller lineup to pull away for a 79–65 victory over Pittsburgh at the Smith Center.
CHAPEL HILL — Zayden High has been through a lot of lows in his three years at UNC, including a controversy that forced him to miss last season. An off-court matter led Carolina to suspend him from school, forcing him to leave the basketball program for a year.
CHAPEL HILL — Without their best two players, the Tar Heels found a fast solution to meet the challenge. Caleb Wilson and Henri Veesaar, the focal point of the offense all season, were instead active cheerleaders on the bench as No. 11 North Carolina used effective small-ball and a constant pace to fight past a struggling Pittsburgh team, 79–65, on Saturday at the Smith Center.
CHAPEL HILL — Boston Flannery has worn a couple of numbers in his baseball life, but none have ever meant quite as much as No. 42. On Friday at Boshamer Stadium, the junior right-hander finally wore it again, not as a high school kid paying tribute to Jackie Robinson, but as a veteran Tar Heel who has waited for his moment to come back around.
CHAPEL HILL — Many faces have changed, but three familiar, dependable returnees led No. 11 North Carolina early, while newcomers made it a blowout. Right-handed pitchers Jason DeCaro and Walker McDuffie were on top of their games, as was junior captain Gavin Gallaher, in the Tar Heels’ 9–2 victory over Indiana on a chilly Friday at Boshamer Stadium.
North Carolina has confirmed that Caleb Wilson fractured his left hand during the first half of Tuesday’s loss at Miami, but further specifics about the injury or the recovery timeline aren’t known. One possibility, according to Dr. Peter Dalldorf, an orthopedic surgeon with EmergeOrtho Greensboro, is a scaphoid fracture, a tricky wrist injury that can sometimes be difficult to detect immediately.
Here’s a look at No. 11 UNC’s Saturday afternoon game against Pittsburgh.
North Carolina didn’t just lose a game Tuesday night at Miami. It lost the gravitational pull of its season. Caleb Wilson led UNC from November into February with highlight dunks, relentless rebounding and a scoring streak that rewrote the program’s freshman record book. But he’s out indefinitely with a fractured left hand. The timeline is uncertain, and February is a bad time for uncertainty.
CHAPEL HILL — Few wins came more easily than No. 400 for Coach Courtney Banghart. With the 3-pointers raining in against SMU, one of the ACC’s worst teams, it was easy for her to become the 48th active coach to reach that mark.
Caleb Wilson has a fracture in his left hand, an injury that he suffered in the first half of Tuesday’s loss at Miami. Initial X‑rays taken during the game were negative, allowing Wilson to return to action after mising 6½ minutes in the second half. However, follow‑up imaging conducted after the team’s return to Chapel Hill confirmed the fracture. The Medical staff is continuing to evaluate the injury to determine his recovery timeline.
The tradition of the Carolina women’s basketball home games in a classic and beloved venue will end. Whichever arena option UNC chooses, whether it be building a new arena or renovating the Smith Center, the women’s program will play there, and the men’s and women’s teams will have separate practice facilities.
CORAL GABLES, Fla. — Slow starts have become a troubling trend that North Carolina can’t shake. The Tar Heels have been a good second-half team most of the season, but couldn’t find the rhythm Monday against Miami. Carolina fell to 5–5 in Quad 1 games after its 75–66 loss at Miami.The Tar Heels trailed after five minutes in all but one (at Stanford) and faced halftime deficits in all but three (Ohio State, SMU and Stanford).
CORAL GABLES, Fla. — No. 11 North Carolina threw away much of what it gained in the NET rankings by beating No. 4 Duke with its 75–66 loss at Miami on Tuesday night.
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