By R.L. Bynum
No. 14 North Carolina (14–2, 2–1 ACC) at Stanford (13–4, 2–2)
When: 9 p.m. ET Wednesday
Where: Maples Pavilion (2,788 miles away from the Smith Center, the farthest UNC has traveled for an ACC game; the Heels’ first game there since a 96–72 win on Nov. 20, 2017)
TV: ACC Network: Roxy Bernstein play-by-play, Miles Simon analyst
Radio: Tar Heel Sports Network (affiliates list; streams on the Varsity Network app);
Jones Angell play-by-play, Tyler Zeller analyst
Coaches: Kyle Smith (292–211 in 16th season; 34–18 in second season at Stanford) and Hubert Davis (115–47 in fifth season, all at UNC; was 228–95 in nine seasons as a UNC assistant coach)
UNC projected starters: Kyan Evans, Seth Trimble, Jarin Stevenson, Caleb Wilson and Henri Veesaar
Series: UNC leads 13–1 (see list below), including 2–0 at Maples Pavilion, only losing the last meeting, 72–71 last season on Jan. 18 at the Smith Center on Jaley Blakes’ jumper with 0.9 of a second left.
Quad designation: Stanford’s NET ranking is 74, making this a Quad 1 game for both teams.
Common opponents: none
Stanford results
— 3–1 in Quad 1 games: wins over St. Louis, Louisville and Virginia Tech; loss to Virginia
— 2–1 in Quad 2 games: wins vs. Colorado and Minnesota; loss to Notre Dame
— 3–1 in Quad 3 games: wins vs. UT Arlington, Portland State and Montana State; loss to Seattle
— 5–1 in Quad 4 games: wins vs. Montana, CSUN, Portland, San Jose State and Louisiana; loss to UNLV
— 1–1 against ranked teams: win vs. No. 20 Louisville, loss at No. 16 Virginia
Oct. 30: 78–70 exhibition win vs. Oregon
Nov. 4: 89–79 win vs. Portland State
Nov. 8: 91–88 vs. Montana
Nov. 12: 77–68 win vs. Montana State
Nov. 18: 93–68 win vs. Louisiana
Nov. 21: 77–69 loss vs. Seattle
Nov. 27: 72–68 win vs. Minnesota in Palm Desert, Calif.
Nov. 28: 78–77 win vs. Saint Louis in Palm Desert, Calif.
Dec. 1: 94–72 win vs. Portland
Dec. 7: 75–74 loss vs. UNLV
Dec. 13: 88–82 win at San Jose State
Dec. 17: 76–60 win vs. UT Arlington
Dec. 20: 73–68 win vs. Colorado in Phoenix
Dec. 27: 88–80 vs. CSUN (California State University, Northridge)
Dec. 30: 47–40 loss vs. Notre Dame
Jan. 2: 80–76 win vs. No. 20 Louisville
Wednesday: 69–68 win at Virginia Tech
Saturday: 70–55 loss at No. 16 Virginia
Projected Stanford starters
No. 1 | G | Ebuka Okorie (top photo) | 6–2, 185 | freshman
— Team-leading 22.1 points (2nd in ACC; 8th in the country; 3rd among freshmen), 43.2 FG% (21st in ACC); 31.1 3P%, 81.5 FT% (12th in ACC), 6.7 free throws per game (1st in ACC, 5th in the country) 3.7 rebounds, 2.9 assists, 1.5 steals (17th in the ACC), 33.6 minutes (5th in ACC)
— His name is pronounced “eh-BOO-kuh oh-CORE-ee”
— Four-star recruit ranked 12th in the country; was New Hampshire Gatorade Player of the Year
— Duke’s Cameron Boozer and BYU’s AJ Dybantsa are the only other freshman averaging at least 20 points per game.
— Okorie is the first Stanford freshman since Brook Lopez (Feb. 15–24, 2007) with four consecutive games with at least 20 points and the first Stanford freshman with back-to-back games with at least 30 points since Landry Fields (Jan. 23–28, 2010).
— Has scored at least 30 points three times, including a season-high 32 on Dec. 20 against Colorado and 32 on Wednesday at Virginia Tech, when he sank the game-winning 3-pointer (highlights below). That broke the Stanford freshman scoring record.
— His 18 free throws on 21 attempts in the Colorado game were the third-most by any player in the country and the second-most in program history.
— Has at least three 3-pointers in four games, including four against the Hokies and against Cal State Northridge on Dec. 27.
— Dished out a season-high six assists twice: against Virginia Tech and on Nov. 28 against Saint Louis
No. 10 | F | Chisom Okpara | 6–8, 240 | senior | Harvard transfer in second season at Stanford
— 13.9 points (22nd in the ACC), 39.3 FG%, 30.4 3P%, 73.0 FT% (23rd in ACC), 3.9 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 1.1 steals
— His name is pronounced “CHIZ-um ock-PAR-uh”
— His best five scoring games were with Harvard, topped by his 26 points against Holy Cross on Dec. 21, 2023
— His Stanford high came with 22 points on Nov. 18 against Louisiana.
No. 5 | G | Benny Gealer | 6–1, 185 | senior
— 10.8 points, 43.5 FG%, team-high 43.0 3P% (10th in ACC), team-high 92.1 FT%, 2.5 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 1.7 steals
— His name is pronounced “CHIZ-um ock-PAR-uh”
— Last season, he led the team with a 3.6 assist-to-turnover ratio, leading the ACC (minimum 2.0 assists per game)
— His career-high is 20 points on Nov. 8, 2024, against Cal State Fullerton
— His season-high is 17 points on Dec. 17 against UT Arlington.
— Beat St. Louis with a corner 3-pointer with 0.8 of a second left (highlight below)
No. 15 | C | Oskar Giltay | 6–10, 235 | freshman
— 4.4 points, 61.0 FG%, 60.6 FT%, team-high 5.5 rebounds, 1.4 blocks
— Averaged 10.0 points and 6.4 rebounds per game for Belgium at FIBA U18 Eurobasket while leading the tournament with 3.1 blocks per game
— Only double-figure scoring game was 15 points against Portland on Dec. 1
— Season-high 14 rebounds Dec. 7 against UNLV, one of three double-figure rebounding games
No. 11 | G | Ryan Agarwal | 6–6, 205 | redshirt junior
— 6.3 points, 40.7 FG%, 38.3 3P%, 80.0 FT%, 3.7 rebounds
— His last name is pronounced “AG-are-wall”
— Career-high 15 points Nov. 12, 2024, against Northern Arizona; season-high 13 against UNLV on Dec. 7.
— Has nine career games with at least three 3-pointers (two this season), including four this season on Jan. 2 against Louisville
More on Tar Heels
— UNC faces another elite ACC scorer in Stanford freshman Okorie
— UNC moves up in AP Top 25 men’s poll
— Two games, one long week: Tar Heels brace for the Bay Area grind
— Why did ball not go to Wilson late? ‘I don’t want to even speak to that’
— UNC’s NET ranking unchanged, but two games upgraded to give Heels 10 more Quad 1 chances
— Heels ‘take foot off pedal,’ survive rough final minutes to win
— Watch, read about best games, biggest individual efforts in Smith Center history
UNC’s keys to the game
Force turnovers — Stanford averages 9.9 turnovers per game, and UNC tends to thrive when it forces turnovers. Winning the turnover battle can swing momentum and limit Stanford’s scoring opportunities.
Slow down Ebuka Okorie — The freshman is Stanford’s primary offensive weapon, averaging over 22.1 points per game. UNC must contain him by keeping Seth Trimble on him when switching and getting good help defense.
Rebound to limit second-chance points — Carolina’s rebounding edge (nearly 41.4 rebounds per game and an 8.1 advantage) is a significant strength, while Stanford averages fewer total rebounds (35.4). Securing defensive rebounds will prevent second-chance points and fuel UNC’s transition game.
Take care of the ball — UNC needs to maintain its turnover rate of 10.2 per game or do better after committing a season-high 14 turnovers against Wake Forest.
Create good perimeter shots — The teams shoot similar three-point percentages (UNC 33.7% and Stanford 33.6%). The Tar Heels getting good shots behind the arc will open driving lanes and force Stanford to adjust.
Establish inside scoring early — The Tar Heels post solid field goal percentages (58% on 2-point attempts) and strong inside scoring, so feeding Caleb Wilson and Henri Veesaar early will set the tone and draw help defenders, freeing up outside shooters.
Notes
— Stanford rallied from a 12-point deficit with 2:18 left to win at Virginia Tech on Wednesday, 69–68, closing the game with a 14–1 run. Freshman guard Ebuka Okorie scored a game-high 31 points, his third game in the last five with at least 30 points, and tied a career-high with six assists in the victory. Reserve Donavin Young added a career-high 11 points and Oskar Giltay (pronounced “HEEL-tay”) added eight points and 13 rebounds. Okorie scored or assisted on 40 of Stanford’s final 42 points, including making the game-winning 3-pointer with 3.3 seconds to play.
— The Cardinal are fifth in the ACC in forced turnovers at 14.1 per game and fifth in turnover margin at +3.1. According to KenPom, Stanford is second in the country in limiting opponent steals (6.4%) and 15th in limiting opponent assists (44.2%).
margin at plus-3.1, while ranking second in the country in limiting opponent steals (6.4%) and 15th
nationally in limiting opponent assists (44.2%), per KenPom.
— Stanford had the second-best home record in ACC games last season at 9–1, but has split two home league games this season and is 8–3 at home this season, with losses to Seattle and UNLV.
— Returnees for UNC scored nine points against Stanford last season (all from Seth Trimble) while Cardinal returnees scored 16 (9 from Donavin Young, 6 from Ryan Agarwal and one from Chisom Okpara) in the game.
— The Cardinal are 15th in 3-point percentage defense (32.9%), 16th in the ACC in field-goal percentage (42.7%), 16th in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.09), 17th in field-goal percentage defense (44.8%) and 17th in assists per game (12.0).
— Carolina leads the ACC in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.74) and is second in field-goal percentage defense (38.3%; fifth in the country; lowest for UNC since 37.5% in 1959–60), but is 15th in free-throw percentage (68.3%) and 16th in steals (5.81 per game) and turnover margin (-1.76).
— In the last two games, SMU and Wake Forest have combined to shoot 54% from the floor and 45.2% from 3-point range.
— The official title for Coach Kyle Smith, who previously coached five seasons at Washington State, is “Anne and Tony Joseph Director of Men’s Basketball.”
— UNC is 16–9 in California.
— Caleb Wilson and Henri Veesaar are on pace to become the first teammates in ACC history to each average at least 16 points and at least nine rebounds, and both shoot at least 55% from the floor. They have combined for 36.4 points and 20.2 rebounds per game, with 40 blocks and assists, while shooting 60.7% from the floor. They have produced 44.5% of Carolina’s scoring, 48.8% of the rebounds, 46.9% of the field goals made and 49.7% of the free-throw attempts.
— Wilson leads the country in dunks with 52 and Veesaar is sixth with 36. Wilson (11) and Veesaar (8) rank fourth and 12th in the country in double-doubles.
UNC season statistics
Stanford season statistics
Statistical comparison
All games/ACC games
| Category | UNC | SU |
| NET ranking | 23 | 73 |
| Points per game | 81.7/83.0 | 76.9/61.0 |
| Scoring defense | 67.1/82.3 | 70.6/65.3 |
| Scoring margin | +14.6/+0.7 | +6.3/-4.3 |
| FG% | 47.6/47.5 | 42.7/36.6 |
| 3P FG % | 33.7/33.7 | 33.6/36.6 |
| 3P per game | 7.5/9.3 | 8.4/7.0 |
| FT% | 68.3/68.1 | 72.8/75.4 |
| FG% defense | 38.3/47.4 | 44.8/39.8 |
| 3FG% defense | 30.9/39.2 | 32.9/39.8 |
| Opponent 3P/game | 7.5/13.3 | 5.9/7.0 |
| Rebounds per game | 41.4/37.3 | 35.4/32.8 |
| Offensive rebounds/game | 12.2/12.7 | 12.2/11.5 |
| Rebounding margin | +8.1/+6.3 | +2.9/-7.3 |
| Assists per game | 17.7/19.7 | 12.0/8.5 |
| Turnovers per game | 10.2/10.7 | 11.1/9.0 |
| Assist-to-turnover ratio | 1.7/1.8 | 1.1/0.9 |
| Turnovers forced/game | 9.7/9.7 | 14.1/10.5 |
KenPom comparison
| Category | UNC | SU |
| Overall ranking | 33 | 80 |
| Offensive efficiency | 120.0 (40) | 113.1 (104) |
| Defensive efficiency | 100.1 (40) | 102.0 (59) |
| Possession length | 16.4 (78) | 17.3 (166) |
| Effective FG% | 54.8 (64) | 49.9 (225) |
| Turnover % | 14.7 (43) | 15.9 (97) |
| Offensive rebound % | 35.5 (55) | 34.3 (82) |
| FTA/FGA | 40.0 (85) | 43.1 (41) |
| 3FGA/FGA | 42.9 (115) | 42.8 (117) |
| Assist/FG% | 62.3 (21) | 47.4 (301) |
| Strength of schedule | 100 | 88 |
Series: UNC 13, Stanford 1
| Team | League | Overall | NET* |
|---|---|---|---|
| No. 6 Duke | 4–0 | 15–1 | 4 |
| No. 22 Clemson | 4–0 | 14–3 | 28 |
| Miami | 3–0 | 14–2 | 33 |
| No. 16 Virginia | 3–1 | 14–2 | 16 |
| N.C. State | 3–1 | 12–5 | 31 |
| No. 14 North Carolina | 2–1 | 14–2 | 23 |
| Syracuse | 2–1 | 11–5 | 67 |
| Stanford | 2–2 | 13–4 | 73 |
| Virginia Tech | 2–2 | 13–4 | 59 |
| No. 20 Louisville | 2–2 | 12–4 | 18 |
| No. 24 SMU | 1–2 | 12–4 | 24 |
| California | 1–2 | 13–4 | 71 |
| Notre Dame | 1–2 | 10–6 | 74 |
| Georgia Tech | 1–3 | 10–7 | 146 |
| Wake Forest | 1–3 | 10–7 | 63 |
| Boston College | 0–3 | 7–9 | 176 |
| Florida State | 0–3 | 7–9 | 133 |
| Pittsburgh | 0–3 | 7–9 | 111 |
* — Through Sunday games
Tuesday’s games
No. 16 Virginia at No. 20 Louisville, 7 p.m., ESPN2
Miami at Notre Dame, 7 p.m., ESPNU
Boston College at No. 22 Clemson, 7 p.m, ACC Network
Florida State at Syracuse, 9 p.m, ACC Network
Wednesday’s games
Pittsburgh at Georgia Tech, 7 p.m., ACC Network
No. 14 North Carolina at Stanford, 9 p.m., ACC Network
Virginia Tech at SMU, 9 p.m., ESPNU
No. 6 Duke at California, 11 p.m., ACC Network
Saturday’s games
No. 16 Virginia at SMU, noon, ESPN2
Notre Dame at Virginia Tech, noon, ACC Network
Georgia Tech at N.C. State, noon, The CW
Syracuse at Boston College, 2 p.m., ACC Network
Miami at No. 22 Clemson, 2:15, The CW
No. 14 North Carolina at California, 4 p.m., ACC Network
No. 6 Duke at Stanford, 6 p.m., ACC Network
Wake Forest at Florida State, 6 p.m., ESPN
No. 20 Louisville at Pittsburgh, 8 p.m., ESPN2
| Date | Month/day | Time | Opponent/event (current ranks) | TV/ record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October | ||||
| 24 | Friday | L, 78–76 | vs. No. 11 BYU in SLC | Exhib. |
| 29 | Wednesday | W, 95–53 | vs. Winston-Salem St. | Exhib. |
| November | ||||
| 3 | Monday | W, 94–54 | vs. Central Arkansas | 1–0 |
| 7 | Friday | W, 87–74 | vs. Kansas | 2–0 |
| 11 | Tuesday | W, 89–74 | vs. Radford | 3–0 |
| 14 | Friday | W, 97–53 | vs. N.C. Central | 4–0 |
| 18 | Tuesday | W, 73–61 | vs. Navy | 5–0 |
| Fort Myers Tip-Off | ||||
| 25 | Tuesday | W, 85–70 | vs. St. Bonaventure | 6–0 |
| 27 | Thursday | L, 74–58 | vs. No. 12 Michigan State | 6–1 |
| December | ACC/SEC Men’s Challenge | |||
| 2 | Tuesday | W, 67–64 | at Kentucky | 7–1 |
| ————————— | ||||
| 7 | Sunday | W, 81–61 | vs. Georgetown | 8–1 |
| 13 | Saturday | W, 80–62 | vs. USC Upstate | 9–1 |
| 16 | Tuesday | W, 77–58 | vs. ETSU | 10–1 |
| CBS Sports Classic in Atlanta | ||||
| 20 | Saturday | W, 71–70 | vs. Ohio State | 11–1 |
| ————————— | ||||
| 22 | Monday | W, 99–51 | vs. East Carolina | 12–1 |
| 30 | Tuesday | W, 79–66 | vs. Florida State | 13–1, 1–0 ACC |
| January | ||||
| 3 | Saturday | L, 97–83 | at SMU | 13–2, 1–1 |
| 10 | Saturday | W, 87–84 | vs. Wake Forest | 14–2, 2–1 |
| 14 | Wednesday | 9 p.m. | at Stanford | ACCN |
| 17 | Saturday | 4 p.m. | at California | ACCN |
| 21 | Wednesday | 7 p.m. | vs. Notre Dame | ESPN2 |
| 24 | Saturday | 2 p.m. | at No. 16 Virginia | ESPN |
| 31 | Saturday | 2 p.m. | at Georgia Tech | ACCN |
| February | ||||
| 2 | Monday | 7 p.m. | vs. Syracuse | ESPN |
| 7 | Saturday | 6:30 | vs. No. 6 Duke | ESPN |
| 10 | Tuesday | 7 p.m. | at Miami | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| 14 | Saturday | 2 p.m. | vs. Pittsburgh | ESPN |
| 17 | Tuesday | 7 p.m. | at N.C. State | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| 21 | Saturday | 1 p.m. | at Syracuse | ABC |
| 23 | Monday | 7 p.m. | vs. No. 20 Louisville | ESPN |
| 28 | Saturday | 6:30 or 8:30 | vs. Virginia Tech | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| March | ||||
| 3 | Tuesday | 7 p.m. | vs. No. 22 Clemson | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| 7 | Saturday | 6:30 | at No. 6 Duke | ESPN |
| 10–14 | Tues.-Sat. | ACC tournament | Spectrum Center, Charlotte |
Photo via @StanfordMBB
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