By R.L. Bynum
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.
“One of the things that I emphasized the most was that we have to go even faster,” said Hubert Davis, who became the first UNC coach to win 20 games in each of his first five seasons. “Not that Henri and Caleb are slow. But with this group, we actually have to go even faster. And they really bought into it.”
That led to UNC (20–5, 8–4 ACC) dominating fast-break points 16–4 and points off turnovers 12–4.
Davis said the last few days demanded flexibility and toughness as Carolina prepared under uncertain circumstances.
“I was really proud of them,” Davis said. “It was a lot, with the news that Caleb was going to be out, and we didn’t know if Henri was playing or not.”
He prepared one game plan if Veesaar played, one if he didn’t play, and had a rare shootaround before a day game. The early Saturday morning session was to make sure “everybody was on the same page” and clear about what was expected.
“The energy, effort, and enthusiasm were there the entire game, and that’s something that we’ve struggled with throughout the year, not just getting there, but sustaining it,” Davis said. “I felt like this is one of the best, if not the best, of sustaining it.”
In his first career start, Zayden High produced career-highs in points (15), rebounds (7) and minutes (32), more than tripling his most playing time in an ACC game and doubling his most minutes in any game, but battled foul trouble.
Seth Trimble (19 points, 2 steals, career-high 9 free throws) was the only part of UNC’s “big three” in the game, with High, Jarin Stevenson (season-high 19 points, 3 3-pointers) and Luka Bogavac (ACC-high 15 points, 3 3-pointers, 4 assists) doing their part to fill the void.
In his eighth consecutive start, freshman point guard Derek Dixon tied his season-high with seven assists (against 1 turnover) and pulled down a season-high seven rebounds.
Wilson is out indefinitely with a fractured left hand, while Veesaar has been sick since the Miami game and has been dealing with a lower-body issue. Davis credited both for remaining engaged even while sidelined.
“They poured into the team,” Davis said. “They could have stayed within themselves, and they didn’t.”
North Carolina’s response was immediate. The Tar Heels made their first eight shots, including a pair of 3-pointers, and went ahead by 11, 16–5, on a Trimble layup five minutes into the game, shaking a recent trend of slow starts.
“I thought it was really good for us to get off to a good start,” Davis said. “The confidence that this group had, to be able to play that well without Henri, without Caleb, that confidence continued to grow, and that’s why we didn’t slow down.”
High said he had an idea the opportunity was coming because he had been playing with the starting group in practice since the loss at Miami, but that didn’t prevent the butterflies.
“Pitt is always known for trying to punk us,” High said. “So, bringing the energy from the jump and meeting them halfway.”
Davis said High’s readiness was years in the making, even though he played so many minutes after not even getting into the Duke game a week earlier, praising his defense, rebounding and post presence.
“I’m just really happy for him,” Davis said. “Zayden has waited his turn, and he took advantage of it. And I really do think, every day, playing against Henri and Caleb, put him in a position to be able to be successful today against a very good Pitt team.
High added that the message from the injured stars was simple before tipoff.
“Just bring energy, like from the jump,” High said. “Pitt is always known for trying to punk us,” High said. “So, bringing the energy from the jump and meeting them halfway.”
Trimble said Wilson’s presence still loomed large even without him in uniform.
“Caleb hasn’t changed one bit,” Trimble said. “He’s still been a super high-energy guy… being a great voice, bringing smiles to the gym.”
Trimble also pointed to the mindset the Tar Heels are embracing now, and when he was out earlier this season.
“It’s the next-man-up mentality,” he said. “You can’t sit and cry about it, because life moves on. There’s going to be games to be played, and we need guys to step up.”
Carolina’s smaller, quicker lineup created problems for Pitt, especially in transition. Stevenson said the pace was intentional.
“We had a smaller lineup, so just getting up and down the court, creating confusion,” Stevenson said. “We knew we had to play a little faster and do different ghost screens and different things like that. Our constant motion also created confusion.”
A Jaydon Young 3-pointer at the end of a 10–4 run pushed UNC’s lead to 13, 35–23, with 6:10 left in the first half. Stevenson scored six points in a 10–6 run to end the first half to give UNC a 47–32 halftime lead.
In his eighth consecutive start, freshman point guard Derek Dixon tied his season-highs with seven assists (against 1 turnover) and set a season high with seven rebounds, affecting the game despite an off shooting day (1 of 5).
“The shot wasn’t feeling great,” Dixon admitted, “but I’ve just tried to help the team in other ways, try to crush the glass, just trying to do whatever I can to help the team.”
Davis praised Dixon’s poise at the controls.
“There are so many other ways that you can impact winning, other than just scoring,” Davis said. “Taking care of the basketball… making the easy play.”
UNC led by 21, 62–51, with 12:49 left after six straight High points and three from Trimble. After a 7–0 Pitt run, UNC got 3-pointers from Jonathan Powell and Bogavac in an 8–0 run. run to shove the lead to 22, 70–48, with 7:56 left.
Pitt sliced the lead to 14 with a 14–8 run on a Barry Dunning Jr. 3-pointer with 3:04 left as UNC went scoreless for more than two minutes, but never got closer.
“This is the part of the sport,” Bogavac said of playing without injured or sick players. “You will never know what the team will be like on the game day, if it’ll be the whole squad, or no, and I think that we performed really good — I mean, I just play my game.”
Cameron Corhen led Pittsburgh (9–17, 2–11) with 23 points, 3 3-pointers, 6 rebounds and 6 assists, with Roman Siulepa adding 14 points.
Notes
— Carolina visits N.C. State (18–7, 9–2) at 7 p.m. Tuesday (ESPN) in the only regular-season meeting. The Wolfpack hosted Miami on Saturday afternoon, coming off a 118–77 Monday loss at No. 24 Louisville.
— The Tar Heels committed four turnovers, the 11th time this season UNC committed fewer than 10.
— UNC led for 38:57 and never trailed. It was the sixth time this season (third ACC game) that Carolina never trailed.
— Brooklyn Nets rookie Drake Powell and Coby White, recently traded to the Charlotte Hornets, were at the game.
— High’s previous high in minutes was 14 against N.C. Central on Nov. 14, and his most in an ACC game was eight against Syracuse on Jan. 13, 2024.
— UNC leads the all-time series against Pittsburgh 20–9, including 8–3 in the Smith Center and wins in four of the last five games.
No. 11 UNC 79, Pitt 65
| Team | League | Overall | NET* |
|---|---|---|---|
| No. 4 Duke | 12–1 | 23–2 | 3 |
| No. 15 Virginia | 10–2 | 21–3 | 18 |
| No. 20 Clemson | 10–3 | 20–6 | 33 |
| Miami | 9–3 | 20–5 | 37 |
| N.C. State | 9–4 | 18–8 | 29 |
| No. 11 North Carolina | 8–4 | 20–5 | 25 |
| No. 24 Louisville | 8–4 | 19–6 | 13 |
| SMU | 6–6 | 17–8 | 35 |
| California | 6–7 | 18–8 | 63 |
| Virginia Tech | 6–7 | 17–9 | 51 |
| Syracuse | 6–7 | 15–11 | 68 |
| Florida State | 5–7 | 12–13 | 95 |
| Stanford | 5–8 | 16–10 | 69 |
| Wake Forest | 4–8 | 13–12 | 67 |
| Notre Dame | 3–10 | 12–14 | 88 |
| Boston College | 2–10 | 9–16 | 152 |
| Georgia Tech | 2–11 | 11–15 | 157 |
| Pittsburgh | 2–11 | 9–17 | 123 |
* — Through Friday games
Saturday’s games
No. 11 North Carolina 79, Pittsburgh 65
No 4 Duke 67, No. 20 Clemson 54
Notre Dame 89, Georgia Tech 74
California 86, Boston College 75
Florida State 92, Virginia Tech 69
Syracuse 79, SMU 78
Miami 77, N.C. State 67
Wake Forest 68, Stanford 63
No. 24 Louisville 82, Baylor 71
No. 15 Virginia vs. Ohio State in Nashville, 8 p.m., Fox
Monday’s game
Syracuse at No. 4 Duke, 7 p.m., ESPN
Tuesday’s games
Boston College at Florida State, 6 p.m., ACC Network
No. 11 North Carolina at N.C. State, 7 p.m., ESPN
No. 24 Louisville at SMU, 7 p.m., ESPN2
Virginia Tech at Miami, 8 p.m., ACC Network
Wednesday’s games
No. 20 Clemson at Wake Forest, 7 p.m., ACC Network
No. 15 Virginia at Georgia Tech, 9 p.m., ACC Network
Saturday, Feb. 21, games
Florida State at No. 20 Clemson, noon, The CW
Wake Forest at Virginia Tech, noon, ACC Network
No. 11 North Carolina at Syracuse, 1 p.m., ABC
Miami at No. 15 Virginia, 2 p.m.
Notre Dame at Pittsburgh, 2 p.m., ACC Network
Georgia Tech at No. 24 Louisville, 2:15, The CW
Boston College at SMU, 4 p.m., ACC Network
Stanford at California, 6 p.m., ACC Network
No. 2 Michigan at No. 4 Duke, 6:30, ESPN
| Date | Month/day | Time | Opponent/event (current ranks) | TV/ record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October | ||||
| 24 | Friday | L, 78–76 | vs. No. 22 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. No. 9 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. 10 Michigan State | 6–1 |
| December | ACC/SEC Men’s Challenge | |||
| 2 | Tuesday | W, 67–64 | at No. 25 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 | L, 95–90 | at Stanford | 14–3, 2–2 |
| 17 | Saturday | L, 84–78 | at California | 14–4, 2–3 |
| 21 | Wednesday | W, 91–69 | vs. Notre Dame | 15–4, 3–3 |
| 24 | Saturday | W, 85–80 | at No. 15 Virginia | 16–4, 4–3 |
| 31 | Saturday | W, 91–75 | at Georgia Tech | 17–4, 5–3 |
| February | ||||
| 2 | Monday | W, 87–77 | vs. Syracuse | 18–4, 6–3 |
| 7 | Saturday | W, 71–68 | vs. No. 4 Duke | 19–4, 7–3 |
| 10 | Tuesday | L, 75–66 | at Miami | 19–5, 7–4 |
| 14 | Saturday | W, 79–65 | vs. Pittsburgh | 20–5, 8–4 |
| 17 | Tuesday | 7 p.m. | at N.C. State | ESPN |
| 21 | Saturday | 1 p.m. | at Syracuse | ABC |
| 23 | Monday | 7 p.m. | vs. No. 24 Louisville | ESPN |
| 28 | Saturday | 6:30 or 8:30 | vs. Virginia Tech | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| March | ||||
| 3 | Tuesday | 7 p.m. | vs. No. 20 Clemson | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| 7 | Saturday | 6:30 | at No. 4 Duke | ESPN |
| 10–14 | Tues.-Sat. | ACC tournament | Spectrum Center, Charlotte |
Photos by Daniel Walker
tarheeltribune.com 