By R.L. Bynum
Wyoming (2–0) at North Carolina (2–0)
When: 7 p.m. Tuesday
Where: Smith Center
TV: ACC Network | Anish Shroff play-by-play, Terrence Oglesby analyst
Radio: Tar Heel Sports Network (affiliates list; streams on the Varsity Network app) | Jones Angell play-by-play, Tyler Zeller analyst.
Coaches: Wyoming coach Sundance Wicks (third season, 30–35) and UNC coach Michael Malone (first college head-coaching season, 2–0; 510–394 in NBA regular-season games, 44–36 in NBA playoff games)
Series: UNC won the only meeting. That was a 90–74 Carolina win in the second round of the 2003 NIT at the Smith Center, when Melvin Scott scored a career-high 20 points and Raymond Felton had 14 assists, a UNC freshman record, for Coach Matt Doherty’s team.
Opening results: UNC beat Western Carolina 80–72 on Nov. 2 and Wofford 109–70 on Friday at the Smith Center. Wyoming beat Regis 95–48 on Nov. 3 and Idaho State 93–62 on Friday, both at home.
Exhibition results: UNC beat Southern Cal 88–70 on Oct. 9 in Greensboro, lost 76–58 at Indiana on Oct. 18 and beat Charlotte 89–82 in overtime on Oct. 27. Wyoming beat Northern Colorado 94–68 on Oct. 11 in Gillette, Wyo., lost 89–76 to TCU on Oct. 17 in Midland, Texas, and beat College of Idaho 76–61 on Oct. 24 in Laramie.
Projected Wyoming starters
No. 3 | G | Khaden Bennett (top photo) | 6–4, 207 | senior Quinnipiac transfer
— Led Wyoming with 15 points and added six rebounds and three assists against Regis, hitting a 3-pointer against his younger brother, Regis freshman Bryce Bennett, early in the first half.
— Started 32 of 33 games last season, averaging 10.2 points, 4.9 rebounds (tied for the team high) and 2.8 assists. He scored a career-high 27 points against Nevada, including 18 before halftime, and made six 3-pointers.
No. 2 | G | Naz Meyer | 6–7, 202 | sophomore
— Preseason All-Mountain West selection who had 18 points and nine rebounds against Idaho State, after scoring 11 points against Regis and 24 in the exhibition loss to TCU.
— Scored 27 points at Nevada last season as a freshman.
No. 11 | F | Gavin Gores | 6–10, 230 | sophomore
— Had 10 points and five rebounds against Regis, including a two-handed dunk during a 22–2 run. Against Idaho State, he opened the second half with a three-point play and a dunk to start a 9–0 run.
— Wicks on his consistency after the Regis win: “You’ve got to be the same guy every game.”
No. 22 | G | Parker Gerrits | 6–2, 186 | junior Washington State transfer
— Scored a career-high 12 points on 4-of-5 shooting in his Wyoming debut against Regis. Wicks has compared him to recent Cowboys “glue guys” Cole Henry and Kiani Saxon.
No. 6 | G | Canin Jefferson | 6–2, 177 | senior North Alabama transfer
— Had a team-high four assists and nine points against Regis.
Other key Cowboys
No. 10 | F | Renars Sondors | 6–9, 214 | junior ULM transfer
— Scored 14 points off the bench against Idaho State, going 4-for-7 on 3-pointers, with three 3s and nine points before halftime.
No. 19 | C | Linus Ruf | 6–11, 235 | freshman
— Scored 10 points against Regis.
No. 1 | F | Mike Mora | 6–6, 225 | junior Cal State Monterey Bay transfer
— Scored 10 points on 4-of-7 shooting in his Wyoming debut against Regis.
No. 5 | G | Madden Smiley | 6–4, 184 | freshman
— The two-time Colorado 5A Player of the Year at Windsor High had a team-high eight rebounds in 21 minutes against Regis, then led Wyoming with eight points in the second half against Idaho State.
Other newcomers: Kelan Gruver (freshman walk-on and Kansas 5A Player of the Year, who hit a 3-pointer with 1:35 left against Idaho State), Chris Pohl, Mattia De Martin and Micah Curtis. Returners Uriyah Rojas and Neil Summers are also on the roster.
Subscribe to read Tar Heel Tribune ad-free
Subscribe for a cleaner, smoother reading experience without the flashing banners, slow-loading elements, or those especially annoying pop‑up ads that interrupt the flow of the story. You’ll also get the first version of each story emailed to you. The only ads you’ll see are static, non-intrusive ads for UNC‑related books, and there are none currently on the site.
More on Tar Heels
— Malone says Heels showed maturity in blowout of Wofford
— Stevenson throws down the opening statement in UNC’s rout of Wofford
Notes
— Wyoming finished 18–15 (9–11 Mountain West) in Coach Sundance Wicks’ second season and lost 74–70 at Wichita State in the first round of the NIT. It was the program’s first postseason trip since the 2003 NIT, which ended with the loss at the Smith Center. League coaches picked the Cowboys fifth this season, behind New Mexico, Grand Canyon, Nevada and UNLV.
— Wicks is a Gillette, Wyo., native who was a Wyoming assistant under Jeff Linder, when the Cowboys reached the NCAA tournament in 2021, and spent one season as Green Bay’s head coach before returning in 2024.
— Wicks said Wyoming has to “integrate 10 new guys” after returning only five players: Khaden Bennett, Naz Meyer, Gavin Gores, Uriyah Rojas and Neil Summers.
— Wicks after the Regis win: “That was the hardest I’ve seen our guys play in the preseason, up until now. We didn’t play that hard in the first three games in the exhibition season. We played hard.”
— Wyoming has outscored its two opponents 188–110. It shot 55% against Regis and held the Rangers to 38%, then held Idaho State to 31%.
— The rebounding numbers favor the Cowboys. Wyoming outrebounded Regis 41–23 and Idaho State 50–27, a combined 91–50 margin. Carolina was outrebounded 41–32 by Western Carolina, then won the battle against Wofford but allowed 17 offensive rebounds. UNC still had a 19–10 edge in second-chance points.
— Wyoming forced 33 turnovers in its two wins (19 against Regis and 14 against Idaho State) and scored 51 points off them (26 and 25). The Cowboys had 23 fast-break points against Regis and a 19–2 fast-break edge against Idaho State.
— Wicks on his team’s playing style: “We play really good on a flow. We trust guys to make decisions. Guys have worked all summer long to become solid, sound decision makers, not hero passers. Just easy-assist passers.”
— Twelve Cowboys scored against Idaho State, and Wyoming got 43 bench points against Regis.
— UNC center Cameron Fens, who is still ineligible, faced Wyoming twice while at South Dakota. On Dec. 10, 2024, he had eight points, seven rebounds and four blocks in South Dakota’s 82–81 home win. On Dec. 9, 2025, he had no points and two rebounds in South Dakota’s 106–79 loss at Wyoming.
— UNC’s 109 points against Wofford were the most since a 113–96 win over N.C. State on Feb. 5, 2019, and its first 100-point game since Nov. 15, 2024. The Tar Heels’ 58 bench points were the most since 2018. Carolina shot 52.1%, held Wofford to 33.3%, had 18 assists to eight turnovers and outscored the Terriers 20–4 on the fast break.
— Five Tar Heels scored in double figures against Wofford: Terrence Brown (21), Jaydon Young (15), Alex Samodurov (13), Maxi Adams (11) and Jarin Stevenson (10). Adams had 11 points and 11 rebounds for his first college double-double in his second game, and Samodurov had 13 points and seven rebounds in 18 minutes after not making an impact in the first four games.
— Carolina has won 20 straight home games. It’s the 10th-longest home winning streak in program history.
— This is the third of six consecutive home games to open the season, the first such stretch in program history.
UNC lineup combinations through two games
Data courtesy of Hudl Instat data
UNC season statistics
Wyoming season statistics
| Date | Time/ scores | Month/day | Opponent/event (current ranks) | TV/ record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October | Exhibitions | |||
| 9 | W, 88–70 | Friday | vs. No. 21 USC in Greensboro | — |
| 18 | L, 76–58 | Sunday | vs. Indiana in Indianapolis | — |
| 27 | W, 89–82, OT | Tuesday | vs. Charlotte | — |
| November | Regular season | |||
| 2 | W, 80–72 | Monday | vs. Western Carolina | 1–0 |
| 6 | W, 109–70 | Friday | vs. Wofford | 2–0 |
| 10 | 7 p.m. | Tuesday | vs. Wyoming | ACCN |
| 13 | 7 p.m. | Friday | vs. Georgia | ESPN2 |
| 20 | 9 p.m. | Friday | vs. Marshall | ACCN |
| 23 | 7 p.m. | Monday | vs. Monmouth | ACCN |
| 27 | 7 p.m. | Friday | Dick Vitale Invitational vs. West Virginia in Charlotte | ESPN |
| December | ||||
| 1 | 7:30 | Tuesday | ACC/SEC Challenge vs. No. 12 Arkansas | ESPN |
| 6 | 3 p.m. | Sunday | vs. Butler | ESPN2 |
| 12 | Noon | Saturday | at Georgetown | Peacock |
| 15 | 7 p.m. | Tuesday | Tobacco Road Classic vs. N.C. State in Greensboro | ESPN2 |
| 19 | 2:30 | Saturday | CBS Sports Classic vs. No. 23 Kentucky in New York | CBS |
| 21 | 8 p.m. | Monday | vs. The Citadel | The CW |
| 30 | 4 p.m. | Wednesday | vs. California | ACCN |
| January | ||||
| 2 | 4 p.m. | Saturday | at Boston College | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| 5 | 9 p.m. | Tuesday | at No. 11 Louisville | ESPN or ESPNU |
| 9 | Noon | Saturday | vs. N.C. State | ESPN2 |
| 13 | 7 p.m. | Wednesday | at Florida State | ESPN2 or ESPNU |
| 16 | 2:15 | Saturday | vs. Stanford | The CW |
| 19 | 9 p.m. | Tuesday | vs. No. 9 Virginia | ESPN |
| 23 | Noon | Saturday | at Syracuse | ESPN or 2 or U |
| 26 | 7 p.m. | Tuesday | vs. SMU | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| 30 | 6 or 6:30 | Saturday | Nashville Hoops Showdown vs. No. 3 Illinois in Nashville, Tenn. | ESPN |
| February | ||||
| 2 | 7 p.m. | Tuesday | at Notre Dame | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| 6 | 2:15 | Saturday | vs. Georgia Tech | The CW |
| 8 | 6 p.m. | Monday | vs. No. 11 Louisville | ESPN |
| 13 | 5:30 | Saturday | at No. 2 Duke | ABC |
| 20 | 7 p.m. | Saturday | at Wake Forest | ACCN |
| 22 | 7 p.m. | Monday | vs. No. 14 Miami | ESPN |
| 27 | 7 p.m. | Saturday | at Virginia Tech | ESPN |
| March | ||||
| 2 | 9 p.m. | Tuesday | at Pittsburgh | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| 6 | 6 or 6:30 | Saturday | vs. No. 2 Duke | ESPN |
| 9–13 | Tues.-Sat. | ACC tournament in Greensboro |
Photo via @wyo_mbb
