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Heel Tough Blog: UNC Lands 5-Star Combo Guard
On3 Sports While the Tar Heels will look to earn a big win later tonight on the road at NC State, they secured a win for the future, landing five-star combo guard Dylan Mingo after a long recruiting battle with Penn State, Baylor, Washington, and others. Mingo is ranked as the No. 8 player in the 2026 recruiting class and is considered to be the No. 3 combo-guard and the No. 1 player from the state of New York. He chose Carolina after initially delaying his commitment a few w

Joshua Marlow
Feb 172 min read


Heel Tough Blog: Pittsburgh Recap
Bob Donnan- Imagn Images No Caleb Wilson. No Henri Veesaar. No problem. After coming into the game against Pittsburgh without Wilson because of a fracture in his left hand that was revealed earlier in the week, the Tar Heels found out in pregame that they were also going to be without Veesaar due to an illness and a lower-body extremity injury. Without their top two scorers and rebounders, it would have made sense if the Tar Heels had struggled in the game against Pittsburgh,

Anthony Pagnotta
Feb 144 min read


Heel Tough Blog: Miami Recap
@UNC_Basketball After winning the biggest game of the season last Saturday, the Tar Heels couldn’t avoid the letdown game, losing to Miami 75-66 last night, to see their five-game win streak come to an end, as Miami led from start to finish. After a high-scoring first half, both teams struggled to put the ball in the basket, as Carolina scored 26 second-half points, on 26% shooting from the field, including going 1-14 from behind the arc, as UNC finished the game going 2-12 f

Joshua Marlow
Feb 114 min read


Heel Tough Blog: Miami Preview
@UNCMBBStats After Saturday’s big win over Duke, the Tar Heels have to come off that emotional high and get ready to play a very good Miami tonight in Coral Gables, looking to extend their winning streak to six games. The win over Duke was by far the most important win of the season, as well as the most emotional, as Carolina secured their first ever buzzer-beater in the history of the storied rivalry, and for as much worry as you have in the game before the Duke, the same co

Joshua Marlow
Feb 103 min read


Heel Tough Blog: Duke Recap
Grant Halverson - Getty Images For a rivalry matchup that had just about everything to offer going into last night’s game, what it did not have was a UNC buzzer-beater against Duke, but that changed in a big way last night, as senior guard Seth Trimble knocked in a three with 0.4 left on the clock to beat Duke 71-68. The 0.4 seconds led was the only time on the clock that Carolina led, after trailing by as many as 13 in the first half and 12 at halftime. They trailed by 9 at

Joshua Marlow
Feb 86 min read


Heel Tough Blog: Duke Preview
@UNCMBB As the second half of the ACC season is set to begin, it does with the first of two matchups between North Carolina and Duke, as the greatest rivalry in sports is ready to write another chapter in a legendary story. The Tar Heels enter tonight’s matchup riding a four-game winning streak after a win over Syracuse earlier this week, giving Carolina a respectable 18-4 record, including being 6-3 in the ACC. But Duke enters as the team with the better record, as the Blue

Joshua Marlow
Feb 74 min read


Heel Tough Blog: Syracuse Recap
Bob Donnan- Imagn Images Well, that was a little too close for comfort wouldn’t you say. After leading by 32 points, the Tar Heels had to hold off a furious late rally from the Syracuse Orange for an 87-77 victory that extended their home win streak to thirteen to start the season. The night started a little sloppy with neither team getting off to a hot start, but it wasn’t long before the bigs started making their presence felt on both sides. For the Tar Heels, it was the co

Anthony Pagnotta
Feb 34 min read


Heel Tough Blog: Georgia Tech Preview
@UNCMBBStats After having a week off, the Tar Heels return to action this afternoon, in Atlanta, against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. Carolina last played last Saturday and won at Virginia, erasing a 16-point deficit in the process, to reinstate belief in this team. The win at Virginia not only dramatically changed Carolina’s chances to compete to finish top four in the ACC, but it also moved Carolina’s projected seed line in the NCAA Tournament as well. Georgia Tech ent

Joshua Marlow
Jan 314 min read


Heel Tough Blog: NCAA Tournament Check In - January
It’s the final week of January, and we’re just seven Sundays away from the 2026 NCAA Tournament field being selected, and that means that projections for the Big Dance are starting to heat up. In just about every game moving forward, you’re going to hear something or see a graphic from that specific network about their bracketology projections, so if you’re not ready to see Joe Lunardi on your TV screen, you might want to start preparing. The Tar Heels are enjoying their last

Joshua Marlow
Jan 293 min read


Heel Tough Blog: Virginia Preview
@UNCMBBStats After blowing out Notre Dame at home on Wednesday, the Tar Heels are on the road today, as they are set to take on #14 Virginia in a top-25 matchup. The win over Notre Dame snapped a two-game losing streak and got Carolina back to .500 in the ACC. Now the challenge is to take that level of play on the road, where the Tar Heels are just 1-3 so far this season, if they have any hopes of getting back into the ACC regular season race. Ryan Odom has done as good a jo

Joshua Marlow
Jan 244 min read


Heel Tough Blog: Notre Dame Recap
Bob Donnan- Imagn Images That’s more like it. After an 0-2 trip to the West Coast last week, the Tar Heels returned to the Smith Center looking to bounce back as they faced the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. In what was their most complete game of the conference season so far, the Tar Heels would blow out Micah Shrewsberry’s shorthanded squad 91-69. It started in the first half where the team navigated some more bumps guarding the perimeter shots to lead by nine at the break. A b

Anthony Pagnotta
Jan 224 min read


Heel Tough Blog: Notre Dame Preview
MSN After going 0-2 last week while on the West Coast, the Tar Heels are back home tonight, as they host Notre Dame, looking to get back to .500 in ACC play. The two losses last week dropped Carolina from 14th to 22nd in the AP Poll, and they fell in the all-important NET rankings after suffering two more Quad 1 defeats. They are hoping that getting back to the East Coast, and the Smith Center, where the team is 11-0 this season, will help get the team closer to playing to th

Joshua Marlow
Jan 214 min read


Heel Tough Blog: California Recap
@UNCMBBStats Looking to bounce back after a midweek loss to Stanford, the Tar Heels suffered their second straight defeat, and their third loss in four games, with an 84-78 loss to California, to fall to 14-4 on the season, 2-3 in the ACC, and 3-4 in Quad 1 games. Carolina, which trailed 54-37 at the half and by as much as 20 in the second half, did make it a two-possession game late in the second half, but poor shot selection denied them a chance at completing the comeback,

Joshua Marlow
Jan 185 min read


Heel Tough Blog: Wake Forest Recap
Cory Knowlton- Getty Images The Tar Heels picked up their 500th win in Smith Center, but it was far from as easy as it should have been against Wake Forest. The Tar Heels got off to a fast start, racing out to a 14-4 lead early in the game, causing Wake to call timeout. Behind big halves from their two big men, the Tar Heels were able to control the first half despite allowing eight threes and turning the ball over eight times and led the game 49-38 at the half. After both te

Anthony Pagnotta
Jan 114 min read


Heel Tough Blog: Wake Forest Preview
UNCMBBStats After a week off, the Tar Heels return to action later today, as they host Wake Forest, looking to bounce back from the loss to SMU last Saturday, which dropped the team’s record to 13-2 overall, 1-1 in the ACC, and 17th in the AP Poll. The loss to SMU wasn’t expected, but so wasn’t the defensive performance in that game, as Carolina allowed a season high 97 points on 60% shooting from the field, 53% shooting from behind the arc, making it the second-worst defensi

Joshua Marlow
Jan 104 min read


Heel Tough Blog: SMU Recap
Sam Hodde- Getty Images The Tar Heels came into Saturday’s second road game of the entire season with a chance to match the 14-1 start that the team got off to in the 2008-09 season and instead will leave Dallas with their most disappointing performance of the season and a second loss. It started early for the Tar Heels with some crucial turnovers that led to easy finishes at the basket for SMU and gave the Mustangs an early nine point lead. The Tar Heels were able to settle

Anthony Pagnotta
Jan 35 min read


Heel Tough Blog: SMU Preview
Sports Illustrated For the first time in ACC play, and just the second time this season, the Tar Heels hit the road, as they are set to take on SMU later this afternoon at the Moody Center. Carolina’s lone road game prior to today was a win at Kentucky back in the first week of December in the annual ACC/SEC Challenge, which gave confidence to a team, playing without Seth Trimble at the time. The Tar Heels opened conference play earlier this week, with a 79-66 win over Florid

Joshua Marlow
Jan 34 min read


Heel Tough Blog: Florida State Preview
Chris Seward - AP After an eight-day layoff, the Tar Heels return to action tonight in the Smith Center, as they host Florida State in their ACC opener. The last time Carolina was on the court, they were seen dispatching ECU in the final non-conference game of the season, improving to their first 12-1 start since the 2008-09 national championship season. After a handful of Quad 1 wins in the first two months of the season, ACC play will be about UNC solidifying its NCAA Tourn

Joshua Marlow
Dec 30, 20254 min read


Heel Tough Blog: East Carolina Recap
@UNCMBBStats Last night, Carolina concluded non-conference play with a blowout win over ECU, 99-51, to improve to 12-1 for the first time since the 2008-09 season. The two other times UNC started 12-1, they won the national championship (2004-05) and made the Elite Eight (2006-07). They were led once again by Caleb Wilson, and his 21-point, 12-rebound double-double, his ninth as a Tar Heel. With him scoring 21 points, he became the first UNC freshman since Phil Ford to score

Joshua Marlow
Dec 23, 20254 min read


Heel Tough Blog: East Carolina Preview
@UNC_Basketball It’s a quick turnaround for Carolina Basketball, after winning on Saturday against Ohio State in the CBS Sports Classic, the Heels return home for the final non-conference game of the season, as they host ECU tonight at the Dean Dome. The win on Saturday improved Carolina’s record to 11-1 on the season, their first 11-1 start since the 2008-09 national championship season. While Carolina was led once again by Caleb Wilson and Henri Veesaar, they were boosted b

Joshua Marlow
Dec 22, 20253 min read
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