Instant Analysis: Tar Heels Get By Navy For 5-0 Start

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — North Carolina completed its season-opening home-stand with an unblemished record. The No. 18 Tar Heels defeated Navy 73-61 on Tuesday inside the Smith Center. UNC is now 5-0 for the first time since the 2022-23 season, and the second time overall under Hubert Davis.

The Tar Heels led by as many as 24 points in the second half before a late 15-0 Navy run got the game within single digits in the final minutes.

Caleb Wilson fueled UNC with another double-double, logging 23 points and 13 rebounds. Luka Bogavac connected on three three-pointers to total 16 points plus six rebounds.

Low-Scoring Tar Heels Lean On Defense

Tuesday night’s victory wasn’t a masterclass offensively, but it was another outing in which Hubert Davis’ team pulled away in the second half.

North Carolina had to power through another slow start, as the Tar Heels led the Midshipmen by just seven points at the half. The Tar Heels shot the ball at a respectable 44.4%, but didn’t manage to break away, scoring just 38 points. Tuesday was the third time this season that UNC scored fewer than 40 points in the first half.

The Tar Heels picked up the energy level in the second half, becoming increasingly disruptive on the defensive end. Navy shot 32.3% in the first half, but UNC hounded the Midshipmen even further in the second half, holding them to 28.9% shooting and forcing four turnovers.

North Carolina didn’t have the smoothest offensive day itself, finishing with a season-low in points (73) and committing 13 turnovers.

Wilson Delivers With Dunks

Wilson electrified the crowd in the second half with a series of powerful dunks. With North Carolina ahead by six, Wilson tracked down a rebound off a missed jumper, letting it bounce before picking it up. He then took the ball and pushed for a few dribbles past halfcourt, with four Navy defenders already down the court. Wilson drove in and soared past two defenders for the thunderous one-handed dunk.

Later in the half, he recovered a pass deflected by Jarin Stevenson off an inbounds pass and got the crowd going again. This time, he used his dribbles to throw the ball ahead to himself, taking off from just inside the ACC logo to punch in a tomahawk-and-1 dunk with Aidan Kehoe reaching in to foul him.

Wilson made a third dunk moments later, trailing the play after a Navy score and cutting to the paint. Kyan Evans found him in stride, and he went in for the two-handed dunk. With just over nine minutes to go, Wilson spun off the 6-foot-11 Kehoe in the post, went baseline and flushed home a two-handed reverse dunk over his head.

Next On The Schedule

Having completed the early season home-stand, North Carolina will head to Ft. Myers next week to take part in the Fort Myers Tip-Off.

UNC will play the first of the two-game event on Tuesday against St. Bonaventure. The Bonnies are 4-0 this season with wins against Bradley, Canisius, Siena and Youngstown State. Darryl Simmons II, a 5-foot-11 guard from Gardner-Webb, leads the team in scoring at 19.3 points per game.

The Tar Heels will match up against Michigan State Thanksgiving afternoon. The last time UNC faced the Spartans was in last year’s Maui Invitational, losing 94-91 in overtime.