UNC-Georgetown Preview: Tar Heels Return Home

No. 16 North Carolina (7-1) vs. Georgetown (6-2)
Chapel Hill, N.C. — Smith Center
Sunday, Dec. 7 — 5 p.m.
ESPN (Kevin Brown, Corey Alexander)

Quotables
“Caleb (Wilson) is not just a scorer, he’s a dude. More teams are now loading up on him, double-teaming him, trying to make him a passer more than a scorer. That actually benefits us because he’s such an elite passer, and we always talk about making plays.” – Hubert Davis after Tuesday’s win over Kentucky

“It was a good opportunity for us to see this environment, to get habits for that, and also to adapt ourselves. It’s December right now, but it’s just the beginning.” – Luka Bogavac after the Kentucky game

Pregame Notes

Tar Heels Steal Late Win at Kentucky: Derek Dixon’s late-game heroics delivered North Carolina’s second ranked win of the early season, outlasting No. 18 Kentucky, 67-64, at Rupp Arena in Lexington. Despite failing to eclipse the 70-point mark for the second straight outing, UNC’s defense held the Wildcats without a made field goal for over 10 minutes in the second half. 

With the debut of the NCAA NET rankings this week, North Carolina is up to No. 15 in the nation, but sits at No. 27 in KenPom.

Looking at Georgetown: The Hoyas will arrive in Chapel Hill with a 6-2 record (1-1 in Quad 1), ranked No. 114 in the NET and No. 88 in KenPom. Georgetown began the season with a 5-0 start, with notable wins over Maryland (70-60) and Clemson (79-74). It also upset Kentucky at Rupp Arena, 84-70, in a preseason exhibition that included Wildcat starter Mouhamed Dioubate, who didn’t face UNC on Tuesday due to an ankle injury.

However, over the Thanksgiving break, the Hoyas’ perfect start ended in the Terry’s Chocolate ESPN Events Invitational. Their first loss of the season came at the hands of Dayton in overtime (84-79), before a second defeat the following day to Miami (78-65). 

Picked to finish fifth in the Big East, Georgetown returns 10 players from last season’s roster and added six by way of the transfer portal. And after relying heavily on freshmen last season — nine in total — the Hoyas have none on this year’s roster. 

Head coach Ed Cooley is in his third year at Georgetown following 12 seasons at Providence. Cooley holds a career record of 367-263 (33-41 with Georgetown) and has led his teams to seven NCAA tournament trips, most recently a Sweet 16 run in 2022, after helping Providence capture its first Big East regular-season title. 

Georgetown Poor at Defensive Rebounding, Offense Led by Backcourt: Despite initially featuring a pair of 7-footers — Vince Iwuchukwu and Julius Halaifonua — Georgetown has been a below-average rebounding team this season. The Hoyas rank No. 215 nationally in rebound margin (+1.1), while the Tar Heels are strong on the glass and sit in the top-30 (+10). 

Though Georgetown crashes the offensive glass for 11.3 rebounds per game, it struggles to secure defensive boards. This may allow Veesaar, Wilson and other Tar Heels to supply a flurry of second-chance scoring opportunities on Sunday. 

But Iwuchukwu has been sidelined since mid-November for an undisclosed procedure and will miss Sunday’s game as well.

Offensively, the Hoyas are driven by their backcourt. Arizona transfer KJ Lewis leads the team in scoring with 16.6 points per game, barely ahead of Malik Mack, who averages 16.5. Forward Caleb Williams also supplies 12.8 points, stretching the floor with a team-best 40 percent from 3-point range.

Arguably, the most impactful attribute about Georgetown’s guard play is its ball security. The 8.6 turnovers per game the Hoyas average is the fourth-best mark in the country and a testament to their experienced roster without any freshman ball handlers. 

Last Meeting: The last time the Tar Heels and Hoyas squared off was the 2007 NCAA East Regional final, when No. 2 Georgetown came back from a double-digit deficit in the second half to upset Tyler Hansborough and 1-seeded North Carolina, 96-84, in overtime. Sunday’s matchup will be the 10th meeting between the two programs, with UNC at 4-5 in the series. 

Projected UNC Starters: 
0 Kyan Evans (Jr., 6-2, 175) — 7.1 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 4 apg
8 Caleb Wilson (Fr., 6-10, 215) — 19.3 ppg, 10.1 rpg, 2.6 apg
13 Henri Veesaar (Jr., 7-0, 225) — 16 ppg, 8.5 rpg, 1.4 bpg
15 Jarin Stevenson (Jr., 6-10, 215) — 7.4 ppg, 4.5 rpg
44 Luka Bogavac (Jr., 6-6, 215) — 12 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 3.3 apg

Projected Georgetown Starters:
2 Malik Mack (Jr., 6-2, 175) – 16.5 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 4.6 apg
4 Caleb Williams (So., 6-7, 227) – 12.8 ppg, 5.9 rpg, 40.6% 3FG
5 KJ Lewis (Jr., 6-4, 210) – 16.6 ppg, 6 rpg, 3.1 apg, 2.0 spg
7 Isaiah Abraham (So., 6-7, 205) – 6.1 ppg, 3 rpg
11 Julius Halaifonua (So., 7-0, 259) – 8.4 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 1.5 apg

Top Georgetown Reserves:
1 DeShawn Harris-Smith (Jr., 6-5, 224) – 5.2 ppg, 2.5 rpg
25 Jeremiah Williams (Sr., 6-4, 200) – 3.3 ppg, 2.8 apg
OUT – 3 Vince Iwuchukwu (Sr., 7-1, 257) – 11.8 ppg, 4 rpg, 2.0 bpg

UNC Info:
Schedule/Results
Roster & Bios
Stats

Georgetown Info:
Schedule/Results
Roster & Bios
Stats