East Tennessee State Buccaneers at North Carolina Tar Heels
· NCAA Men's Basketball
Veesaar's career night leads No. 12 North Carolina over ETSU, 77-58
Veesaar shot a near-perfect 10-of-11 from the floor and also pulled down eight rebounds for the Tar Heels (10-1). Caleb Wilson added 20 points and eight rebounds for UNC.
Brian Taylor paced ETSU (8-4) with 14 points, while Blake Barkley scored 11.
ETSU held a two-point advantage midway through the first half after Taylor threw down a fast-break dunk following a UNC turnover. But the Tar Heels used a 19-9 run — which included back-to-back dunks from Wilson and Veesaar — to take an eight-point lead at intermission.
UNC opened the second half with a 9-2 run to take a 15-point lead. The surge was highlighted by a second-chance dunk from Wilson and then punctuated by Veesaar swishing a 3-pointer. UNC led by as many as 27 points.
The Buccaneers went into game ranked No. 17 nationally in steals (114) and No. 28 in points allowed per game (65.5), but the Tar Heels shot 54% from the field, their second-highest mark of the season.
Veesaar, redshirt junior from Estonia, leads the team in field-goal percentage (64.5%) and blocked shots (15). This was the eighth time this season he's shot north of 60 percent from the floor in a game.
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Recent Plays
| 2nd 0:00 | End of Game | 58 - 77 |
| 2nd 0:00 | End of 2nd half | 58 - 77 |
| 2nd 0:04 | John Holbrook Offensive Rebound. | 58 - 77 |
| 2nd 0:08 | Isaiah Denis misses 27-foot three point jumper | 58 - 77 |
| 2nd 0:34 | Jaylen Smith makes 25-foot three point jumper (Brian Taylor II assists) | 58 - 77 |
Statistics
 ETSU |
 UNC |
|
|---|---|---|
| 20-52 | FG | 27-50 |
| 38 | Field Goal % | 54 |
| 7-23 | 3PT | 8-25 |
| 30 | Three Point % | 32 |
| 11-16 | FT | 15-23 |
| 69 | Free Throw % | 65 |
| 23 | Rebounds | 35 |
| 6 | Offensive Rebounds | 7 |
| 17 | Defensive Rebounds | 28 |
| 11 | Assists | 18 |
| 4 | Steals | 3 |
| 2 | Blocks | 2 |
| 7 | Turnovers | 7 |
| 1 | Team Turnovers | 0 |
| 7 | Total Turnovers | 7 |
| 1 | Technical Fouls | 0 |
| 1 | Total Technical Fouls | 0 |
| 0 | Flagrant Fouls | 0 |
| 5 | Points Off Turnovers | 5 |
| 0 | Fast Break Points | 4 |
| 22 | Points in Paint | 36 |
| 19 | Fouls | 15 |
| 2 | Largest Lead | 27 |
| 4 | Lead Changes | 4 |
| 3 | Percent Led | 78 |
Game Information
Location: Chapel Hill, NC
Attendance: 16,548 | Capacity:
2025-26 Southern Conference Standings
| TEAM | CONF | GB | OVER |
|---|---|---|---|
| East Tennessee State | 0-0 | - | 8-4 |
| Furman | 0-0 | - | 7-4 |
| Mercer | 0-0 | - | 7-4 |
| Wofford | 0-0 | - | 7-5 |
| Samford | 0-0 | - | 6-6 |
| Chattanooga | 0-0 | - | 5-7 |
| VMI | 0-0 | - | 5-7 |
| Western Carolina | 0-0 | - | 4-6 |
| The Citadel | 0-0 | - | 3-9 |
| UNC Greensboro | 0-0 | - | 3-9 |
2025-26 Atlantic Coast Conference Standings
| TEAM | CONF | GB | OVER |
|---|---|---|---|
| Duke | 0-0 | - | 11-0 |
| California | 0-0 | - | 10-1 |
| North Carolina | 0-0 | - | 10-1 |
| Virginia | 0-0 | - | 9-1 |
| Miami | 0-0 | - | 10-2 |
| Virginia Tech | 0-0 | - | 10-2 |
| Louisville | 0-0 | - | 9-2 |
| SMU | 0-0 | - | 9-2 |
| Stanford | 0-0 | - | 9-2 |
| Clemson | 0-0 | - | 9-3 |
| Notre Dame | 0-0 | - | 9-3 |
| Wake Forest | 0-0 | - | 9-3 |
| NC State | 0-0 | - | 8-4 |
| Georgia Tech | 0-0 | - | 7-4 |
| Syracuse | 0-0 | - | 7-4 |
| Pittsburgh | 0-0 | - | 6-6 |
| Boston College | 0-0 | - | 5-6 |
| Florida State | 0-0 | - | 5-6 |