UNC’s bid to down its arch-rival NC State amid a dominant season took a deep hit on Tuesday. Hubert Davis’ team suffered a 58-82 blowout loss without their star duo. It was a game defined by defensive errors for the Tar Heels and, quite naturally, left Davis frustrated.

The reality set in at the post-game press conference when Davis was asked whether his team was showcasing the same efficiency on the court without Caleb Wilson and Henri Veesaar. In reply, Davis said straight away, ‘No’.

“I just felt like our competitive fight wasn’t there, especially from a defensive standpoint,” Davis explained further. “They didn’t feel us defensively; they didn’t feel our presence at all. At the end of the day, it’s going to be one-on-one defense; can we defend without fouling, and are we man enough when the ball goes up there, can we go get it? And I don’t think we did a very good job of that.”

The UNC Tar Heels’ head coach further highlighted his team’s defensive shortcomings during the game. “I’ve been consistent with this all year, that our heartbeat, our lifeline, it starts with us defensive rebounding,” he said. “That’s what leads us to really good offense. We weren’t tough enough, and we weren’t good enough on the defensive ends. We did get offensive rebounds, but the physical presence you have to have defensively, we didn’t do that today.”

The Tar Heels did manage 40 rebounds, including 23 on their half of the court. But the Tar Heels struggled on defense from the perimeter, allowing NC State to shoot 45% from the deep. Moreover, in Wilson and Veesaar’s absence, the UNC team couldn’t bag such numbers and settled for just 32% from open play and 15% from the deep. Additionally, they also turned the ball over 12 times in the game, where the Wolfpack capitalized perfectly with 16 points.

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Davis’s assessment is clear. His assessment makes it clear that he isn’t hesitating to say, Wilson and Veesaar. Wilson suffered a hand fracture during the Miami game last week and has been absent since then. On the other hand, Veesaar is suffering from a back injury and has been absent from the last two UNC games. It was an open secret that, with back-to-back injuries to Wilson and Veesaar, Davis’s team would struggle, given the immense impact both players have had.

Wilson alone still leads the team in four metrics: Points, Rebounds, Blocks, and Steals. The freshman forward was averaging 19.8 points per game this season before the injury. Additionally, he was equally effective on the boards. Be it regaining possession after a missed shot by the opponent or driving on the loose balls, Wilson showed immense effectiveness. And Veesaar, in no way, brought less contribution to the Tar Heels, and played a crucial role with Wilson in giving the Tar Heels a stronghold in the rankings.

With this blowout defeat to NC State, Hubert Davis’ team boasts 20-6 and 8-5 records. They still have a March Madness ceiling, and currently hold the 16th spot in the AP rankings. However, with Wilson and Veesaar’s absence, UNC will have to endure a trial by fire to fight and keep its rankings intact for the NCAA Tournament.

Hubert Davis Will Face Two Ranked Teams in His Upcoming Stretch of Games

The Tar Heels have five games left in their regular season for now. Three of these contests are against unranked teams: Syracuse, Virginia Tech, and Clemson. But two of these games are against the Louisville Cardinals and Duke. For context, Davis’ team has clinched a last-minute victory over the Blue Devils earlier this month, courtesy of a buzzer-beater by Seth Trimble.

But the challenge for them keeps coming at one point: They will have to play without Caleb Wilson and Henri Veesaar. The impact that both these players have together can be seen in the stat that, out of the 26 matches the Tar Heels have played, either Wilson or Veesaar has led the scoring in 22 of them, indicating that both have done most of the heavy lifting for the Tar Heels this season.

While Wilson’s return from the hand fracture can’t be defined for now, the Tar Heels will hope that Veesaar returns to the back court for them as quickly as possible. Meanwhile, in their absence, other players, including Trimble and Luke Bogavac, will have to step into Wilson and Veesaar’s shoes to keep their chances optimistic for the Big Dance next month. Moreover, to clinch much-needed wins in these upcoming games, Hubert Davis will also have to regroup his team as quickly as possible.

They won’t need to wait long to bounce back from the NC State defeat. Their next match will tip off on February 20 against Syracuse at the JMA Wireless Dome. Do you think the Tar Heels can win this game without Wilson and Veesaar? Do let us know in the comments.