The North Carolina Tar Heels earned their 10th win of the 2025-26 college basketball season, beating East Tennessee State University on Tuesday night. The Buccaneers gave UNC a bit of a scare early on, keeping it close for the first 15 minutes.
But then North Carolina turned it on.
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The Tar Heels took a 38-30 lead into the break and never looked back. UNC dominated that second half, outscoring ETSU 39-28 for the 77-58 win. This effort was led once again by Henri Veesaar and Caleb Wilson as the duo had another big game together.
Here is what head coach Hubert Davis had to say about UNC’s win. All quotes via Inside Carolina.
On difference in offensive rebounding in first and second half
“One of the things I always talk to them about is whatever it takes, whether it’s five seconds or 30 seconds, let’s be committed to getting a defensive stop and finish it with the rebound. And East Tennessee State was methodical in its approach from an offensive standpoint. They were taking us one-on-one, late clock, ball screen action and really getting anything that they wanted towards the basket, and also second chance opportunities.”
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“I mean, we talk about it, not just every day — all day, every day — that we just needed to do a better job of fish finishing out those possessions. I felt like defensively, we were on point from a little bit over a three-minute mark in the first half, all the way through the second half. And I felt like our intensity wore them down, and we consistently finished defensive possessions with a rebound.”
On Jonathan Powell starting in second half
“I just love the way that it was the last three minutes and some seconds of the first half. I just felt like the energy was good there, and I just wanted to start the second half that way. Nothing more than that.”
On what he’s seen from James Brown
“James is a wonderful kid that works hard. He is not a good teammate; he’s an amazing and great teammate. He’s always talking in the locker room, in the huddle during practice. He’s someone that loves this place and wants to be a part of winning. And he’s gotten some extended minutes the last couple of games, and I think he’s played really well.”
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“He was able to get an and-1, rebound the basketball, but his energy and activity, and as I said before, I don’t want to play Henry 40 minutes. Him, coming off the bench and giving us good minutes at that position, is really huge for us.”
On Kyan Evans having 11 assists and 0 turnovers in last two games
“He’s really making the easy play. He’s someone who can run our offense, and one of the things I always say is just make routine plays routinely. We don’t need home runs, we just need singles. And Kyan hits singles.”
“He’s our best passer in transition, in terms of pitching a ball ahead, coming off ball screens, he’s really good at finding our big rolling to the basket. So he’s done a really nice job of distributing a basketball, but most importantly, taking care of it.”
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On Henri Veesaar’s versatility
“It is. He obviously can score in the paint. One of the things that’s really good for him is being able to catch around the basket on the move, and so we have a number of actions that can get him close to the basket on the move.”
“He’s got a wonderful floater, he can finish with either hand, and he can shoot from three, and he runs the floor. So, from an offensive standpoint, he can do a number of things, but I also think what makes him effective offensively is his ability to pass… he’s able to read actions and find open teammates, and obviously he’s in a really good rhythm right now.”
This article originally appeared on Tar Heels Wire: UNC Basketball: What Hubert Davis said after win over ETSU
