On Thursday afternoon, the North Carolina Tar Heels announced that freshman Caleb Wilson had been sidelined with a fracture in his left hand. At the time, UNC had no timetable for the star freshman’s return.
Just like that, only a handful of days after losing to the Tar heels the odds of the Duke Blue Devils exacting revenge on their rivals blossomed. With Wilson out for the foreseeable future and the second rivalry matchup of the regular season less than a month away, it undeniably looks like the Blue Devils would be set up for an easy victory when the Tar Heels come to town.
UNC season on the rocks with Caleb Wilson injury
The Tar Heels are just 19-5 overall and 7-4 in ACC play. Without Wilson in the lineup, UNC falls under threat of losing quite a few of its remaining regular-season games. Through the first 24 games, Wilson led the Heels in points, rebounds, steals, and blocks, virtually pushing Carolina to its current ranking as the No. 11 team in the nation.
Behind Wilson, the Heels have relied heavily on senior Seth Trimble, who hit the game-winner against Duke, and 7-foot junior Henri Veesaar. However, neither of them has produced anywhere near the same numbers as Wilson has. With 19.8 points, 9.4 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 1.5 steals, and 1.4 blocks, Wilson has been seemingly unstoppable on both ends of the court.
Veesaar has averaged 16.4 points, 9.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 0.6 steals, and 1.2 blocks. Trimble has produced 13.5 points, 3.9 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 1.2 steals, and 0.3 blocks on average.
Simply put, the Tar Heels are going to be hurting while Wilson rides the bench with this injury. Meanwhile, the Blue Devils and their (healthy) star freshman, Cameron Boozer, are looking to finish out the regular season with an undefeated streak.
