Only one opponent stood between the UNC basketball team and Christmas break : East Carolina. The visiting Pirates made a short trip west to Chapel Hill on Monday night, batting North Carolina in one final, non-conference clash for both teams.
The Tar Heels needed a clutch comeback to win Saturday against Ohio State , but dominated throughout Monday night. UNC made over 50 percent of its shots, but defense proved the deciding factor in a 99-51 blowout.
Any time North Carolina scores 100 points, fans in attendance gets discounted Bojangles biscuits. Isaiah Denis got the basketball back with 12 seconds left on the clock, but wisely elected to dribble the ball out, earning his team a parade of sarcastic boos.
North Carolina (12-1), which ended the 2025 portion of its 25-26 schedule undefeated at home, held ECU (5-8) to just 26 percent (19-of-73) from the field. Pirates captain Jordan Riley entered Monday's clash with 21.7 points per game, tied for 10th across all of college basketball, but he struggled to crack the Tar Heel defense with 11 points (4-of-24 on field goals, 3-of-6 on free throws).
UNC played extremely active on the defensive end, turning 17 ECU turnovers into 26 points. Superstar freshman Caleb Wilson stole the basketball three times, just a small part of his big night that included 21 points, 12 rebounds and four blocks.
13 different players scored for North Carolina, led by additional double-digit outings from Henri Veesaar (16), Luka Bogavac (15) and Seth Trimble (12). Hubert Davis emptied his entire bench , playing all 16 guys and nearly reaching that elusive, 100-point plateau.
The Tar Heels end non-conference play with six-consecutive wins. Can UNC keep this electric momentum rolling into ACC play?
North Carolina left no doubt in its non-conference finale, dominating ECU in a 48-point blowout. The Tar Heels now have six straight wins, next testing their streak on December 30 against Florida State to open ACC play.
UNC extends its second-half lead to 79-41, thanks to a pair of Caleb Wilson free throws. Wilson's first make helped him reach 20 points for the ninth time this season.
Bogavac's aggressiveness paid off, converting a contested layup and his ensuing and-one opportunity.
The Tar Heels lead East Carolina, 72-33.
North Carolina continues to dominate as the second half winds on, pushing its lead to 67-32 with 12:26 left in second-half action.
Caleb Wilson recorded yet another double-double, earning an and-one opportunity and making the ensuing free throw.
Evans' 3-pointer got him into the scoring column. The Tar Heels lead ECU, 60-28.
North Carolina is winning in blowout fashion, leading ECU 57-28 with 15:36 left in the second half. Veesaar has a game-high 14 points, while Caleb Wilson already has 10 rebounds.
Veesaar just nailed his fourth 3-pointer, pushing UNC's lead to 57-28 just under four minutes into the second half.
A major reason behind North Carolina's dominant, 23-point halftime lead is its ability to turn ECU turnovers into points. 14 of UNC's points come from seven Pirate turnovers.
Thanks to arguably their best, first-half defensive performance of the season and offensive awareness, the Tar Heels take a 49-26 lead over ECU into halftime.
Seth Trimble leads all scorers with 12 points, while Henri Veesaar adds 11 points to join him in double-digits.
North Carolina is limiting the Pirates to just 28 percent from the field, with just 11 makes on their first 39 shots.
Veesaar's third 3-pointer, a season-best for him, pushes North Carolina's advantage to 46-24. This is the Tar Heels' largest lead of the night.
The Tar Heels made four of their first eight 3-pointers. An issue earlier in its season, perimeter shooting is now helping North Carolina win games.
Is North Carolina really playing basketball unless Wilson has a dunk? Wilson collected the ball, emphatically slammed it down and – moments later – a media timeout ensued.
UNC now has a 39-22 advantage. 3:35 left in the first half.
North Carolina is leading ECU, 31-19, with just under six minutes remaining in the first half. Looks are falling for the Pirates, who are also starting to generate turnovers.
With Trimble back on the court, Bogavac appears to be playing more free. Bogavac already has seven points, two rebounds and an assist.
The Tar Heels are currently blowing out the Pirates, leading 29-12 with 8:03 remaining in the first half. North Carolina has seven guys in the scoring department, led by seven points from Luka Bogavac.
How well is UNC's defense playing right now? Just past the halfway point in first-half action, North Carolina limited ECU's Jordan Riley to two points on 1-of-8 shooting.
Riley entered tonight averaging 21.7 points per game.
The Tar Heels take a 17-4 advantage over ECU into the under-12 media timeout. North Carolina is holding the Pirates to 14 percent from the field (2-of-14), while shooting 57% (8-of-14) itself.
The Tar Heels lead East Carolina, 10-2, just over minutes minutes into tonight's game. Early highlights include a block and dunk apiece from Caleb Wilson.
Seth Trimble remains in the starting lineup, while Luka Bogavac draws another stat over Jarin Stevenson.
Was in 2006, which concluded in a run to the Elite Eight. North Carolina's 2006-07 team featured the likes of Wayne Ellington , Danny Green, Tyler Hansbrough , Deon Thompson and Marcus Ginyard
It's an understatement calling CJ Rosser a good basketball player. Rosser, the class of 2027's top player – according to the 247Sports Composite rankings, will be in Chapel Hill tonight for UNC-ECU.
Rosser hails from nearby Rocky Mount, but plays his high school basketball at Southeastern Prep in Orlando, Fla. The Tar Heels offered Rosser back on March 1 – and now have a golden opportunity to secure his commitment.
Holbrook is a sophomore who hails from nearby Hickory. Deep in UNC's bench rotation this season, Holbrook has just one point in five minutes of game action.
At 6'8", Holbrook is a late-game option worth exploring.
TV Channel: ACC Network
Time: 8 p.m. ET
Radio: SiriusXM (Channel 193)
Website: WatchESPN
North Carolina is still fired up from Saturday's thriller, but knows it can't celebrate for too long. The Tar Heels have one final, non-conference test in ECU.
UNC should dispatch the Pirates easily, but start the first half slow. This time, though, North Carolina builds a double-digit halftime lead and reaches the discount biscuit mark.
Score prediction: UNC 102, ECU 68
All College Basketball Odds via BetMGM
SPREAD: UNC - 25.5
MONEYLINE:ECU +2500, UNC -10000
O/U TOTAL: 146.5
This article originally appeared on Tar Heels Wire: UNC scores season-high 99, destroys ECU in Monday night basketball
