UNC Men's Hoops Schedule Breakdown: ETSU

The North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball team has filled its non-conference schedule with plenty of games facing some of the best teams in college basketball. From Kansas (November 7), Michigan State (November 27), Kentucky (December 2) and Ohio State (December 20), right before the final game of the year against ECU (December 22). Head Coach Hubert Davis and staff will have to plan well to have a stronger NCAAT resume before starting Atlantic Coast Conference play.

Over the past few seasons, North Carolina has not had the strongest resumes heading into Selection Sunday, and the ACC can fluctuate every year on how many teams are deemed as a "Quad 1" win (take into consideration where the game is being played, too). So, with the non-conference schedule featuring many opportunities to start on the right foot, it will also need to maintain its consistency when playing everyone else — one loss to a not-so-good program may haunt them down the line.

Here, we will talk about UNC's contest against ETSU on Tuesday, December 16.

Mar 13, 2025; Charlotte, NC, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels head coach Hubert Davis reacts in the first half at Spectrum Center. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images | Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

How Did ETSU Perform Last Season?

ETSU, or in other words, East Tennessee State University, managed a 19-13 overall record during the 2024-2025 campaign, going 12-6 in the Southern Conference. Some of ETSU's wins came against Newberry, Tusculum, USC Upstate, Queens, Charlotte and Elon.

Quimari Peterson scored 19.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and 3.7 assists, leading the Buccaneers in scoring. He shot 46.8% from the field and 42.2% from beyond the arc under Head Coach Brooks Savage. However, Peterson has transferred to the University of Washington, as someone else on Coach Savage's roster will have to fill in the lead scoring role.

UNC and Coach Davis will have the advantage playing inside the Dean Dome, but crazier things have happened up until this point (take a look at the 2019-202 season, for example). Although its roster has a mix of talent and collegiate experience with Kyan Evans, Luka Bogavacc, Seth Trimble, Caleb Wilson and Henri Veesaar presumably being the starting five by the season opener.

Besides the five said players, Jarin Stevenson, Jonathan Powell, Jaydon Young, Derek Dixon, Zayden High, James Brown, Isaiah Denis and Ivan Matlekovic provide depth and flexibility to put the most ideal lineups on the parquet in any given situation.

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