He's no Cameron Boozer, but North Carolina freshman Caleb Wilson is an excellent basketball player and the Tar Heels are a better team when he is able to play. That's obvious.
Wilson suffered a broken left hand earlier this month that has kept him sidelined for the past five games, but he appears to be approaching a return. Speaking on TNT on Wednesday night, college basketball insider Seth Davis revealed that the "best case scenario" for Wilson would be a return for the regular season finale against Duke in Durham.
Caleb Wilson's timetable for returning to action at UNC has @SethDavisHoops' attention ahead of March 👀 pic.twitter.com/FnfW2QVpoF
— TNT Sports U.S. (@TNTSportsUS) February 26, 2026
Good.
That will make the get-back so much sweeter when Duke avenges its loss in Chapel Hill by beating the Tar Heels at Cameron Indoor to finish the regular season. We certainly don't want to hear any excuses about North Carolina being less than full strength.
Duke may face North Carolina at full strength in regular season finale
Wilson was excellent for the Tar Heels earlier this month when North Carolina made a miraculous comeback to beat Duke. He played all 40 minutes and scored 23 points.
Duke led that game by as many as 13 points in the second half and never trailed until Seth Trimble hit the game-winning three-pointer. As good a season as the Blue Devils have had, that loss still stings despite how well they have played since then.
The memory of Duke's late collapse won't go away, but the blow will be softened if Jon Scheyer's team can take care of business at home against their bitter rivals.
Whether Wilson plays or not, there should be little stopping Duke from rolling. Despite the loss earlier this month, the Blue Devils have the much better team this year, ranking No. 1 in KenPom to Carolina's No. 29. KenPom projects a 15-point Duke win without accounting for injuries.
Any Duke win over UNC is sweet. But it'll be that much sweeter if it comes during Wilson's return to action.