UNC basketball vs. Stanford: Game preview, info, prediction, more

The No. 14 North Carolina Tar Heels will travel out West for the first of two ACC road games in the San Francisco Bay Area to face the Stanford Cardinal.

In its last outing, North Carolina bounced back from a tough loss to SMU with an 87-84 win over Wake Forest on Saturday night, securing the program’s 500th victory in the Dean Smith Center.

The Tar Heels led by 15 in the second half but nearly collapsed as Wake’s hot 3-point shooting cut the margin to one several times. UNC managed only two field goals in the final 10 minutes — a Jaydon Young 3-pointer and a Henri Veesaar dunk — and held on behind seven clutch free throws and timely stops. Nate Calmese and Juke Harris each scored 28 points and repeatedly burned UNC from deep, with Calmese’s late shots cutting the deficit to 75-74 and 85-84 before his last-second heave missed.

Veesaar led UNC with 25 points, nine rebounds and four assists on near-perfect shooting, while Caleb Wilson added 22 points and 12 rebounds. Young scored 12 key points off the bench as the starting guards struggled, and UNC’s perimeter defense and the continued shooting woes of Luka Bogavac and Kyan Evans remain concerns.

Stanford (13-4, 2-2 ACC) has the tools to give UNC problems. The Cardinal upset Louisville and beat a good Virginia Tech team, and they have one of the best players in the country in guard Ebuka Okorie. 

Keep reading below for our full game preview of North Carolina’s matchup against Stanford, including the Tar Heels’ key to victory, something to watch, statistical leaders for each team, streaming information and their complete schedule.

Keys to Victory

Do not let the crowd get into it. Simple as that. Stanford has a good team and has already upset Louisville at their own place and defeated a good Virginia Tech team on the road. The Tar Heels have to get going early and their energy has to keep going because you do not want to give the Cardinal an inch of light because if they see it, they will start believing and the crowd at the Maples Pavilion will sense it as well.

The backcourt has to be more involved as well. If it weren’t for Young’s contribution off the bench, the Tar Heels would have lost the game despite Wilson and Veesaar both scoring over 20 points. That’s because of Luka Bogavac, Kyan Evans and Derek Dixon’s inability to make baskets. While Seth Trimble has been great for Carolina on both ends, he had an off night the other night, making the backcourt nearly irrelevant outside of Young.

What to Watch Out For

Whether North Carolina can contain Okorie. He averages 22.1 points per game, second in the ACC and eighth nationally. Okorie excels at drawing fouls and getting to the line, ranking third in the ACC in free throw attempts and first in makes per game.

The Tar Heels have struggled to slow opposing star guards in their last two outings. Boopie Miller scored 27 points in UNC’s loss to SMU, and both Nate Calmese and Juke Harris had 28 points in the Tar Heels’ win over Wake Forest on Saturday.

Statistical leaders

Points

UNC: Caleb Wilson (19.5)

Stanford: Ebuka Okorie (22.1)

Rebounds

UNC: Caleb Wilson (11.0)

Stanford: Oskar Giltay (5.5)

Assists

UNC: Kyan Evans (3.5)

Stanford:Ebuka Okorie (2.9)

What you need to know

WHAT? North Carolina Tar Heels (14-2, 2-1 ACC) vs. Stanford Cardinal (13-4, 2-2 ACC)

WHEN? Wednesday, Jan. 14 at 9:00 p.m. ET

WHERE? Maples Pavilion (7,233), Stanford, Ca. 

TV? ACC Network

RADIO? SiriusXM (Channel 193)

LINE? N/A

LAST MEETING? Stanford 72, North Carolina 71 on Jan. 18, 2025

ALL-TIME SERIES: North Carolina leads all-time series 13-1 

PREDICTION? UNC 79, Stanford 70

UNC basketball 2025-26 schedule

October 4: Blue-White Scrimmage (White 55, Blue 50)

Oct. 24: at BYU (preseason, L 78-76)

Oct. 29: vs. Winston-Salem State (preseason, W 95-53)

Nov. 3: vs. Central Arkansas (W, 94-54)

Nov. 7: vs. Kansas (W, 87-74)

Nov. 11: vs. Radford (W, 89-74)

Nov. 14: vs. NC Central (W, 97-53)

Nov. 18: vs. Navy (W, 73-61)

Nov. 25: vs. St. Bonaventure in Fort Myers (Fla.) Tip-Off (W, 85-70)

Nov. 27: vs. Michigan State in Fort Myers (Fla.) Tip-Off (L, 74-58)

December 2: at Kentucky (W, 67-64)

Dec. 7: vs. Georgetown (W, 81-61)

Dec. 13: vs. USC Upstate (W, 80-62)

Dec. 16: vs. ETSU (W, 77-58)

Dec. 20: vs. Ohio State in CBS Sports Classic (W, 71-70)

Dec. 22: vs. East Carolina (W, 99-51)

Dec. 30: vs. Florida State (W 79-66)

January 3, 2026: at SMU (L 97-83)

Jan. 10, 2026: vs. Wake Forest (W 87-84)

Jan. 14, 2026: at Stanford (9 p.m.)

Jan. 17, 2026: at California (4 p.m.)

Jan. 21, 2026: vs. Notre Dame (7 p.m.)

Jan. 24, 2026: at Virginia (TBA)

Jan. 31, 2026: at Georgia Tech (2 p.m.)

Feb. 2, 2026: vs. Syracuse (7 p.m.)

Feb. 7, 2026: vs. Duke (6:30 p.m.)

Feb. 10, 2026: at Miami (FL) (7 p.m.)

Feb. 14, 2026: vs. Pitt (2 p.m.)

Feb. 17, 2026: at NC State (7 p.m.)

Feb. 21, 2026: at Syracuse (1 p.m.)

Feb. 23, 2026: vs. Louisville (7 p.m.)

Feb. 28, 2026: vs. Virginia Tech (TBA)

March 3, 2026: vs. Clemson (7 p.m.)

March 7, 2026: at Duke (6:30 p.m.)

March 10-14, 2026: ACC Tournament in Spectrum Center (Charlotte, N.C.)

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This article originally appeared on Tar Heels Wire: UNC Basketball: Stanford preview, game info and prediction