North Carolina’s NCAA Tournament chances took a major blow on Thursday.
Tar Heels star Caleb Wilson suffered a fracture in his left hand during a game against the Miami Hurricanes on Tuesday and has no timetable to return, the school announced.
UNC said in a statement that Wilson suffered the injury in the first half of the game and later returned before postgame imaging revealed the fracture.
Wilson took to X on Thursday night and promised to “be back.”
“I am grateful for whatever God is trying to tell me through this injury!!! I will be back Tarheel Nation… I LOVE THIS TEAM AND PROGRAM #StayTuned,” he wrote.
Wilson, a surefire top-10 pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, has been one of the best players in college basketball this season.
The 6-foot-10 forward is averaging 19.8 points, 9.4 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game.
He’s shown flashes of strong defense as well, averaging 1.5 blocks and 1.5 steals.
Wilson is projected to go No. 4 overall in June behind the big-three of Darryn Peterson, Cameron Boozer and AJ Dybantsa by both ESPN and CBS.
It’s a big loss for the Tar Heels, who are sitting at 19-5 and No. 11 in the latest AP Top 25 rankings.
UNC has been so-so during ACC play of late, going 7-4 with losses to SMU, California, Stanford and Miami.
Last Saturday, though, the Tar Heels took down rival No. 4 Duke with a 71-68 win in front of a sellout crowd at the Dean E. Smith Center.
Wilson dominated in that game, scoring 23 points and grabbing four rebounds on 8-for-12 shooting.
Fellow future lottery pick Boozer didn’t disappoint either, dropping 24 points and grabbing 11 rebounds while shooting 10-for-21 from the field.
