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3 Cal Weapons That Could Give UNC Trouble

Originally posted on North Carolina Tar Heels on SI
By Caleb Meadows | Last updated Jan 16, 2026 11:00 AM ET

The North Carolina Tar Heels will be on the road for their second consecutive game as they travel to Berkeley, California, to take on the California Golden Bears. After a shocking loss to Stanford earlier this week, the Tar Heels have their backs against the wall. Some say this is already a must-win game for UNC.

Cal is near the bottom of the ACC, but if UNC has learned anything over the past few weeks, it is that any team can get hot on any given night. The Tar Heels must do a better job with their scouting report to avoid allowing another career-high performance from an opposing player. The loser of this game will be set up for a long season in ACC play, which would be a horrible look for the UNC program.

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Here are three players UNC must look out for against Cal.

Dai Dai Ames, guard

Dai Dai Ames, a junior guard out of Chicago, is the leading scorer for Cal, averaging 17.3 points per game. The Virginia transfer has started every game this season and has doubled his scoring average from last year. This smells like disaster for the UNC guards.

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Ames is shooting career highs from the field and beyond the arc, at 48.9% and 43.4%, respectively. Guards have been killing the Tar Heels as of late, averaging 30 points per game against UNC over the past three games.

Ames struggled in his last game against Duke, scoring just eight points on 3-of-11 shooting. UNC’s defense is nowhere near as strong as the Blue Devils’, so Ames could be in line for a bounce-back performance against the Tar Heels.

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Justin Pippen, guard

Jeremy Dent-Smith and Ryan Agarwal of Stanford were both averaging six points per game entering their matchup against UNC. They finished that game with 20 points apiece. Now imagine what Justin Pippen could do.

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Pippen has gone cold over the past few games, shooting 6 of 29 from the floor. That stretch is shockingly poor, but he has proven he can score. He is averaging 14.4 points per game and has topped 20 points twice this season. Once again, guards have tormented UNC throughout the season, so it would not be surprising if Pippen has a strong night. He is also excellent at jumping passing lanes, averaging two steals per game.

Lee Dort, forward

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Lee Dort is a senior forward who has shown significant improvement this season for the Golden Bears. He serves as one of the anchors of Cal’s defense, which is where his impact is most evident. Dort enters the contest averaging 8.7 points per game along with one block per night.

The matchup between Dort and Henri Veesaar will be a key one to watch and could potentially be a deal-breaker for UNC. Veesaar has scored more than 25 points in each of his last two outings. If anyone on Cal’s roster can give him problems, it will be Dort.

This article first appeared on North Carolina Tar Heels on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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