Henri Veesaar is UNC’s Player of the Game against Michigan State

If you’re a Carolina fan, I sincerely hope the Tar Heels’ 74-58 loss to Michigan State was the most unpleasant part of your Thanksgiving, and I also hope you agree that Henri Veesaar had the best game of anyone wearing a UNC jersey.

The strongest evidence of Veesaar’s impact on this matchup may have been what happened when he was off the floor; with 7:13 remaining in the first half and Carolina leading 22-15, he picked up his second foul and was subbed out. The Tar Heels were outscored 18-6 the rest of the half and headed to the locker room trailing 33-28.

Veesaar did his best to make up for that lost time in the second half, scoring UNC’s first nine points in a little less than four and a half minutes. It was a fairly short burst, and he only scored two more points the rest of the game, but it was another glimpse of the potential take-over-the-game ability he showed against St. Bonaventure on Tuesday. That’s something the Tar Heels will need at least one player not named Caleb Wilson to develop if they’re going to be a legit contender.

Veesaar finished with 13 points on 6-of-9 shooting (the only Tar Heel to shoot above 50% from the field), 6 rebounds and a plus/minus of -2 in 28 minutes. His plus/minus was second only to Jarin Stevenson’s -1 among Carolina’s starters; Luka Bogavac finished at -14, Caleb Wilson at -19 and Kyan Evans at -24.