By R.L. Bynum

If you can’t make it to the Smith Center for top-ranked Carolina’s exhibition Friday night against Johnson C. Smith, the only way to watch at home is to stream the broadcast.

The television broadcast of the 7:30 game will stream on this ACC Network Extra (ESPN3) link, with Kyle Straub on the play-by-play and 2009 national champion Marcus Ginyard as the color analyst.

If you can’t access the stream, you can listen to the Tar Heel Sports Network radio call from Jones Angell and 1993 national champion Eric Montross on many affiliate stations, the GoHeels app or The Varsity Network app. Some radio affiliates will air high school football games instead of the Carolina exhibition.

Upper-level tickets are still available on the UNC Athletics website for $15.

Calling this a one-sided matchup would be an understatement. Johnson C. Smith’s win total all of last season is equal to Carolina’s number of victories in the NCAA tournament.

The Golden Bulls, picked to finish ninth in the 12-team CIAA, went 5–20 and finished last season with four consecutive losses and defeats in eight of their last nine games. Back for Johnson C. Smith is 6–9, 220-pound graduate student center Augustine Ominu, who averaged 14.3 points and 8.0 rebounds and earned All-CIAA honors last season.

Since 2003, the NCAA has allowed Division I schools to play two exhibition games against Division II or lower schools. They can also play one exhibition and one closed scrimmage against a Division I team. The Tar Heels have opted for the latter in recent years, with this season’s closed scrimmage last Saturday at home against Rutgers.

It’s no surprise that UNC is 23–0 in those preseason public exhibitions, including four wins against UNC Pembroke, with all of the exhibitions against North Carolina schools.

Carolina played two exhibition games in four of the first five seasons they were allowed. But since 2007, the Tar Heels have only played two exhibitions once, when they beat Fayetteville State and Belmont Abbey in 2014.

The most one-sided exhibition was the 78-point win (112–34) in that 2014 Belmont Abbey exhibition, and the closest was a 91–80 victory over Barton College in 2017. Only one regular-season win in program history came by a wider margin than that Belmont Abbey exhibition, an 84-point home win in 1985 over Manhattan (129–45).

Johnson C. Smith will become the seventh CIAA team to play Carolina in a preseason exhibition.

Other CIAA teams who have played exhibitions against Carolina are Elizabeth City State (83–55 last season), Fayetteville State (111–58 in 2014 and 94–58 in 2005), Shaw (114–62 in 2007 and 81–54 in 2012), Saint Augustine’s (110–79 in 2006), Winston-Salem State (96–61 in 2019 and 113–53 in 2004) and N.C. Central (97–59 in 2003).

The Eagles, who left the CIAA in 2007 and joined the MEAC in 2010, have since visited Carolina in regular-season games losses in 2009 (89–42), 2014 (76–60) and 2020 (73–67).

Friday’s exhibition leaves Livingstone College as the only CIAA school in North Carolina that’s never faced UNC in an exhibition.

Carolina has played Conference Carolinas teams six times, twice each against Belmont Abbey, Mount Olive and Barton.

UNC exhibition victories

2021 — 83–55 over Elizabeth City State (CIAA)
2019 — 96–61 over Winston-Salem State (CIAA)
2018 — 107–64 over Mount Olive (Conference Carolinas)
2017 — 91–80 over Barton College (Conference Carolinas)
2016 — 104–63 over UNC Pembroke (Peach Belt Conference)
2015 — 99–49 over Guilford (Old Dominion Athletic Conference)
2014 — 111–58 over Fayetteville State (CIAA); 112–34 over Belmont Abbey (Conference Carolinas)
2013 — 82–63 over UNC Pembroke (Peach Belt Conference)
2012 — 81–54 over Shaw (CIAA)
2011 — 100–58 over UNC Pembroke (Peach Belt Conference)
2010 — 108–67 over Barton College (Conference Carolinas)
2009 — 107–59 over Belmont Abbey (Conference Carolinas)
2008 — 102–62 over UNC Pembroke (Peach Belt Conference)
2007 — 114–62 over Shaw (CIAA); 107–52 over Lenoir-Rhyne (South Atlantic Conference)
2006 — 110–79 over St. Augustine’s (CIAA); 140–101 over Pfeiffer (South Atlantic Conference)
2005 — 94–58 over Fayetteville State (CIAA); 89–63 over Catawba (South Atlantic Conference)
2004 — 113–53 over Winston-Salem State (CIAA); 100–68 over Mount Olive (Conference Carolinas)
2003 — 97–59 over N.C. Central (CIAA)

Date	Month/day	Time/score	Opponent/event (current ranking)	Location	Record
	October
28	Friday	W, 101–40	Johnson C. Smith	Home	Exhibition
	November
7	Monday	W, 69–56	UNCW	Home	1–0
11	Friday	W, 102–86	College of Charleston	Home	2–0
15	Tuesday	W, 72–66	Gardner-Webb	Home	3–0
20	Sunday	W, 80–64	James Madison	Home	4–0
			Phil Knight Invitational
24	Thursday	W, 89–81	First round: Portland	Portland	5–0
25	Friday	L, 70–65	Semifinals: Iowa State	Portland	5–1
27	Sunday	L, 103–101, 4 OTs	Consolation: No. 1 Alabama	Portland	5–2
			ACC/Big Ten Challenge
30	Wednesday	L, 77–65	No. 21 Indiana	Bloomington, Ind.	5–3
	December
4	Sunday	L, 80–72	Virginia Tech	Blacksburg, Va.	5–4, 0–1 ACC
10	Saturday	W, 75–59	Georgia Tech	Home	6–4, 1–1 ACC
13	Tuesday	W, 100–67	The Citadel	Home	7–4
			*CBS Sports Classic*
17	Saturday	W, 89–84, OT	Ohio State	New York	8–4
			*Jumpman Invitational*
21	Wednesday	W, 80–76	Michigan	Charlotte	9–4
30	Friday	L, 76–74	Pittsburgh	Pittsburgh	9–5, 1–2 ACC
	January
4	Wednesday	W, 88–79	Wake Forest	Home	10–5, 2–2 ACC
7	Saturday	W, 81–64	Notre Dame	Home	11–5, 3–2 ACC
10	Tuesday	L, 65–58	No. 14 Virginia	Charlottesville	11–6, 3–3 ACC
14	Saturday	W, 80–59	Louisville	Louisville, Ky.	12–6, 4–3 ACC
17	Tuesday	W, 72–64	Boston College	Home	13–6, 5–3 ACC
21	Saturday	W, 80–69	N.C. State	Home	14–6, 6–3 ACC
24	Tuesday	W, 72–68	Syracuse	Syracuse, N.Y.	15–6, 7–3 ACC
	February
1	Wednesday	L, 65–64	Pittsburgh	Home	15–7, 7–4 ACC
4	Saturday	L, 63–57	No. 12 Duke	Durham	15–8, 7–5 ACC
7	Tuesday	L, 92–85	Wake Forest	Winston-Salem	15–9, 7–6 ACC
11	Saturday	W, 91–71	Clemson	Home	16–9, 8–6 ACC
13	Monday	L, 80–72	No. 16 Miami	Home	16–10, 8–7 ACC
19	Sunday	L, 77–69	N.C. State	Raleigh	16–11, 8–8 ACC
22	Wednesday	W, 63–59	Notre Dame	South Bend, Ind.	17–11, 9–8 ACC
25	Saturday	W, 71–63	No. 14 Virginia	Home	18–11, 10–8 ACC
27	Monday	W, 77–66	Florida State	Tallahassee, Fla.	19–11, 11–8 ACC
	March
4	Saturday	L, 62–57	No. 12 Duke	Home	19–12, 11–9 ACC
			*ACC tournament*
8	Wednesday	W, 85–61	Boston College	Greensboro	20–12
9	Thursday	L, 68–59	No. 14 Virginia	Greensboro	20–13