UNC’s men’s basketball team will face reigning champion UConn in New York on Dec. 5

R.L. Bynum

By R.L. Bynum

The reported UNC men’s basketball matchup with reigning national champion UConn became official on Monday.

The Tar Heels and Huskies will play on Dec. 5 at Madison Square Garden in the Jimmy V Men’s Classic, with Florida Atlantic meeting Illinois in the other matchup. ESPN will televise both games, but start times haven’t been announced.

“It’s a great opportunity to play the defending national champions and return to Madison Square Garden, a special place that has meant a lot to me,” UNC coach Hubert Davis said. “Carolina fans were amazing when we played in the Garden last year against Ohio State, so we know the atmosphere will be something special. It’s also a blessing and honor to play in this year’s Jimmy V Classic as Coach [Jim] Valvano is being inducted into the Hall of Fame this year. It should be a great night to celebrate Coach Valvano and college basketball.”

Davis has said he wants his teams to play often in the New York City area. Last season, the Tar Heels beat Ohio State 89–84 in overtime in Madison Square Garden as part of the CBS Sports Classic.

Carolina is 30–11 in Madison Square Garden and 44–25 all-time in New York City. Senior R.J. Davis (White Plains, N.Y.) and graduate Notre Dame transfer Cormac Ryan (New York City) are from the area.

This is Carolina’s third Jimmy V Classic appearance. UNC beat Massachusetts 83–69 on Dec. 20, 1996, and lost to Indiana 82–73 on Dec. 21, 1999. Both of those games were played in the Meadowlands in East Rutherford, N.J.

This will be the first matchup between UNC and UConn since Feb. 13, 2005, a 77–70 victory for the No. 2 Tar Heels against the No. 19 Huskies at the Hartford Civic Center behind 16 points, 10 assists and five steals from Raymond Felton. Jawad Williams led the scoring with 17 points, with Sean May collecting 16 points and 13 rebounds. The Heels, of course, went on to win the NCAA title that season.

The Huskies’ only win in six meetings came 86–54 at Storrs, Conn., on Jan. 19, 2002, the only time they’ve met with both teams unranked.

No. 1 UNC beat No. 6 UConn 75–64 in the 1998 NCAA East Regional final at the Greensboro Coliseum to earn a Final Four berth. Antawn Jamison had 20 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Tar Heels.

The programs have won a combined 11 national titles.

The field boasts three teams that have made Final Four runs in the past two NCAA tournaments, including reigning NCAA champion UConn, North Carolina (2022 NCAA championship game), and Florida Atlantic (2023 Final Four).

The Huskies are making their fifth appearance in the Jimmy V Classic.

Three of the event’s teams made ESPN’s ‘Way-Too-Early Top 25’ rankings, with Connecticut (No. 5) and Florida Atlantic (No. 9) in the Top 10 and North Carolina at No. 15.

The Fighting Illini, who played in the inaugural Jimmy V Classic at Madison Square Garden in 2003, have participated in the last three NCAA tournaments under coach Brad Underwood.

UNC vs. UConn

Carolina leads series 5–1
Dec. 6, 1990, at Smith Center in ACC/Big East Challenge (Coach Dean Smith) — No. 10 UNC 79, No. 14 UConn 64
March 21, 1998, at the Greensboro Coliseum in the NCAA tournament (Coach Bill Guthridge) — No. 1 UNC 75, No. 6 UConn 64
Jan. 19, 2002, at Gampel Pavilion in Storrs, Conn. (Coach Matt Doherty) — UConn 86, UNC 54
Jan. 18, 2003, at Smith Center (Doherty) — UNC 68, No. 6 UConn 64
Jan. 17, 2004, at Smith Center (Coach Roy Williams) — No. 9 UNC 86, No. 1 UConn 83
Feb. 13, 2005, at Hartford Civic Center (Williams) — No. 2 UNC 77, No. 19 UConn 70

DateMonth/dayTimeOpponent/event
(current ranks)		TV/
record
October
24FridayL, 78–76vs. No. 10 BYU in SLCExhib.
29WednesdayW, 95–53vs. Winston-Salem St.Exhib.
November
3MondayW, 94–54vs. Central Arkansas1–0
7FridayW, 87–74vs. No. 17 Kansas2–0
11TuesdayW, 89–74vs. Radford3–0
14FridayW, 97–53vs. N.C. Central4–0
18TuesdayW, 73–61vs. Navy5–0
Fort Myers Tip-Off
25TuesdayW, 85–70vs. St. Bonaventure6–0
27ThursdayL, 74–58vs. No. 9 Michigan State6–1
DecemberACC/SEC
Men’s Challenge
2TuesdayW, 67–64at Kentucky7–1
—————————
7SundayW, 81–61vs. Georgetown8–1
13SaturdayW, 80–62vs. USC Upstate9–1
16TuesdayW, 77–58vs. ETSU10–1
CBS Sports Classic
in Atlanta
20SaturdayW, 71–70vs. Ohio State11–1
—————————
22Monday8 p.m.vs. East CarolinaACCN
30Tuesday7 p.m.vs. Florida StateESPN2
January
3Saturday2:15at SMUThe CW
10Saturday6 p.m.vs. Wake ForestACCN
14Wednesday9 p.m.at StanfordACCN
17Saturday4 p.m.at CaliforniaACCN
21Wednesday7 p.m.vs. Notre DameESPN2
24Saturday2 or 2:30at No. 23 VirginiaESPN or
ESPNU
31Saturday2 p.m.at Georgia TechACCN
February
2Monday7 p.m.vs. SyracuseESPN
7Saturday6:30vs. No. 3 DukeESPN
10Tuesday7 p.m.at MiamiESPN or
ESPN2
14Saturday2 p.m.vs. PittsburghESPN
17Tuesday7 p.m.at N.C. StateESPN or
ESPN2
21Saturday1 p.m.at SyracuseABC
23Monday7 p.m.vs. No. 11 LouisvilleESPN
28Saturday6:30 or 8:30vs. Virginia TechESPN or
ESPN2
March
3Tuesday7 p.m.vs. ClemsonESPN or
ESPN2
7Saturday6:30at No. 3 DukeESPN
10–14Tues.-Sat.ACC
tournament		Spectrum Center,
Charlotte

No.ClassPlayerPos.HgtWgt
8FreshmanCaleb Wilson (5 star)46–10215
5FreshmanIsaiah Denis (4 star)CG6–4180
3FreshmanDerek Dixon (4 star)CG6–5200
40SophomoreIvan Matlekovic57–0255
11SophomoreJonathan PowellG6–6190
2SophomoreJames Brown 56–10240
1SophomoreZayden High46–10230
44JuniorLuca Bogavac
(BO-guh-VAHTS)		W6–6215
4JuniorJaydon Young26–4200
13RS juniorHenri Veesaar
(VEH-sar)		57–0225
0JuniorKyan Evans16–2175
15JuniorJarin Stevenson46–10215
7SeniorSeth Trimble26–3200
Walk-ons
25SophomoreJohn Holbrook46–8230
32JuniorEvan Smith26–1195
6RS seniorElijah Davis26–3205

Former UNC players who transferred

PlayerClass next seasonPos.HgtWgtNext school
Elliot CadeauJuniorPG6–1180Michigan
Jalen WashingtonSeniorC6–10235Vanderbilt
Ian JacksonSophomoreG6–4190St. John’s
Cade TysonSeniorF6–7200Minnesota
Ven-Allen LubinSeniorC6–8230N.C. State
DateMonth/dayTimeOpponent/event
(current ranks)		TV/
record
October
24FridayL, 78–76vs. No. 10 BYU in SLCExhib.
29WednesdayW, 95–53vs. Winston-Salem St.Exhib.
November
3MondayW, 94–54vs. Central Arkansas1–0
7FridayW, 87–74vs. No. 17 Kansas2–0
11TuesdayW, 89–74vs. Radford3–0
14FridayW, 97–53vs. N.C. Central4–0
18TuesdayW, 73–61vs. Navy5–0
Fort Myers Tip-Off
25TuesdayW, 85–70vs. St. Bonaventure6–0
27ThursdayL, 74–58vs. No. 9 Michigan State6–1
DecemberACC/SEC
Men’s Challenge
2TuesdayW, 67–64at Kentucky7–1
—————————
7SundayW, 81–61vs. Georgetown8–1
13SaturdayW, 80–62vs. USC Upstate9–1
16TuesdayW, 77–58vs. ETSU10–1
CBS Sports Classic
in Atlanta
20SaturdayW, 71–70vs. Ohio State11–1
—————————
22Monday8 p.m.vs. East CarolinaACCN
30Tuesday7 p.m.vs. Florida StateESPN2
January
3Saturday2:15at SMUThe CW
10Saturday6 p.m.vs. Wake ForestACCN
14Wednesday9 p.m.at StanfordACCN
17Saturday4 p.m.at CaliforniaACCN
21Wednesday7 p.m.vs. Notre DameESPN2
24Saturday2 or 2:30at No. 23 VirginiaESPN or
ESPNU
31Saturday2 p.m.at Georgia TechACCN
February
2Monday7 p.m.vs. SyracuseESPN
7Saturday6:30vs. No. 3 DukeESPN
10Tuesday7 p.m.at MiamiESPN or
ESPN2
14Saturday2 p.m.vs. PittsburghESPN
17Tuesday7 p.m.at N.C. StateESPN or
ESPN2
21Saturday1 p.m.at SyracuseABC
23Monday7 p.m.vs. No. 11 LouisvilleESPN
28Saturday6:30 or 8:30vs. Virginia TechESPN or
ESPN2
March
3Tuesday7 p.m.vs. ClemsonESPN or
ESPN2
7Saturday6:30at No. 3 DukeESPN
10–14Tues.-Sat.ACC
tournament		Spectrum Center,
Charlotte

Photo via @UNC_Basketball

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Published by R.L. Bynum

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