Is Hubert Davis following Krzyzewski’s scheduling philosophy?

By R.L. Bynum

For years, Mike Krzyzewski never scheduled true road non-conference games, only playing them in the defunct ACC/Big Ten Challenge. His Duke teams still faced tough opponents away from Cameron Indoor Stadium, but at neutral sites.

Many wondered why Krzyzewski didn’t schedule road tests for his team before ACC play. Part of his strategy seemed to be to simulate an NCAA tournament game atmosphere.

Two of the first three UNC schedules under Coach Hubert Davis have been similar — whether intentional or not — but it looks like that will change.

After playing at Michigan in a 2008 non-Challenge game, the closest Krzyzewki’s Duke teams came to true non-conference road games outside of the Challenge was playing UNCG at the Greensboro Coliseum in 2010, UNLV at what now is the Vegas Golden Knights’ arena in 2016 and St. John’s in Madison Square Garden in 2018.

Krzyzewski drew criticism for the practice that Jon Scheyer, his successor, has continued.

With no non-conference true road games next season, Davis’ Tar Heels will have played one such game in his first three seasons outside of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge — the Nov. 16, 2021, game at College of Charleston in his first season. Last season’s Phil Knight Invitational game against Portland was in Portland but not on its home court.

Last season’s only true road game was the ACC/Big Ten Challenge game at Indiana. With Carolina drawing a home game on Nov. 29 against Tennessee in the inaugural ACC/SEC Challenge, it won’t play on an opponent’s home court until ACC play.

Davis doesn’t appear to necessarily be embracing Krzyzewski’s scheduling philosophy, though, if the early 2024–25 schedule news is any indication. The Tar Heels will play at Kansas in the first game of a home-and-home contract and at Hawaii on its way to the Maui Invitational.

Not playing non-conference true road games seems to be a UNC trend for the upcoming school year since neither Mack Brown’s football team nor Courtney Banghart’s women’s basketball team will play a true road non-conference game — but both had such games last season.

After Banghart’s team played one true road non-conference game outside of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge the last two seasons (at James Madison last season and at TCU in 2021–22), her team won’t play on an opponent’s home court until ACC play next season.

The UNC women played at Minnesota two seasons ago and at Indiana last season in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.

Both Carolina basketball teams play challenging neutral-court games, including both facing Oklahoma in the Jumpman Invitational in Charlotte and both facing UConn.

It will likely feel like a road game when Banghart’s team plays the Huskies in Uncasville, Conn., on Dec. 10. Davis’ team faces the reigning NCAA champions in Madison Square Garden on Dec. 5, with many Huskies fans probably in the arena.

The UNC women will get many non-conference tests even without playing on a non-conference opponent’s home court. In addition to the Sooners, the Tar Heels face South Carolina at Carmichael Arena and could meet Iowa in the Gulf Coast Showcase.

Carolina’s men meet Kentucky in the CBS Sports Classic in Atlanta, and potentially Villanova and Arkansas, Memphis or Michigan at the Battle 4 Atlantis in the Bahamas.

Brown’s football team, which faces South Carolina in Charlotte on Sept. 2 to open the season, doesn’t play a true non-conference road game after playing at Appalachian State and Georgia State last season.

The atmosphere for true road games in football and basketball obviously can be more intimidating than in other sports, but UNC’s soccer, field hockey and volleyball teams haven’t shied away from scheduling them.

Coach Carlos Somoano’s men’s soccer team will play matches at East Tennessee State and Virginia Commonwealth. Coach Anson Dorrance’s women’s soccer team plays at Penn State, South Carolina and Alabama.

First-year coach Erin Matson’s field hockey team plays true road games at Penn, Old Dominion, Saint Joseph’s and Albany. First-year coach Mike Schall’s volleyball team plays true road matches at Arizona, Michigan and Michigan State.

The upside for Carolina fans is that the men’s basketball team plays six non-conference games (including the exhibition) in the Smith Center, the women’s basketball team is at Carmichael Arena for seven non-conference games and the football team plays three non-conference games at Kenan Stadium.