By R.L. Bynum

No. 19 North Carolina got a pretty good challenge in its opener on Monday night, but that probably won’t be the case on Sunday.

The Tar Heels (1–0) welcome Lehigh to the Smith Center at 2 p.m. (ACC Network) after pulling away from Radford on Monday for an 86–70 victory.

The Mountain Hawks are 0–2 and have lost four straight games after going 16–14 last season.

They lost their opener 84–78 at home Monday to Cornell and will be playing their second road game in three days after suffering a 74–65 defeat at Penn State on Friday night. Former UNC guard D’Marco Dunn started and scored nine points for the Nittany Lions in that game.

While Radford (1–1), which beat Marshall 66–62 on Friday, has a KenPom ranking of 155, Lehigh is at 260.

Carolina fans will remember Lehigh for becoming the second No. 15 seed to beat a No. 2 seed when it upset Duke 75–70 in Greensboro in the 2012 NCAA tournament. Lehigh hasn’t played Carolina since a 62–58 Tar Heels victory in Woollen Gym in 1941.

Lehigh, picked to finish second in the Patriot League, is led by preseason all-conference selections Tyler Whitney-Sidney (6–2 junior guard averaging 16.0 points in the first two games) Keith Higgins Jr. (6–4 junior guard; 15.5 points), who combined for 40% of the Mountain Hawks’ scoring last season. Senior 6–9 center Dominic Parolin averages 10 points and a team-leading 7.5 rebounds.

There was a lot for Coach Hubert Davis to like from the Radford win.

“We have guys that can consistently make shots from the outside and what that does is it gives us spacing to be able to throw the ball into the post,” Davis said. “It gives us spacing to be able to penetrate and get to the basket.”

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He approached the game more like Roy Williams always did with early-season contests, playing a lot of players. It remains to be seen whether that pattern will be sustained once ACC play starts.

“We’ve got 11 starters,” Davis said. “Guys can come in at any time and contribute and not only can contribute but can make impactful plays on both ends of the floor to give us a chance to be the best team that we can possibly become.”

Eight players played at least 11 minutes, with only fifth-year Notre Dame transfer Cormac Ryan playing more than 30 minutes.

Armando Bacot led four starters to score in double figures with 25 points and 13 rebounds.

NOTES — UNC’s starting five against Radford of Bacot, Ryan, RJ Davis, Paxson Wojcik and Harrison Ingram have combined to make 421 college starts, led by Bacot’s 132. … George Glamack scored 33 points to lead UNC in that 1941 win over Lehigh. … On the ACC Network call of the Lehigh game will be Anish Schroff, the radio voice of the Carolina Panthers, and former Boston College star Malcolm Huckaby. … Marcus Ginyard, who was the analyst on the streaming TV broadcast of the exhibition victory over St. Augustine’s, will be the Tar Heel Sports Network analyst for the game. … This will be UNC’s first game against a team currently in the Patriot League since Carolina beat Loyola Maryland on Nov. 9, 2021, in Hubert Davis’ head-coaching debut. … After the Lehigh game, UNC faces UC Riverside at 8 p.m. Friday before playing in the Battle 4 Atlantis in the Bahamas, facing Northern Iowa at noon Wednesday, Nov. 22, in the first round.

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UNC schedule

Date	Month/day	Opponent/event (final ranks)
	October	Exhibitions
9	7 p.m. Friday	vs. USC in Greensboro
18	5 p.m. Sunday	vs. Indiana in Indianapolis
27	Tuesday	vs. Charlotte
	November	Regular season
2	Monday	vs. Western Carolina
6	Friday	vs. Wofford
10	Tuesday	vs. Wyoming
13	Friday	vs. Georgia
20	Friday	vs. Marshall
23	Monday	vs. Monmouth
27	Friday, 7 p.m.	Dick Vitale Invitational vs. West Virginia in Charlotte
	December
1	Tuesday	ACC/SEC Challenge vs. No. 13 Arkansas
6	Sunday	vs. Butler
12	Saturday afternoon	at Georgetown
15	7 p.m. Tuesday	Tobacco Road Classic vs. N.C. State in Greensboro
19	2:30 Saturday, CBS	CBS Sports Classic vs. Kentucky in New York
21	Monday	vs. The Citadel
30	Wednesday	vs. California
	January
2	Saturday	at Boston College
5	7 p.m. Tuesday	at Louisville
9	Saturday	vs. N.C. State
13	Wednesday	at Florida State
16	Saturday	vs. Stanford
19	Tuesday	vs. No. 17 Virginia
23	Saturday	at Syracuse
26	Tuesday	vs. SMU
30	Saturday	Nashville Hoops Showdown vs. No. 5 Illinois in Nashville, Tenn.
	February
2	Tuesday	at Notre Dame
6	Saturday	vs. Georgia Tech
8	Monday, 7 p.m, ESPN	vs. Louisville
13	Saturday	at No. 4 Duke
20	Saturday	at Wake Forest
22	Monday, 7 p.m, ESPN	vs. No. 24 Miami
27	Saturday	at Virginia Tech
	March
2	Tuesday	at Pittsburgh
6	Saturday	vs. No. 4 Duke
9–13	Tues.-Sat.	ACC tournament in Greensboro

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No.	Class	Player	Pos.	Hgt	Wgt
25	Freshman	Maximo Adams (MAX-ih-mo)	F	6–7	220
30	Freshman	Malloy Smith	G	6–5	180
21	Freshman	Sayon Keita (SIGH-on KAY-tuh)	C	7–0	205
5	Freshman	Kevin Thomas	W	6–6	205
35	Sophomore	Cade Bennerman — U	C	7–0	205
17	Sophomore	Neo Avdalas — W (NEE-oh ahv-DOLL-lus)	G	6–9	220
2	Sophomore	Isaiah Denis	G	6–4	185
3	Sophomore	Matt Able — X	G	6–5	200
22	Junior	Alexandros Samodurov (Alex-ANN-drose SAH-muh-DUHR-off)	C	6–11	225
1	Senior	Terrence Brown — Y	G	6–3	180
4	Senior	Jaydon Young (JAY-din)	G	6–4	200
15	Senior	Jarin Stevenson (JARE-in)	F	6–10	220
14	Graduate	Angelo Brizzi — Z (BRIZZ-ee)	G	6–3	200
54	Graduate	Cameron Fens — V (Fenz)	C	7–0	255
		Walk-ons
99	Junior	John Holbrook — SA	F	6–8	230
32	Senior	Evan Smith	G	6–1	200

V — South Dakota transfer; U — Northwestern transfer; W — Virginia Tech transfer; X — N.C. State transfer; Y — Utah transfer; Z — Buffalo transfer; SA — Holbrook is a designated student-athlete, so he doesn’t count against UNC’s 15-player limit.

Coach Michael Malone’s coaching staff — Associate head coach Chuck Martin; assistant coaches Bryan Tibaldi (tih-BALL-dee), Sean May, Jorge Sanz (HOR-hey sahnth), Pat Sullivan and Brandon Robinson; Director of player development Deon Thompson.

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Players who entered transfer portal

Player	Class next season	Pos.	Hgt	Wgt	Next school
Luka Bogavac	Senior	W	6–6	215	Oklahoma State
James Brown	Senior	C	6–10	240	Howard
Derek Dixon	Sophomore	G	6–5	200	Arizona
Kyan Evans	Senior	G	6–2	175	Minnesota
Zayden High	Junior	C	6–10	230	South Florida
Jonathan Powell	Junior	G	6–6	190	Pittsburgh
Ivan Matlekovic	Junior	C	7–0	255	Pacific

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UNC schedule

Date	Month/day	Opponent/event (final ranks)
	October	Exhibitions
9	7 p.m. Friday	vs. USC in Greensboro
18	5 p.m. Sunday	vs. Indiana in Indianapolis
27	Tuesday	vs. Charlotte
	November	Regular season
2	Monday	vs. Western Carolina
6	Friday	vs. Wofford
10	Tuesday	vs. Wyoming
13	Friday	vs. Georgia
20	Friday	vs. Marshall
23	Monday	vs. Monmouth
27	Friday, 7 p.m.	Dick Vitale Invitational vs. West Virginia in Charlotte
	December
1	Tuesday	ACC/SEC Challenge vs. No. 13 Arkansas
6	Sunday	vs. Butler
12	Saturday afternoon	at Georgetown
15	7 p.m. Tuesday	Tobacco Road Classic vs. N.C. State in Greensboro
19	2:30 Saturday, CBS	CBS Sports Classic vs. Kentucky in New York
21	Monday	vs. The Citadel
30	Wednesday	vs. California
	January
2	Saturday	at Boston College
5	7 p.m. Tuesday	at Louisville
9	Saturday	vs. N.C. State
13	Wednesday	at Florida State
16	Saturday	vs. Stanford
19	Tuesday	vs. No. 17 Virginia
23	Saturday	at Syracuse
26	Tuesday	vs. SMU
30	Saturday	Nashville Hoops Showdown vs. No. 5 Illinois in Nashville, Tenn.
	February
2	Tuesday	at Notre Dame
6	Saturday	vs. Georgia Tech
8	Monday, 7 p.m, ESPN	vs. Louisville
13	Saturday	at No. 4 Duke
20	Saturday	at Wake Forest
22	Monday, 7 p.m, ESPN	vs. No. 24 Miami
27	Saturday	at Virginia Tech
	March
2	Tuesday	at Pittsburgh
6	Saturday	vs. No. 4 Duke
9–13	Tues.-Sat.	ACC tournament in Greensboro

Photo via @UNC_Basketball