By R.L. Bynum

North Carolina’s men’s basketball schedule continued to take shape with a report that the Tar Heels will play a Dec. 14 home game against La Salle, the fifth known non-conference opponent.

Rocco Miller of bracketeer.org tweeted that news on Thursday about the LaSalle contest.

UNC is 2–1 against the Explorers, who went 16–17 last season. LaSalle beat Carolina 65–62 on Jan. 11, 1947, but the Tar Heels won 79–72 at The Palestra in Philadelphia on Jan. 3, 1987, and 96–82 on Jan. 9, 1988, at the Smith Center.

Several parts of the schedule were already known, including the season opener against Kansas on Nov. 8 at Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence, Kansas, and the Nov. 22 game at Hawaii.

The contest with the Rainbow Warriors is before the Maui Invitational, which is set for Nov. 25 through 27. The other seven teams in the field are Auburn, Colorado, two-time reigning national champion Connecticut, Dayton, Iowa State, Memphis and Michigan State.

UNC will face Florida in the third season of the Jumpman Invitational at Charlotte’s Spectrum Center, but the date has yet to be announced.

Carolina will meet UCLA in the CBS Sports Classic, but the date and location haven’t been announced.

The Tar Heels will also play in the second season of the ACC/SEC Challenge after meeting Tennessee last season in the inaugural Challenge. The schedule of games hasn’t been announced.

In ACC play, the Tar Heels will play home and away against Duke, N.C. State and Pittsburgh. UNC will only play Boston College, California, Georgia Tech, Miami, SMU, Stanford and Virginia at home. Carolina will only face Clemson, Florida State, Louisville, Notre Dame, Syracuse, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest on the road.

Key events, dates

Saturday, April 27, was the deadline for players to submit their names to the NBA draft
Wednesday was the deadline for players to enter the transfer portal
Next Saturday and Sunday — NBA G League Elite Camp in Chicago
May 12–19 — NBA Combine in Chicago
May 17–19 — Evaluation for high school players at NCAA-certified events (EYBL in Indianapolis is one of those)
May 29 at 11:59 p.m. — Deadline to withdraw from NBA draft and maintain college eligibility
June 16 at 5 p.m. — Deadline to withdraw from the NBA draft

UNC schedule so far

Nov. 8 — at Kansas (final AP rank No. 20; final NET ranking No. 19)
Nov. 22 — at Hawaii (final NET ranking No. 172)
Nov. 25–27 — Maui Invitational — Auburn (final AP rank No. 18; final NET ranking No. 5), Colorado (unranked; No. 25), Connecticut (No. 1; No. 2), Dayton (No. 24; No. 23), Iowa State (No. 8; No. 6), Memphis (unranked; No. 75), Michigan State (unranked; No. 24)
Dec. 14 — vs. La Salle (final NET ranking No. 195)
Likely in late November — Opponent TBA in ACC/SEC Challenge
December — vs. UCLA (final NET ranking No. 107) in CBS Sports Classic (date, location TBA)
December — vs. Florida (final NET ranking No. 29) in Jumpman Invitational at Charlotte’s Spectrum Center (date TBA)
— Games home and away against Duke, N.C. State and Pittsburgh
— Home games vs. Boston College, California, Georgia Tech, Miami, SMU, Stanford and Virginia
— Road games vs. Clemson, Florida State, Louisville, Notre Dame, Syracuse, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest
Note: 2024 NCAA tournament teams are in bold.

2024-25 UNC roster so far

No.	Class	Player	Pos.	Hgt	Wgt
—	Freshman	James Brown (4 star)	5	6–8	225
—	Freshman	Ian Jackson (5 star)	2	6–4	180
—	Freshman	Drake Powell (5 star)	2	6–5	185
3	Soph.	Elliot Cadeau	PG	6–1	180
1	Soph.	Zayden High	4	6–9	225
—	Junior	Cade Tyson	3	6–7	203
13	Junior	Jalen Washington	5	6–10	230
0	Junior	Seth Trimble	2	6–3	195
5	Graduate	RJ Davis	PG	6–0	180
24	Graduate	Jae’Lyn Withers	4	6–9	215