By R.L. Bynum
Coach Hubert Davis’ fourth North Carolina team will face a challenging non-conference schedule that includes at least three — potentially six — opponents in Bart Torvik’s preseason Top 25.
UNC meets at least four teams — potentially 10 — that made the NCAA tournament field last season.
The school officially announced the nonconference schedule on Wednesday. It starts at home on Nov. 4 against Torvik No. 309 Elon before a marquee matchup at a classic venue four days later. The No. 9 Tar Heels take on No. 21 Kansas on Nov. 8 at Allen Fieldhouse.
It will be the second time Carolina has played in Lawrence, Kansas, and the first time since 1960. In 2025–26, the Jayhawks will play in Chapel Hill for the first time. Carolina and Kansas have combined for 10 NCAA championships, 250 wins and 37 Final Fours in 105 NCAA tournament appearances.
After a Nov. 15 game against No. 301 American, the Tar Heels head to Hawaii to face the No. 175 Rainbow Warriors on Nov. 22 before playing in the stacked Maui Invitational from Nov. 25 through 27. The field includes No. 1 and two-time reigning champion UConn, No. 4 Auburn, No. 5 Iowa State, No. 18 Michigan State and No. 23 Colorado. Except for Memphis, every other team in the field, which includes Colorado and Dayton, made last season’s NCAA tournament.
The Maui tournament returns to Lahaina for the first time since devastating fires forced the tournament to relocate to Honolulu for the 2023 tournament.
Carolina has won the Maui Invitational four times (1999, 2004, 2008 and 2016). The Tar Heels are 18–3 in Lahaina. UNC last played in the Maui Invitational in 2020, when the event was held in Asheville because of COVID-19.
UNC returns home on Dec. 4 for an ACC/SEC Challenge game against No. 14 Alabama, which ended the Tar Heels’ season by beating them in the West Regional semifinal.
The Tar Heels go from a home game against No. 174 La Salle on Dec. 14 to a Jumpman Invitational clash in Charlotte on Dec. 17 against No. 22 Florida before meeting No. 88 UCLA on Dec. 21 at Madison Square Garden in the CBS Sports Classic.
Carolina’s final non-conference game will be at the Smith Center on Dec. 29 against No. 305 Campbell.
UNC will likely play at least one ACC game in December, but the league hasn’t announced its schedule. The Tar Heels play home-and-home against Duke, N.C. State and Pittsburgh, only at home against Boston College, California, Georgia Tech, Miami, SMU, Stanford and Virginia and only on the road against Clemson, Florida State, Louisville, Notre Dame, Syracuse, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest.
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Roster assuming all players with eligibility other than Caleb Wilson, Henri Veesaar and the seven players who entered the transfer portal return, which would put UNC two under the 15-player limit. The class for next season is listed.
| No./ Stars | Class | Player | Pos. | Hgt | Wgt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 star | Freshman | Maximo Adams | SF | 6–7 | 205 |
| 3 star | Freshman | Malloy Smith | CG | 6–5 | 190 |
| 5 star | Freshman | Sayon Keita | C | 7–0 | 215 |
| 4 star | Freshman | Kevin Thomas | W | 6–7 | 190 |
| RS freshman | Cade Bennerman — W | C | 7–0 | 205 | |
| Sophomore | Neoklis Avdalas — X | G | 6–9 | 215 | |
| Sophomore | Isaiah Denis | G | 6–4 | 180 | |
| Sophomore | Matt Able — Y | G | 6–6 | 205 | |
| Senior | Terrence Brown — Z | G | 6–3 | 174 | |
| 4 | Senior | Jaydon Young | G | 6–4 | 200 |
| 15 | Senior | Jarin Stevenson | 4 | 6–10 | 215 |
| Walk-ons | |||||
| 25 | Junior | John Holbrook | 4 | 6–8 | 230 |
| 32 | Senior | Evan Smith | 2 | 6–1 | 195 |
W — Northwestern transfer. X — Virginia Tech transfer; Y — N.C. State transfer; Z — Utah transfer
Michael Malone’s coaching staff: Chuck Martin, Bryan Tibaldi, Sean May and Pat Sullivan; Deon Thompson will be a graduate assistant, and Brandon Robinson will reportedly have a support staff position.
Players who left in 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 |
Key offseason dates
Through Sunday — NBA Draft Combine in Chicago
May 27 (11:59 p.m.) — NCAA early-entry withdrawal deadline
June 13 — Deadline for international players to withdraw from NBA draft and maintain college eligibility
June 23–24 — NBA draft at Barclays Center in Brooklyn
Nonconference schedule so far
(Other than the ACC/SEC Challenge, games without links revealed from reporting by Alex Rosinski or Rocco Miller)
(11 of 14 games)
Nov. 2 — vs. Western Carolina
Nov. 6 — vs. Wofford
Nov. 10 — vs. Wyoming
Nov. 13 — vs. Georgia
Nov. 20 — vs. Marshall
Nov. 27 — vs. West Virginia at the Dick Vitale Invitational at Charlotte’s Spectrum Center
Dec. 1 or 2 — vs. SEC team in ACC/SEC Challenge (announced last year on June 12)
Dec. 12 — at Georgetown
Dec. 19 — vs. Kentucky in CBS Sports Classic at Madison Square Garden
Dec. 21 — vs. The Citadel
November or December — vs. Butler
Photo via @UNC_Basketball
