By R.L. Bynum

North Carolina will face Dayton in the first round of the Maui Invitational when the Tar Heels play in Maui for the first time since 2016 and for a record ninth time. There will be some late games for Tar Heels fans in North Carolina.

The UNC-Dayton game will start at about 11:30 p.m. ET on Monday, Nov. 25, and air on ESPN2.

On Tuesday, Nov. 26, UNC will face either Auburn or Iowa State (11 p.m. ET if the Tar Heels beat Dayton and 8:30 p.m. ET if they lose). Carolina wouldn’t face two-time reigning national champion UConn until the third day of the event.

Should Carolina make the championship games, fans finally won’t have to stay up late because that game will start at 5 p.m. ET

In first-round matchups on the other side of the bracket, UConn will face Memphis and Michigan State will take on Colorado.

Dayton is one of four teams in the field, along with UNC, that has won the event. The Flyers, who won in 2003, went 25–8 last season and lost 87–68 to Arizona in the second round of the NCAA tournament.

Dayton beat UNC 79–68 in the 2010 NIT championship game.

The Tar Heels, 18–3 in Lahaina, have won the tournament four of the last five times it’s been played in Maui — 1999, 2004, 2008 and 2016 — winning the NCAA tournament those previous three seasons. They played in the tournament during the 2020 pandemic in Asheville.

Other teams in the field that have won the tournament are UConn (2005 and 2010), Memphis (1992 and 2006), Michigan State (1991), and Auburn (2018)

Carolina, one of seven teams in the Maui field that played in last season’s NCAA tournament, will move past Kansas and Arizona (eight each) for the most Maui Invitational appearances by schools in the continental United States. Chaminade, located in Honolulu, has played in the event 37 times.

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The Tar Heel Tribune Facebook group moved to a new location. Follow the page at this link so that you don’t miss any UNC sports coverage.

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UNC visits Hawaii in Honolulu on Nov. 22, four days before the tournament begins.

Because of the wildfires in Maui, the event was held in Honolulu last season but will return to the Lahaina Civic Center this season.

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Maui Invitational

First round on Monday, Nov. 25
UConn vs. Memphis, 2:30 ET, ESPN2
Michigan State vs. Colorado, 5 p.m. ET, ESPN2
Auburn vs. Iowa State, 9 p.m. ET, ESPNU
North Carolina vs. Dayton, 11:30 p.m. ET, ESPN2
Tuesday, Nov. 26
Semifinals
Michigan State vs. Colorado winner vs. UConn vs. Memphis winner, 6 p.m. ET
North Carolina vs. Dayton winner vs. Auburn vs. Iowa State winner, 11 p.m. ET
Consolation games
Michigan State vs. Colorado loser vs. UConn vs. loser, 1:30 ET
North Carolina vs. Dayton loser vs. Auburn vs. Iowa State loser, 8:30 p.m. ET
Wednesday, Nov. 27
Fifth-place game, 2:30 p.m. ET
Championship game, 5 p.m. ET
Third-place game, 9:30 p.m. ET
Seventh-place game, midnight ET

No.	Class	Player	Pos.	Hgt	Wgt
8	Freshman	Caleb Wilson (5 star)	4	6–10	215
5	Freshman	Isaiah Denis (4 star)	CG	6–4	180
3	Freshman	Derek Dixon (4 star)	CG	6–5	200
40	Sophomore	Ivan Matlekovic	5	7–0	255
11	Sophomore	Jonathan Powell	G	6–6	190
2	Sophomore	James Brown	5	6–10	240
1	Sophomore	Zayden High	4	6–10	230
44	Junior	Luca Bogavac (BO-guh-VAHTS)	W	6–6	215
4	Junior	Jaydon Young	2	6–4	200
13	RS junior	Henri Veesaar (VEH-sar)	5	7–0	225
0	Junior	Kyan Evans	1	6–2	175
15	Junior	Jarin Stevenson	4	6–10	215
7	Senior	Seth Trimble	2	6–3	200
		Walk-ons
25	Sophomore	John Holbrook	4	6–8	230
32	Junior	Evan Smith	2	6–1	195
6	RS senior	Elijah Davis	2	6–3	205

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Former UNC players who transferred

Player	Class next season	Pos.	Hgt	Wgt	Next school
Elliot Cadeau	Junior	PG	6–1	180	Michigan
Jalen Washington	Senior	C	6–10	235	Vanderbilt
Ian Jackson	Sophomore	G	6–4	190	St. John’s
Cade Tyson	Senior	F	6–7	200	Minnesota
Ven-Allen Lubin	Senior	C	6–8	230	N.C. State

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Date	Month/day	Time	Opponent/event (current ranks)	TV/ record
	October
24	Friday	L, 78–76	vs. No. 13 BYU in SLC	Exhib.
29	Wednesday	W, 95–53	vs. Winston-Salem St.	Exhib.
	November
3	Monday	W, 94–54	vs. Central Arkansas	1–0
7	Friday	W, 87–74	vs. No. 14 Kansas	2–0
11	Tuesday	W, 89–74	vs. Radford	3–0
14	Friday	W, 97–53	vs. N.C. Central	4–0
18	Tuesday	W, 73–61	vs. Navy	5–0
			Fort Myers Tip-Off
25	Tuesday	W, 85–70	vs. St. Bonaventure	6–0
27	Thursday	L, 74–58	vs. No. 7 Michigan State	6–1
	December		ACC/SEC Men’s Challenge
2	Tuesday	W, 67–64	at Kentucky	7–1
			—————————
7	Sunday	W, 81–61	vs. Georgetown	8–1
13	Saturday	W, 80–62	vs. USC Upstate	9–1
16	Tuesday	W, 77–58	vs. ETSU	10–1
			CBS Sports Classic in Atlanta
20	Saturday	W, 71–70	vs. Ohio State	11–1
			—————————
22	Monday	W, 99–51	vs. East Carolina	12–1
30	Tuesday	W, 79–66	vs. Florida State	13–1, 1–0 ACC
	January
3	Saturday	L, 97–83	at SMU	13–2, 1–1
10	Saturday	W, 87–84	vs. Wake Forest	14–2, 2–1
14	Wednesday	L, 95–90	at Stanford	14–3, 2–2
17	Saturday	L, 84–78	at California	14–4, 2–3
21	Wednesday	W, 91–69	vs. Notre Dame	15–4, 3–3
24	Saturday	W, 85–80	at No. 17 Virginia	16–4, 4–3
31	Saturday	2 p.m.	at Georgia Tech	ACCN
	February
2	Monday	7 p.m.	vs. Syracuse	ESPN
7	Saturday	6:30	vs. No. 4 Duke	ESPN
10	Tuesday	7 p.m.	at Miami	ESPN or ESPN2
14	Saturday	2 p.m.	vs. Pittsburgh	ESPN
17	Tuesday	7 p.m.	at N.C. State	ESPN or ESPN2
21	Saturday	1 p.m.	at Syracuse	ABC
23	Monday	7 p.m.	vs. No. 20 Louisville	ESPN
28	Saturday	6:30 or 8:30	vs. Virginia Tech	ESPN or ESPN2
	March
3	Tuesday	7 p.m.	vs. No. 22 Clemson	ESPN or ESPN2
7	Saturday	6:30	at No. 4 Duke	ESPN
10–14	Tues.-Sat.	ACC tournament	Spectrum Center, Charlotte

Image via mauiinvitational.com