By R.L. Bynum
North Carolina’s men’s basketball non-conference opponents, except one, are known after the announcement Wednesday that the Tar Heels will face St. Bonaventure in the Fort Myers Tip-Off on Nov. 25, in addition to the previously announced Nov. 27 game, Thanksgiving Day, in the event against Michigan State.
A fourth team will be added to the Fort Myers field in the coming weeks. It will be the second all-time meeting with the Bonnies, who UNC beat 91–72 in the 1968 NCAA tournament. They went 21–11 last season and lost to Kent State in the first round of the NIT.
Led by Coach Mark Schmidt, who will enter his 19th season with the program, St. Bonaventure has been one of the most consistent programs in the Atlantic 10. The Bonnies have won 324 games in Schmidt’s 18 seasons, reached the 20-wins mark in three of the last four seasons and advanced to postseason play five times in the last nine seasons (not including the COVID season).
Started in 2018, the Fort Myers Tip-Off has regularly attracted top programs, including Gonzaga, Kansas, Auburn, 2025 national champion Florida, Ohio State, Marquette, Wisconsin, Virginia and Michigan.
Ten of 11 non-conference opponents are known (see list at bottom), several of which were reported by the Made For March blog. Jeff Goodman reported this week that they will face N.C. Central at home.
Only three of those are against power conference teams, and only two of those made the NCAA tournament. A fourth power conference opponent will come in the ACC/SEC Challenge.
This season, Carolina played 10 games against teams in the final AP Top 25 poll released Tuesday, including No. 1 and national champion Florida, No. 3 Duke (3 games), No. 4 Auburn, No. 6 Alabama, No. 7 Michigan State, No. 18 Ole Miss, No. 21 Louisville and No. 22 Clemson, in addition to an exhibition game against No. 25 Memphis.
The toughest matchups so far are the Nov. 14 home game against Kansas (21–13 last season; 24th in KenPom) — which UNC lost to at Lawrence, Kansas, last season — the matchup against Michigan State (30–7, 7th) and a likely CBS Sports Classic matchup with Ohio State (17–15, 37th). Those three are the only known opponents that finished higher than 151 in the KenPom rankings this season.
At No. 7, Michigan State is the only known non-conference opponent in the final AP poll, though it’s likely that the ACC/SEC Challenge opponent made that poll since seven SEC teams are in the final ranking.
UNC opens the season at home on Nov. 3 in the program’s first meeting with Central Arkansas, which ended up 9–24 with a 349 KenPom ranking.
On Nov. 11, the Tar Heels host Radford, which finished 20–13 with a 151 KenPom rank. After the Kansas game, Carolina faces Navy (15–19, 276) at home on Nov. 18 before the Thanksgiving Day game against Michigan State.
The Tar Heels’ ACC/SEC Challenge game is likely to be played on either Dec. 2 or Dec. 3, and it is expected to be a road game, given that they played at home in the first two seasons. The CBS Sports Classic is expected to be played on Dec. 20 against Ohio State, but the date and location have not been announced.
The only other known non-conference opponents are USC Upstate and East Carolina, both visiting the Smith Center in December, and N.C. Central at home. USC Upstate, 6–26 last season and 340th in KenPom, visits on Dec. 13. East Carolina, 19–14 with a 176 KenPom ranking, plays UNC on Dec. 22.
| 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.
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 |
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 | Dick Vitale Invitational vs. West Virginia in Charlotte |
| December | ||
| 1 | Tuesday | ACC/SEC Challenge vs. No. 13 Arkansas |
| 6 | Sunday | vs. Butler |
| 12 | Saturday | at Georgetown |
| 15 | 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 | 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 | vs. Louisville |
| 13 | Saturday | at No. 4 Duke |
| 20 | Saturday | at Wake Forest |
| 22 | Monday | 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
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