By R.L. Bynum
The ACC has approved reducing the men’s basketball conference schedule from 20 to 18 games, but the schedule will work differently from the 18-game format used last season in women’s basketball.
UNC and N.C. State could play only once in the regular season for the first time in 106 seasons.
Under the women’s schedule, teams only faced one opponent home and home (for North Carolina, it was Duke) and played every other ACC opponent once. That meant that UNC and N.C. State only played once during the regular season.
Each men’s team will play two opponents home and home. One for UNC will always be Duke, but the other will be “variable” for the Tar Heels, and that opponent for next season won’t be known until the ACC schedule is released. That will mean there will be one league team that UNC won’t face each season.
The logical second home-and-home opponent is N.C. State, but the ACC’s release suggests that this will only sometimes be the case. UNC and State have played twice in every regular season since 1920. They only played once in 1913 and 1919.
The move has been widely viewed as a way to help the league get more NCAA tournament berths after only four teams made the field last season. The ACC went to the 20-game schedule for the 2019–20 season. In March, the Big 12 reduced its conference schedule from 20 games to 18.
“Moving to an 18-game conference schedule is a direct result of our ongoing strategic review and analysis and provides our schools a better balance of non-conference and conference games, while also allowing them more autonomy in the scheduling process,” ACC commissioner Jim Phillips said. “This decision reflects our ongoing prioritization to do what’s best for ACC men’s basketball, and we appreciate the thoughtfulness of our membership and the support from our television partners.”
The ACC office collaborated with athletics directors, coaches, external consultants and television partners and worked with multiple experts to conduct statistical analysis to examine the conference’s basketball product, metrics and scheduling.
The first league games are expected to be scheduled for late December.
The other primary partners are: Boston College-Notre Dame, Clemson-Georgia Tech, California-Stanford, Florida State-Miami, Louisville-SMU, N.C. State-Wake Forest, Pittsburgh-Syracuse and Virginia Tech-Virginia.
The shift means that Carolina and every other ACC men’s team will schedule 13 nonconference games. Ten of the 13 opponents are already known (see schedule below).
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 for the 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
Thursday through May 28 — Kevin Thomas at USA Basketball U18 national team tryouts in Colorado Springs
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 courtesy of the ACC
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