By R.L. Bynum
For the first time in 11 years, North Carolina will play at Kentucky in men’s basketball, with next season’s meeting being part of the ACC/SEC Men’s Challenge.
The Challenge will include a matchup of Final Four teams with reigning national champion Florida playing at Duke. In his first season as N.C. State coach, Will Wade’s team will play at Auburn, which also made the Final Four.
The Challenge will likely be held the first week in December, with the UNC-UK game on Tuesday, Dec. 2, but the time hasn’t been set.
On more scheduling news, Kansas released its nonconference schedule, and it shows that the Jayhawks’ game at UNC will be on Friday, Nov. 7. Just like last season, the Kansas game is four days after UNC’s opener on Monday. Carolina hosts Central Arkansas on Monday, Nov. 3.
This will be the third season of the Challenge and the first one in which UNC will play on the road. Last season, No. 10 Alabama beat No. 20 Carolina 94–79. In 2023, No. 17 UNC beat No. 10 Tennessee 100–92.
The most memorable UNC-UK meeting, of course, was 2017 when Luke Maye’s shot (top photo) beat Kentucky 75–73 in the South Regional final in Memphis on the Tar Heels’ road to the national championship.
In Kentucky’s first season under Coach Mark Pope, the Wildcats went 24–12 and lost to SEC rival Tennessee 87–65 in the Sweet 16.
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UNC has lost the last two meetings with the Wildcats, both in the CBS Sports Classic: 87–83 in Atlanta in 2023, when UNC was ranked No. 9 and Kentucky No. 14, and 98–69 in Las Vegas 2021, when the Tar Heels were unranked and the Wildcats were ranked No. 21.
Carolina is 2–5 at Rupp Arena, with both wins coming in a stretch from 2004 to 2008 when the Tar Heels won five consecutive games. An unranked UNC team upset No. 10 Kentucky 83–79 at Rupp on Dec. 3, 2005. The No. 1 Tar Heels rolled to an 86–77 victory on Nov. 18, 2008, against an unranked Wildcats team.
Overall, UNC leads the series 25–18, including 6–8 in all games in Lexington, Ky.
In other matchups, Virginia is at Texas, Clemson at Alabama, Louisville at Arkansas, Oklahoma at Wake Forest, SMU at Vanderbilt, Texas A&M at Pittsburgh, Mississippi State at Georgia Tech, Miami at Ole Miss, LSU at Boston College, Virginia Tech at South Carolina, Tennessee at Syracuse, Missouri at Notre Dame and Georgia at Florida State.
Neither California nor Stanford will play in this season’s men’s Challenge.
ACC/SEC Men’s Challenge matchups
Tuesday, Dec. 2
North Carolina at Kentucky
Florida at Duke
Georgia at Florida State
Miami at Ole Miss
Missouri at Notre Dame
Texas A&M at Pitt
Tennessee at Syracuse
Virginia Tech at South Carolina
Oklahoma at Wake Forest
Wednesday, Dec. 3
LSU at Boston College
Clemson at Alabama
Mississippi State at Georgia Tech
Louisville at Arkansas
N.C. State at Auburn
SMU at Vanderbilt
Virginia at Texas
| 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 afternoon | at Georgetown |
| 15 | 7 p.m. 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 | 7 p.m. 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, 7 p.m, ESPN | vs. Louisville |
| 13 | Saturday | at No. 4 Duke |
| 20 | Saturday | at Wake Forest |
| 22 | Monday, 7 p.m, ESPN | 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
