By R.L. Bynum
Neither North Carolina nor the ACC fares well in the preseason KenPom men’s college basketball ratings.
Ken Pomeroy’s ratings have the No. 25-ranked Tar Heels No. 33, with only three ACC teams ahead of them: No. 6-ranked Duke at No. 7, No. 11-ranked Louisville at No. 14 and Clemson at No. 32.
The KenPom ranks for the rest of the league are: No. 38 N.C. State, No. 43 SMU, No. 49 Wake Forest, No. 59 Virginia, No. 63 Pittsburgh, No. 68 Syracuse, No. 70 Georgia Tech, No. 71 Virginia Tech, No. 76 Miami, No. 77 Notre Dame, No. 87 California, No. 89 Stanford, No. 90 Boston College (which UNC won’t play) and No. 96 Florida State.
Given the strength of Carolina’s league schedule that KenPom suggests, it’s good for the Tar Heels that they will face No. 4 Kentucky (Dec. 2 on the road; ranked No. 9), No. 21 Kansas (Nov. 7 at home; ranked No. 19), No. 25 Michigan State (Nov. 27 in Fort Myers, Fla.; ranked No. 22) and No. 27 Ohio State (Dec. 20 at the CBS Sports Classic in Atlanta) during nonconference play. UNC faces No. 18 BYU in a preseason exhibition game.
Carolina plays a scrimmage Saturday at Cherokee High School before heading to Salt Lake City on Oct. 24 for that BYU exhibition. After an Oct. 29 home exhibition game against Winston-Salem State, UNC opens the season with five home games, including the Kansas game. The others are Nov. 3 against Central Arkansas, Nov. 11 against Radford, Nov. 14 against N.C. Central and Nov. 18 against Navy.
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| Date | Time/ scores | Month/day | Opponent/event (current ranks) | TV |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October | Exhibitions | |||
| 9 | W, 88–70 | Friday | vs. No. 21 USC in Greensboro | |
| 18 | L, 76–58 | Sunday | vs. Indiana in Indianapolis | |
| 27 | 7:30 | Tuesday | vs. Charlotte | ACCN Extra |
| November | Regular season | |||
| 2 | 7 p.m. | Monday | vs. Western Carolina | ACCN |
| 6 | 7 p.m. | Friday | vs. Wofford | ACCN |
| 10 | 7 p.m. | Tuesday | vs. Wyoming | ACCN |
| 13 | 7 p.m. | Friday | vs. Georgia | ESPN2 |
| 20 | 9 p.m. | Friday | vs. Marshall | ACCN |
| 23 | 7 p.m. | Monday | vs. Monmouth | ACCN |
| 27 | 7 p.m. | Friday | Dick Vitale Invitational vs. West Virginia in Charlotte | ESPN |
| December | ||||
| 1 | 7:30 | Tuesday | ACC/SEC Challenge vs. No. 12 Arkansas | ESPN |
| 6 | 3 p.m. | Sunday | vs. Butler | ESPN2 |
| 12 | Noon | Saturday | at Georgetown | Peacock |
| 15 | 7 p.m. | Tuesday | Tobacco Road Classic vs. N.C. State in Greensboro | ESPN2 |
| 19 | 2:30 | Saturday | CBS Sports Classic vs. No. 23 Kentucky in New York | CBS |
| 21 | 8 p.m. | Monday | vs. The Citadel | The CW |
| 30 | 4 p.m. | Wednesday | vs. California | ACCN |
| January | ||||
| 2 | 4 p.m. | Saturday | at Boston College | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| 5 | 9 p.m. | Tuesday | at No. 11 Louisville | ESPN or ESPNU |
| 9 | Noon | Saturday | vs. N.C. State | ESPN2 |
| 13 | 7 p.m. | Wednesday | at Florida State | ESPN2 or ESPNU |
| 16 | 2:15 | Saturday | vs. Stanford | The CW |
| 19 | 9 p.m. | Tuesday | vs. No. 9 Virginia | ESPN |
| 23 | Noon | Saturday | at Syracuse | ESPN or 2 or U |
| 26 | 7 p.m. | Tuesday | vs. SMU | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| 30 | 6 or 6:30 | Saturday | Nashville Hoops Showdown vs. No. 3 Illinois in Nashville, Tenn. | ESPN |
| February | ||||
| 2 | 7 p.m. | Tuesday | at Notre Dame | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| 6 | 2:15 | Saturday | vs. Georgia Tech | The CW |
| 8 | 6 p.m. | Monday | vs. No. 11 Louisville | ESPN |
| 13 | 5:30 | Saturday | at No. 2 Duke | ABC |
| 20 | 7 p.m. | Saturday | at Wake Forest | ACCN |
| 22 | 7 p.m. | Monday | vs. No. 14 Miami | ESPN |
| 27 | 7 p.m. | Saturday | at Virginia Tech | ESPN |
| March | ||||
| 2 | 9 p.m. | Tuesday | at Pittsburgh | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| 6 | 6 or 6:30 | Saturday | vs. No. 2 Duke | ESPN |
| 9–13 | Tues.-Sat. | ACC tournament in Greensboro |
| No. | Class | Player | Pos. | Hgt | Wgt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25 | Freshman | Maxi Adams | 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 | Alex Samodurov (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.
Former players at other schools
| Player | Class | 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 |
Photo by Joshua Lawton
