By R.L. Bynum
The trip is only for two games, but for East Coast ACC teams, it can feel like a weeklong slog.
When No. 17 North Carolina tips off at Stanford at 9 p.m. ET on Wednesday, it will be stepping into a pattern that has already tested other league programs. The late start will follow a cross-country trip to an unfamiliar gym, then they turn around to play at California three days later at 4 p.m. ET on Saturday, in another arena new to the players. An added dynamic for the Tar Heels is that both will be Quad 1 games.
The Heels will go Bay Area pavilion-hopping, from Stanford’s Maples Pavilion to Cal’s Haas Pavilion.
“Traveling over to the West Coast is something that these guys are already accustomed to when they’re in high school [including] AAU, playing all over the country,” UNC coach Hubert Davis said, noting that they were in Salt Lake City for an exhibition game against BYU in October. “They understand the challenge of being on the road, whether it’s in California or going to SMU and going to Texas. And, so, we’ll be prepared.”
Every team has a travel partner, and UNC’s this season is No. 6 Duke. UNC got a bit of a break, considering the Blue Devils’ Wednesday game at Cal starts at 11 p.m. ET and their Saturday game at Stanford tips off at 6 p.m. ET. The Tar Heels will head home a couple of hours earlier.
But while Duke doesn’t play again until the following Saturday (Jan. 24 at home against Wake Forest), UNC has a home game on the following Wednesday (Jan. 21 vs. Notre Dame).
Stanford will play Carolina days after returning from its first East Coast trip of the season, at Virginia Tech (69–68 win Wednesday) and at No. 23 Virginia on Saturday (a 70–55 loss). Travel partner Cal lost at Virginia 84–60 on Thursday and at Virginia Tech 87–75 on Saturday.
The Tar Heels could probably get some tips from Coach Courtney Banghart’s UNC women’s team, which is one of only two ACC teams, along with Wake Forest’s men, to go 2–0 on a California ACC trip.
Banghart said that her sports performance team had a clear strategy ahead of UNC’s 65–52 win at California on a Thursday and 69–67 win at Stanford on a Sunday, despite a five-hour flight after attending Wednesday classes.
“They had to drink a certain amount, they had to eat a certain amount, they couldn’t sleep more than 45 minutes the entire flight so that we could sleep when we got there,” Banghart said after that second game. “I think I walked back twice [during the flight], because I also had the same directions and I’ve got an old lady back. They were playing Uno and keeping themselves awake as best they could.”
What made the Tar Heels’ accomplishment even more impressive was that while they went 2–0 on their trip, the other seven women’s teams were a collective 1–13. UNC got the only win in eight tries in California road-trip openers and one of two victories in second games. N.C. State earned the only other win, knocking off Stanford 81–67.
Unlike the UNC women, who traveled to California the day before the first game, Carolina’s men’s team will fly to California on Monday.
A plan can help mitigate a challenge. The results for most ACC teams tell a clear story.
Last season, the first for Stanford and Cal as ACC members, visiting men’s teams were just 5–13 overall, with a combined 2–7 record at Stanford and 3–6 at California. The Demon Deacons’ sweep came with a 79–73 win at Stanford and a 76–66 victory at Cal. Men’s teams were 4–7 in their openers of the road trip and 3–8 in the second games.
Everyone has felt the grind.
Only two men’s teams last season won their first game of the trip (Wake Forest and SMU), but the teams that made their first trips this season both won their first game — Notre Dame at Stanford and Louisville at Cal — before losing their second.
The back-to-back nature of the trip has been particularly unforgiving. N.C. State lost 74–62 at Cal before dropping a 74–73 heartbreaker at Stanford, while Syracuse split its trip by rebounding from a 70–61 loss at Stanford to win 74–66 at Cal. Even teams that manage a split often do so by grinding through two very different styles and environments in less than 72 hours.
Records going west
Men
| Jan. 8, 11, 2025 | First game | Second game | Record |
|---|---|---|---|
| Virginia Tech | L, 70–59 at Stanford | W, 71–68 at Cal | 1–1 |
| Virginia | L, 75–61 at Cal | L, 88–65 at Stanford | 0–2 |
| Jan. 22, 26, 2025 | |||
| Miami | L, 88–51 at Stanford | L, 98–94, OT, at Cal | 0–2 |
| Florida State | L, 77–68 at Cal | L, 78–71 at Stanford | 0–2 |
| Jan. 29, Feb. 1, 2025 | |||
| Syracuse | L, 70–61 at Stanford | W, 74–66 at Cal | 1–1 |
| Feb. 5, 8, 2025 | |||
| Wake Forest | W, 79–73 at Stanford | W, 76–66 at Cal | 2–0 |
| N.C. State | L, 74–62 at Cal | L, 74–73 at Stanford | 0–2 |
| Feb. 26, March 1, 2025 | |||
| Boston College | L, 78–60 at Stanford | L, 82–71 at Cal | 0–1 |
| SMU | W, 81–77 at Cal | L, 73–68 at Stanford | 1–1 |
| Dec. 30, 2025, Jan. 2, 2026 | |||
| Notre Dame | W, 47–40 at Stanford | L, 72–71 at Cal | 1–1 |
| Louisville | W, 90–70 at Cal | L, 80–76 at Stanford | 1–1 |
| Records | 4–7 | 3–8 | 7–15 |
Women
| Jan. 9, 12, 2025 | First game | Second game | Record |
|---|---|---|---|
| Florida State | L, 89–84 at Stanford | L, 82–70 at Cal | 0–2 |
| N.C. State | L, 78–71 at Cal | W, 81–67 at Stanford | 1–1 |
| Jan. 30, Feb. 2, 2025 | |||
| Pittsburgh | L, 58–46 at Stanford | L, 84–53 at Cal | 0–2 |
| North Carolina | W, 65–52 at Cal | W, 69–67 at Stanford | 2–0 |
| Feb. 13, 16, 2025 | |||
| Syracuse | L, 79–58 at Stanford | L, 75–69 at Cal | 0–2 |
| Boston College | L, 72–63 at Cal | L, 80–75 at Stanford | 0–2 |
| Feb. 27, March 2, 2025 | |||
| Miami | L, 86–69 at Stanford | L, 82–63 at Cal | 0–2 |
| Georgia Tech | L, 79–65 at Cal | L, 87–82 at Stanford | 0–2 |
| Records | 1–7 | 2–6 | 3–13 |
Men, women combined
| First game | Second game | Total record |
|---|---|---|
| 5–14 | 5–14 | 10–28 |
| Date | Month/day | Time | Opponent/event (current ranks) | TV/ record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October | ||||
| 24 | Friday | L, 78–76 | vs. No. 9 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. 22 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. 12 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 No. 24 SMU | 13–2, 1–1 |
| 10 | Saturday | W, 87–84 | vs. Wake Forest | 14–2, 2–1 |
| 14 | Wednesday | 9 p.m. | at Stanford | ACCN |
| 17 | Saturday | 4 p.m. | at California | ACCN |
| 21 | Wednesday | 7 p.m. | vs. Notre Dame | ESPN2 |
| 24 | Saturday | 2 p.m. | at No. 23 Virginia | ESPN |
| 31 | Saturday | 2 p.m. | at Georgia Tech | ACCN |
| February | ||||
| 2 | Monday | 7 p.m. | vs. Syracuse | ESPN |
| 7 | Saturday | 6:30 | vs. No. 6 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. Clemson | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| 7 | Saturday | 6:30 | at No. 6 Duke | ESPN |
| 10–14 | Tues.-Sat. | ACC tournament | Spectrum Center, Charlotte |
Photo via gostanford.com and calbears.com
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