By R.L. Bynum
North Carolina’s first season under Coach Michael Malone will feature a familiar anchor and a fresh twist, with no game against Clemson.
The ACC announced Thursday the matchups for the league’s 18-game men’s basketball schedule for the 2026–27 league season, which begins in late December and runs through the first Saturday of March. Under the conference’s scheduling format, each team plays one primary partner twice, home and away, and one variable partner twice, home and away. The remaining 14 games are single meetings, home or away, against 14 of the other 15 league teams.
For UNC, the primary partner remains Duke. The variable partner for next season is Louisville, giving the Tar Heels two games against the Cardinals.
It will be the first time since the 1950–51 season that UNC hasn’t played Clemson and the first time since 1947 that the Tar Heels haven’t played at N.C. State. That game was canceled minutes before the game because the fire marshal said that there were too many fans in the gym.
When Ven-Allen Lubin transferred from UNC to N.C. State, he didn’t have to play last season at the Smith Center. Similarly, Matt Able, after transferring from N.C. State to Carolina, won’t have to play at the Lenovo Center.
The rest of the conference schedule mixes traditional trips and a home-heavy sampling of the league’s newer additions, including both California and Stanford coming to Chapel Hill.
Beyond the two home-and-home series, in addition to Cal and Stanford, the Tar Heels will only play at home against Georgia Tech, Miami, N.C. State, SMU and Virginia. After not playing Boston College last season, they play the Eagles on the road, in addition to road games at Florida State, Notre Dame, Pitt, Syracuse, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest, creating a nine-and-nine split between home and away ACC games when the Duke and Louisville return meetings are included.
All seven teams that UNC only plays on the road finished ninth or worse last season in the ACC in NET ranking, all 56th or worse.
The overall layout gives Malone a first ACC tour that touches nearly every corner of the league. There is a trip to Chestnut Hill, Mass., to face Boston College, a visit to South Bend for Notre Dame, and a swing through the league’s northern tier with games at Pitt and Syracuse. The in-state portion remains sizable, too, with Carolina playing Duke twice, hosting N.C. State and traveling to Wake Forest.
Carolina will not face Clemson during the regular season, the byproduct of the format that has each team skip one opponent annually among the 18-member league.
The conference’s partner list again ties rivals and regional pairings together as the foundation of the schedule. Other pairings are Boston College-Notre Dame, Clemson-Georgia Tech, California-Stanford, Florida State-Miami, Louisville-SMU, N.C. State-Wake Forest, Pitt-Syracuse and Virginia Tech-Virginia.
Other variable partners are Duke-Virginia, California-N.C. State, Clemson-Florida State, Georgia Tech-SMU, Miami-Pitt, Notre Dame-Wake Forest, Boston College-Virginia Tech and Stanford-Syracuse.
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| 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 |
Non-conference 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 |
| January | ||
| 30 | Saturday | Nashville Hoops Showdown vs. No. 5 Illinois in Nashville, Tenn. |
ACC opponents
Home and away: Duke and Louisville
Home only: California, Georgia Tech, Miami, N.C. State, SMU, Stanford and Virginia
Away only: Boston College, Florida State, Notre Dame, Pitt, Syracuse, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest
Don’t play: Clemson
Photo by Smith Hardy
