By R.L. Bynum
The North Carolina–N.C. State men’s basketball rivalry will get an extra venue next season, and a familiar one for ACC fans.
The Tar Heels and Wolfpack are expected to play a non-conference game in December at First Horizon Coliseum in Greensboro, according to multiple reports. Contract details have not been finalized or released. Multiple sources told Pack Pride that the tentative date is Dec. 15, four days before Carolina plays Kentucky at Madison Square Garden in the CBS Sports Classic.
The matchup would give the rivals two meetings next season after the ACC’s new scheduling model left them with only one conference game against each other for the second consecutive season.
Last season, the teams met only at the Lenovo Center in Raleigh, where N.C. State beat UNC 82–58 on Feb. 17. Next season’s only ACC matchup between the programs is scheduled for the Smith Center.
That made a neutral-site game a practical solution for both programs, restoring a second meeting in a rivalry that has lost some of its home-and-home rhythm under the ACC’s 18-game schedule.
Pack Pride reported that the teams agreed to the Greensboro game to strengthen each program’s non-conference schedule, with the reported cancellation of N.C. State’s game against VCU described as part of the process that helped open the way for the matchup.
For Carolina, the game would add another high-interest date to Michael Malone’s first season as head coach. The Tar Heels will already play Arkansas at the Smith Center in the ACC/SEC Challenge on Dec. 1, in addition to facing Kentucky.
Greensboro also adds an extra layer of history to the matchup. The former Greensboro Coliseum was renamed First Horizon Coliseum in October 2024 after First Horizon Bank became the first naming-rights partner for the 65-year-old arena.
The venue has long been tied to ACC basketball, including as a frequent host of the ACC tournament, and will be the site for the 2027 ACC tournament.
Carolina has won 10 of 14 meetings in Greensboro and the last eight. The last meeting was a 73–46 win in the 1998 ACC tournament. The only other meeting in the renovated arena was a 64–54 Carolina win in the 1997 ACC tournament. The Wolfpack’s last win over UNC in Greensboro came by an 82–67 score in the 1975 ACC tournament.
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UNC is one 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 |
| Freshman | Alexandros Samodurov | C | 6–11 | 212 | |
| 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 | 6–5 | 196 | |
| 1 | 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 |
Schedule so far
(Other than the ACC/SEC Challenge, games without links revealed from reporting by Alex Rosinski or Rocco Miller)
(13 of 14 games)
Oct. 18 — exhibition game vs. Indiana at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis
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 — vs. Arkansas in ACC/SEC Challenge
Dec. 6 — vs. Butler
Dec. 12 — at Georgetown
Dec. 15 (tentative date) — vs. N.C. State in a non-conference game in Greensboro
Dec. 19 — vs. Kentucky in CBS Sports Classic at Madison Square Garden, 2:30 p.m.
Dec. 21 — vs. The Citadel
Jan. 30 — vs. Illinois in Nashville, Tenn.
ACC games
Home and away: Duke, Louisville
Home only: California, Georgia Tech, Miami, N.C. State, SMU, Stanford, Virginia
Away only: Boston College, Florida State, Notre Dame, Pitt, Syracuse, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest
Photo by Smith Hardy
