By R.L. Bynum
Wofford (0–1) at North Carolina (1–0)
When: 7 p.m. Friday
Where: Smith Center
TV: ACC Network | Doug Sherman play-by-play, Randolph Childress analyst
Radio: Tar Heel Sports Network (affiliates list; streams on the Varsity Network app); Dave Nathan play-by-play, Tyler Zeller analyst; Jones Angell will miss the game because he’ll be traveling to work the noon Saturday football game at UConn.
Coaches: Wofford coach Kevin Giltner (second season at his alma mater, 19–14) and UNC coach Michael Malone (first college head-coaching season, 1–0; 510–394 in NBA regular-season games, 44–36 in NBA playoff games)
Series: UNC leads 4–2 (see list below). Wofford has won two of the last three meetings, both in Chapel Hill. The Terriers won 79–75 at the Smith Center on Dec. 20, 2017, and 68–64 at Carmichael Arena on Dec. 15, 2019. Carolina won 78–67 in Spartanburg on Nov. 6, 2018.
Opening results: UNC beat Western Carolina 80–72 on Monday at the Smith Center. Wofford lost 90–59 at No. 8 Tennessee on Tuesday after trailing by only three at halftime.
Exhibition results: UNC beat Southern Cal 88–70 on Oct. 9 in Greensboro, lost 76–58 at Indiana on Oct. 18 and beat Charlotte 89–82 in overtime on Oct. 27. Wofford lost a home exhibition game 78–76 to Virginia Tech on Oct. 16, with freshman Cutter Sisk scoring 20 points off the bench and missing a last-second shot that would have tied it.
Projected Wofford starters
No. 33 | C | Evan Ramsey | 7–0, 250 | redshirt junior UVA Wise transfer
— Had eight points, 10 rebounds (five offensive), two assists and two blocks in 22 minutes at Tennessee.
— Averaged more than 14 points in each of his two seasons at UVA Wise and blocked 107 shots across those seasons.
No. 0 | G | Cam Lowe (top photo) | 6–6, 215 | redshirt junior Black Hills State transfer
— Led Wofford with 14 points and made two 3-pointers in his debut at Tennessee.
— A Division II All-American last season, he averaged 17.4 points, 6.4 rebounds and 2.7 assists and shot 39.5% from 3-point range for a team that went 30–5 and reached the Elite Eight.
— Scored a career-high 31 points on 12-for-15 shooting against Colorado Mesa.
No. 4 | G | Chace Watley | 6–2, 187 | sophomore
— Wofford’s leading returning scorer (9.7 points per game) started 15 of 32 games as a freshman. He scored in double figures 16 times, with a career-high 19 points against ETSU.
— Had seven points and five rebounds in a team-high 32 minutes at Tennessee.
No. 2 | G | Luke Flynn | 6–1, 185 | junior
— Played 34 games for Wofford’s 2025 NCAA tournament team as a freshman, averaging 4.1 points and 2.9 rebounds.
— Scored all four of his points at Tennessee on a four-point play in the first half and added two assists in 30 minutes.
No. 10 | G | Jacob Daniels | 6–0, 165 | sophomore Lander transfer
–—Averaged 13.6 points and 5.6 assists as the Peach Belt Conference Freshman of the Year. Lander went 30–6 and reached the Division II national championship game.
— Had two points and two assists without a turnover in 16 minutes at Tennessee.
Other key Terriers
No. 3 | G | Chris Arias | 6–6, 202 | junior Jacksonville transfer
— Scored 10 points and made two 3-pointers in 24 minutes off the bench at Tennessee.
— Made the ASUN All-Freshman team at Jacksonville and averaged 7.3 points as a sophomore.
No. 34 | F | Cutter Sisk | 6–9, 270 | freshman
— The Hendersonville, Tenn., native scored 10 points in 20 minutes in his college debut, going 5-for-9 at the free-throw line and adding two assists and a block.
No. 11 | G | Jyi Dawkins | 6–4, 195 | freshman
— The Greensboro native led Smith to the 2025 3A championship, earning title-game MVP honors with 29 points and eight rebounds.
— Scored four points in 15 minutes at Tennessee.
Other newcomers: Freshmen Jemon Price, Jhett Carter and Misho Kalinov. Price was Virginia’s Class 6A Player of the Year at Westfield, Carter played at Hargrave Military Academy and Kalinov played for BC Botev in Bulgaria.
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— Tracking transfers: High, Lubin score 20, Powell hits 6 3s as 12 of 13 former Heels in Monday openers start
Notes
— Wofford finished 19–13 (11–7 Southern Conference) in Coach Kevin Giltner’s first season and lost 75–72 to UNC Greensboro in the SoCon tournament quarterfinals. The Terriers were 9–7 on the road. League coaches picked the Terriers third of 11 teams this season, behind Furman and ETSU. Cam Lowe and Chace Watley made the preseason All-SoCon team.
— Giltner is a Wofford alumnus who played from 2008 to 2012 and spent six seasons as a Virginia Tech assistant.
— Giltner after loss at Tennessee: “In order to get out of here with a win, you have to have urgency for all 40 minutes. We’ve got to be better at handling runs and playing with an urgency for 40 minutes, but I do like our team and our
guys — we have a good team. I thought our shot selection was really good in the first half. I felt like we were living in the paint and then spraying out for threes which puts us in a better spot to rebound. When your shot selection is really good, it puts you in a better position to rebound.”
— Three transfers started for Wofford at Tennessee, and newcomers accounted for 48 of its 59 points. Arias, Sisk and Dawkins combined for all 24 bench points.
— Lowe’s 3-pointer cut Tennessee’s lead to 36–34 early in the second half before the Vols went on an 18–2 run. Tennessee finished with a 52–24 edge in points in the paint and held Wofford to 30.6% shooting, including 6-for-27 from 3-point range.
— Wofford players who transferred in the offseason where Cayden Vasko (to UCF), Brendan Rigsbee (Nova Southeastern), Jayden Tyler (Youngstown State), Alessandro Perotti (USC Upstate), Maximo Ortega (Loyola Maryland), Kahmare Holmes (DePaul), Nils Machowski (UConn) and Rex Stirling (Jacksonville).
— The offensive glass is worth watching. Western Carolina outrebounded UNC 41–32 and grabbed 13 offensive rebounds Monday. Wofford also had 13 offensive rebounds at Tennessee, with five from Evan Ramsey.
— Matt Able led four Tar Heels in double figures against Western Carolina with 18 points, one shy of the career high he set against UNC while playing for N.C. State last season. Terrence Brown scored 14, Neo Avdalas had 13 points and team highs of seven rebounds and four assists, and Maxi Adams scored 10. Carolina led the entire game.
— Wofford’s two wins in Chapel Hill came against ranked UNC teams. Fletcher Magee scored 27 points against the No. 5 Tar Heels in 2017. In 2019, the Terriers made 14 3-pointers and used a 16–0 second-half run to beat No. 17 UNC at Carmichael.
— In UNC’s most recent win in the series, Luke Maye scored 24 points, Garrison Brooks added 20 and Cameron Johnson scored five 3-pointers in the 78–67 victory in Spartanburg.
— This is the second of six consecutive home games, the first time ever Carolina opens a season with six consecutive home games.
— Wofford opens its home schedule Sunday against Division II Allen at 2 p.m. Carolina stays at the Smith Center for a 7 p.m. Tuesday game against Wyoming.
KenPom comparison
| Category | UNC | Wofford |
| Overall ranking | 48 | 190 |
| Offensive efficiency | 114.7 (41) | 100.1 (264) |
| Defensive efficiency | 97.3 (55) | 111.1 (314) |
| Possession length | 16.6 (128) | 18.4 (216) |
| Effective FG% | 50.0 (146) | 35.5 (269) |
| Turnover % | 12.7 (36) | 16.7 (118) |
| Offensive rebound % | 20.0 (260) | 29.5 (164) |
| FTA/FGA | 63.6 (17) | 37.1 (129) |
| 3FGA/FGA | 54.5 (26) | 43.5 (113) |
| Assists/FG% | 5.2 (157) | 63.2 (70) |
| Strength of schedule | 167 | 17 |
Box scores from openers
UNC 80, Western Carolina 72
No. 8 Tennessee 90, Wofford 59
Series: UNC leads 4–2
| 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 | W, 89–82, OT | Tuesday | vs. Charlotte | |
| November | Regular season | |||
| 2 | W, 80–72 | Monday | vs. Western Carolina | 1–0 |
| 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 |
Photo via @WoffordMBB
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