Two games, one long week: Tar Heels brace for the Bay Area grind

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.