As details continue to trickle in about UNC men’s basketball’s 2022-23 schedule, a report may indicate who the Tar Heels will face first in a special showcase.

The Carolina program shared that the bracket for the upcoming Phil Knight Invitational is set, with head coach Hubert Davis’ team drawing Portland in the first round of play.

The early-season showcase is an anticipated follow-up to the PK80 Tournament, which Nike hosted in 2017 to honor its founder Phil Knight on his 80th birthday. Hosted in Portland, OR., it featured a lineup of Nike-affiliated men’s basketball programs. Carolina also opened that tournament by defeated Portland 102-78, the only other match-up in the programs’ histories.

This year, the invitational is continuing its eight-team bracket — despite rumors last summer that it may include 16 teams, many of which are college basketball powerhouses. Instead, there are two tournaments of eight teams. Duke men’s basketball, as well as Gonzaga and Purdue, are programs headlining the Phil Knight Legacy showcase taking place at the same time.

Another change is the inclusion of a women’s basketball bracket. The UNC women’s program will also head to Portland to play a combination of Oregon, Iowa State and Michigan State.

The Phil Knight Invitational is set to begin on Thursday, November 24, with play for the men’s bracket extended through November 25. For both the men’s and women’s tournament, each team will be in action for every day of play. The winners of the semifinals rounds will play tournament championship games on Sunday, November 27. The games will be held at three facilities in Portland: the Chiles Center on the campus of the University of Portland, the Rose Quarter’s Moda Center which hosts the NBA’s Portland Trail Blazers and Veterans Memorial Coliseum.

After beating the Pilots in 2017, the Tar Heels went on to beat Arkansas in the semifinals before falling to Michigan State in the PK80 title game.

With Monday’s news, UNC men’s basketball’s non-conference schedule for the upcoming season is almost complete. In addition to games released on July 15, the Tar Heels officially learned their opponent in the 2022 CBS Sports Classic: Ohio State. Reports suggest Carolina will be playing the Buckeyes’ rival in another winter showcase, as CBS Sports’ Jon Rothstein reported in April that Michigan are UNC’s rumored opponent for the first ever Jumpman Invitational.

Hubert Davis’ program finished the 2021-22 season with a 29-10 record and finished second in the Atlantic Coast Conference standings. The Tar Heels are returning nearly their entire roster from a run to the national championship game, where they fell short against Kansas 72-69.

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