UNC Men's Basketball Beats USC in Greensboro Preseason Exhibition

UNC outscored USC 51-31 in the second half to overcome a halftime deficit and beat the Trojans 88-70 in a preseason exhibition at First Horizon Coliseum in Greensboro Friday night.

Took care of business. pic.twitter.com/UvmvPitIjY

— Carolina Basketball (@UNC_Basketball) October 10, 2026

“We got our defense into the game, and that got us out running,” head coach Michael Malone said afterward. “Playing with a little bit more of an attack mindset.”

The Trojans got the better of UNC in the early minutes, leading 10-3 after a three-point barrage. Carolina got itself back in the game thanks to a strong effort from Jarin Stevenson and an infusion of energy from freshman Maximo Adams off the bench. In his first college action, Adams totaled five points and four rebounds in the first half to help UNC cut the deficit to two points by intermission.

Stevenson took over in the second half, scoring 16 points on a perfect 6-6 shooting performance to guide the Tar Heels into the lead and then away from the Trojans.

“Jarin Stevenson had a hell of a performance,” said Malone. “Being able to play through him late was great to see. Jarin works his butt off, and I’m proud of him.”

“The game just came to me,” said Stevenson. “The team was setting me up really well.”

Stevenson finished with 25 points, which would be his career high were Friday’s game official. He also pulled down 10 rebounds, which would be his first career double-double. Adams finished with 11 points, while Isaiah Denis and Neo Avdalas combined for 29. As a team, UNC outrebounded the Trojans 47-33.

Carolina earned the win even as guards Terrence Brown and Matt Able combined for just five total points. The Tar Heel duo was held scoreless in the first half, and Brown’s five points all came in the game’s final 1:42, when UNC had the win comfortably in hand.

“He just had a bad night,” Neo Avdalas – who finished with 15 points, nine rebounds and five assists – said of Brown. “It’s OK. All of us are gonna have a bad night. We just have to support him.”

“Both Matt Able and Terrence Brown are a lot better players than they showed tonight,” Malone said. “And we’re gonna need them to be a lot better players than they were. And that’s not just on them. I put it on myself as well. My job as the head coach is to help those guys into the game. But we have a deep team.”

Thanks to the performances of Adams, Denis and others, the Tar Heel bench outscored the Trojan bench 35-5. Denis’ 14 points came after he scored only 19 in his entire freshman season.

“This is definitely personal for me,” Denis said. “I feel like I could’ve showed a lot last year, and I wasn’t able to do that.”

The Tar Heels will continue preseason action next Sunday, Oct. 18 when they face Indiana in Indianapolis at 5 p.m.

Featured image via UNC Basketball on Twitter

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UNC Men’s Basketball Beats USC in Greensboro Preseason Exhibition

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