UNC will face NC State in a non-conference matchup at Greensboro’s First Horizon Coliseum Tuesday, Dec. 15. The coliseum confirmed the game, dubbed the “Old Dominion Freight Line Tobacco Road Classic,” with an announcement Wednesday. A tip-off time is yet to be announced, and tickets will go on sale Sep. 10 on the coliseum website. A coliseum official also confirmed the two teams would play again in Greensboro during the 2027-28 season.

“A huge thank you to all the people who made this possible,” said UNC head coach Michael Malone. “The fans have spoken. The administrators have spoken. The legislators have spoken. This game matters. This game means something.”

Prior to Wednesday’s announcement, the Tar Heels and Wolfpack were only scheduled to play once during the 2026-27 season. Due to the ACC’s 18-game basketball schedule format introduced prior to the 2025-26 season, schools play two opponents twice, 16 opponents once and will not play one other school in the conference. UNC played NC State once in 2025-26 in Raleigh and will host the Wolfpack in the Smith Center this season as part of the ACC schedule. While that game in Chapel Hill will count in the ACC standings, the game in Greensboro will not.

The 2026-27 season will be the first for both NC State and Carolina under the leadership of new head coaches. While UNC is debuting Malone, the Wolfpack are also forging new ground with Justin Gainey, a former NC State player who most recently served on the coaching staff at Tennessee. The NC State job is Gainey’s first head coaching role at any level.

“I’m so excited that we were able to put this game together,” said Gainey. “It’s a lot of history, a lot of tradition here. It’s an honor to be playing this game. I know that we would love to be doing it within ACC play, but what an opportunity to come back to ‘Tournament Town.'”

UNC and NC State have met 14 times in Greensboro, with the Tar Heels holding a 10-4 advantage in those meetings. The last such game came in the 1998 ACC Tournament, when Carolina won 73-46 in the quarterfinals on its way to the title. NC State’s last win against the Tar Heels in Greensboro came in 1975. UNC’s 120 all-time wins at the Greensboro Coliseum are its most in any off-campus venue.

This is the second game UNC will play in Greensboro during the 2026-27 season. The Tar Heels are scheduled to face USC in a preseason exhibition the night of Friday, Oct. 9. The 2027 ACC Tournament is also scheduled to be played in Greensboro in March. The men’s basketball program has not played in Greensboro since the 2023 ACC Tournament and has not played a non-postseason game there since 2017. Ironically, that 2017 game was relocated to Greensboro due to a water shortage in Chapel Hill that week. The last non-postseason game UNC scheduled to play in Greensboro came in December 2014, when the Tar Heels defeated UNC-Greensboro 79-56 at the Coliseum.

“UNC-NC State is one of the great rivalries in college basketball, and we’re thrilled to bring it to Greensboro,” said Scott Johnson, general manager of First Horizon Coliseum. “The Tobacco Road Classic gives fans the opportunity to experience this historic matchup in a neutral-site setting, and we’re grateful to the universities, athletic directors and coaches for making this game possible.”

 

Featured image via Chapel Hill Media Group/Michael Koh

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