The UNC men’s basketball program revealed the non-conference portion of its 2025-26 regular-season schedule Friday morning.
As usual, the Tar Heels will begin their season with an exhibition game at the Smith Center, as Division 2 foe Winston-Salem State visits October 29. The season’s first official game is scheduled for November 3, when UNC hosts Central Arkansas.
The first major matchup of the season comes just four days later, when the Kansas Jayhawks visit the Smith Center for the first time ever. The game is the second of a two-game series between the programs, with the Tar Heels having visited Allen Fieldhouse at the beginning of the 2024-25 season.
Home games against Radford (November 11), North Carolina Central (November 14) and Navy (November 18) follow the Kansas matchup before UNC heads down to Florida for two games as part of the Fort Myers Tip-Off event during the Thanksgiving holiday. The Tar Heels face St. Bonaventure on November 25 before taking on Michigan State two days later. UNC lost to the Spartans in the Maui Invitational last season.
December 2 will see Carolina visit Kentucky as part of the ACC-SEC Challenge. The visit will be UNC’s first to Rupp Arena since 2014. UNC returns home December 7 to face Georgetown in the first matchup between the two teams since the 2007 NCAA Tournament. That matchup is the first of a home-and-home agreement with the Hoyas; UNC will visit Washington, D.C. during the 2026-27 season.
The Tar Heels will host USC Upstate (December 13) and East Tennessee State (December 16) before hitting the road once again to face Ohio State in Atlanta on December 20 as part of the CBS Sports Classic. Carolina has never lost to the Buckeyes in three previous matchups as part of the event. The Tar Heels will then wrap up the non-conference slate by hosting East Carolina on December 22.
Tip-off times for the games have not yet been publicized.
Featured image via Associated Press/Brandon Dill
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