UNC Men’s Basketball to Face USC in Preseason Exhibition in Greensboro

The unofficial debut of UNC’s Michael Malone era will come in the Tar Heels’ home away from home.

UNC will face USC in a preseason exhibition at First Horizon Coliseum in Greensboro (better known as the Greensboro Coliseum) Friday, Oct. 9 at 7 p.m. Though neither program has announced the game, the Coliseum’s website has promotional material and ticketing information listed.

The USC exhibition will be the first of two exhibitions for the Tar Heels prior to the official beginning of the 2026-27 season. Carolina will travel to Indianapolis to face Indiana in an exhibition at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, home of the NBA’s Indiana Pacers. The game is scheduled for Sunday, Oct. 18.

October’s exhibition will not count as an official game on the record, but it will be the first time the Tar Heels and Trojans have met on the basketball court since the 2007 NCAA Sweet 16 in New Jersey. That day, top-seeded UNC erased a 16-point second half deficit and eventually beat USC 74-64 to advance to the Elite Eight. USC’s last win against Carolina came the season before, when the Trojans handily defeated the Tar Heels 74-59 in Los Angeles. Overall, UNC holds an 8-1 advantage in the all-time series and is 128-40 in the city of Greensboro.

USC finished the 2025-26 season 18-14 overall and 7-13 in the Big Ten Conference. Though the Trojans won the Maui Invitational tournament and were ranked at multiple junctures, they did not qualify for the NCAA Tournament.

Featured image via Chapel Hill Media Group/Todd Melet

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