UNC published its full non-conference schedule for the 2026-27 season Thursday. Though several games on the schedule had already been confirmed earlier, Thursday marked the first time the full list of games had been unveiled.

Carolina will start with three exhibition games: the first against USC in Greensboro on Oct. 9, the second against Indiana in Indianapolis on Oct. 18 and the third against Charlotte in the Smith Center on Oct. 27. The official beginning of the regular season comes Monday, Nov. 2 in the Smith Center as the Tar Heels will host in-state foes Western Carolina. It will be the first meeting between the Tar Heels and Catamounts in men’s basketball since 2017 and just the third overall.

Carolina will play several key neutral-site games. The Tar Heels will face West Virginia in Charlotte as part of the Dick Vitale Invitational (Nov. 27), NC State in Greensboro as part of the inaugural Tobacco Road Classic (Dec. 15), Kentucky in New York in another installment of the CBS Sports Classic (Dec. 19) and Illinois in Nashville for the Nashville Hoops Showdown (Jan. 30).

In the Smith Center, UNC will welcome in Arkansas in a marquee matchup of the ACC-SEC Challenge the night of Tuesday, Dec. 1. Fellow SEC members Georgia will also visit Chapel Hill Nov. 13 in the first of a home-and-home series with the Bulldogs, while Butler of the Big East will come to Chapel Hill Dec. 6. The Tar Heels will also travel to Georgetown in the second game of a home-and-home series with the Hoyas Dec. 12. Other non-conference fixtures include home dates with Wofford (Nov. 6), Wyoming (Nov. 10), Marshall (Nov. 20), Monmouth (Nov. 23) and The Citadel (Dec. 21).

For a full look at UNC’s non-conference schedule, click here. The ACC portion of the schedule will be released at a later date.

“It’s a very competitive schedule,” said UNC head coach Michael Malone. “I’m not afraid to play people. We’ll play the best teams. I’m looking forward to scheduling those types of games, because we want to put our best foot forward. And we want to compete against the best and give our fans something they can truly get excited about.”

 

Featured image via UNC-Chapel Hill/Jon Gardiner

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