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North Carolina announces non-conference schedule for '25-'26

On3 imageby:Sam Gillenwater•06/27/25•

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North Carolina Tar Heels Basketball (Logo)
M. Anthony Nesmith | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

North Carolina is four months out from tipping off their next basketball season in Chapel Hill. That comes per the program’s announcement today of their non-conference schedule from October through December

The Tar Heels released their non-conference schedule in a release and on social media on Friday. It includes fourteen games, thirteen in the regular season with four scheduled as part of events, that UNC will play to start what’ll be year five for Hubert Davis.

North Carolina’s Non-Conference Schedule
*Oct. 29th – Winston-Salem State
Nov. 3 – Central Arkansas
Nov. 7 – Kansas
Nov. 11 – Radford
Nov. 14 – NC Central
Nov. 18 – Navy
Nov. 25 – St. Bonaventure (Fort Myers, Florida – Skechers Fort Myers Tip-Off)
Nov. 27 – Michigan State (Fort Myers, Florida – Skechers Fort Myers Tip-Off)
Dec. 2 – at Kentucky (ACC-SEC Challenge)
Dec. 7 – Georgetown
Dec. 13 – USC Upstate
Dec. 16 – East Tennessee State
Dec. 20 – Ohio State (Atlanta, Georgia – CBS Sports Classic)
Dec. 22 – East Carolina

Of the games in the non-conference, North Carolina only has one true road game with it being scheduled for them, and being a notable one at that, as they’ll go play a blue blood matchup in Rupp Arena as part of the ACC-SEC Challenge. Three are then neutral-site ones at events on the east coast while the remaining ten will be played at the Dean Dome, with the highlight being another blue blood game with the Jayhawks making the return trip, and their first one ever, to Chapel Hill after the Tar Heels lost in Allen Fieldhouse last season.

Kansas, Michigan State, Kentucky, Georgetown, and Ohio State are the biggest names on the slate for UNC. Three of those are part of those early-season events with Kentucky as well as Michigan State for the second game for them in the Fort Myers Tip-Off and Ohio State as their game this year in the CBS Sports Classic.

North Carolina is 101-45 (.692) through four years under Davis. Of the four, the Tar Heels have split them with two great seasons in 2022 and 2024 and two average to below-average seasons in 2023 and 2025. That’s with UNC posting their most losses and second-worst winning percentage of his tenure last season at 23-14 (.622), controversially just making it into the NCAA Tournament, in ’24-’25.

That has put some emphasis on this upcoming season, despite Davis having agreed to a contract extension within the last year that has him in place through 2030. They’ll be playing it with an all-new team having lost RJ Davis and Drake Powell as well as five transfers who were all of note to their lineup. Now, to replace that, the Tar Heels will have nine incoming players, four freshman in a Top-15 recruiting class led by Caleb Wilson and then five transfers, to pair with returners in Seth Trimble and James Brown.