North Carolina’s men will get a marquee home test in the fourth annual ACC/SEC Challenge, with ESPN announcing that Carolina will host Arkansas at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 1 on ESPN.
The two-day event runs Tuesday, Dec. 1 and Wednesday, Dec. 2, with games spread across ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, SEC Network and ACC Network, plus streaming on the ESPN App.
This year’s field is loaded from the jump. The men’s Challenge includes 12 teams ranked in ESPN’s Way-Too-Early Men’s Basketball Top-25, led by No.
1 Florida, No. 2 Duke, No.
4 Texas, No. 6 Tennessee and No.
10 Arkansas.
Opening night starts with Arkansas at North Carolina in one of the headliners of the doubleheader. Later, the spotlight moves to Gainesville for a rare regular-season showdown between the nation’s top two teams, as preseason No.
1 Florida hosts No. 2 Duke.
Wednesday keeps the pace high, beginning with No. 19 Kentucky at No.
13 Virginia at 7:15 p.m. ET on ESPN.
That is followed by No. 14 Alabama at No.
17 Miami at 9:15 p.m. ET.
The full schedule also includes Boston College at Georgia at 5 p.m. on ESPN2; Florida State at Tennessee at 7 p.m. on ESPN2; Auburn at Clemson at 7 p.m. on ESPNU; South Carolina at NC State at 7 p.m. on ACC Network; Pittsburgh at Missouri at 7 p.m. on SEC Network; Texas at Louisville at 9 p.m. on ESPN2; Syracuse at Oklahoma at 9 p.m. on ESPNU; Ole Miss at Virginia Tech at 9 p.m. on ACC Network; Wake Forest at LSU at 9 p.m. on SEC Network; Duke at Florida at 9:30 p.m. on ESPN; Vanderbilt at Notre Dame at 7:15 p.m. on ACC Network; and Stanford at Texas A&M at 9:15 p.m. on ESPNU.
In Other News...
UNC Fans Have A Bigger Billy Edwards Jr. Concern Than One Bad Finish
The final throw against Clemson will stick with North Carolina fans for a while, but the bigger question around Billy Edwards Jr. is not one bad finish. The quarterbacks first interception of the year came at the worst possible moment in a game the Tar Heels could not close out, yet he remains the starter as the season moves forward and UNC keeps building around him.
What makes this situation more delicate is Edwards Jr.'s track record and the importance of depth behind him. The Tar Heels have sophomore backup Miles O'Neill available if needed, but the conversation in Chapel Hill is less about one late mistake than it is about whether Edwards Jr. can stay on the field and keep the offense steady over the long haul. [Read more 🡒]
UNC Grades Exposed A Bigger Concern Than The Clemson Collapse
The film grades from UNCs loss to Clemson do offer a few bright spots, even if the final result still stings. Junior safety Greg Smith led the defense with a 90.0 grade after helping force turnovers, while senior running back Benjamin Hall posted a career-best rushing performance and earned a 77.3 offensive grade. Beyond those two, the snap counts and individual grades paint a fuller picture of where the Tar Heels found some resistance and where they were repeatedly put on their heels.
For a team trying to sort out what went wrong, the bigger concern is less about one bad afternoon and more about the uneven stretches that showed up across the roster. The breakdown of who played well, who held up, and who struggled points to a Tar Heels group that still has answers to find on both sides of the ball, even as a few individual performances suggest there is at least something to build on. [Read more 🡒]
UNC Already Has One Debate Fans Cant Ignore
After three games, North Carolina has given its fans a pretty familiar early-season split between hope and concern. The Tar Heels are 2-1 with wins over TCU and East Tennessee State, and Xavier Lewis has already emerged as a bright spot by leading the ACC in sacks, but the offense has not come close to matching that energy.
Billy Edwards Jr. has thrown for 476 yards in three games, and the quarterback play remains the clearest issue hanging over the teams outlook. With Clemson already handing UNC its loss, the Tar Heels look like a group that can flash enough to stay interesting, but one that still has plenty to sort out before the schedule gets any less demanding. [Read more 🡒]