UNC Fans Already Have One Big Problem With This Schedule

The UNC basketball schedule presents a logistical puzzle with late-night games, midday tip-offs, and overlapping home contests for the men's and women's teams.

North Carolina’s men’s basketball team has a late-heavy schedule in more ways than one.

The Tar Heels’ full slate, with game times and TV assignments, was released Wednesday, and it comes with four 9 p.m. tipoffs and three noon starts. The late games are the home date with Marshall on Nov. 2, the trip to Louisville on Jan. 5, the home matchup with Virginia on Jan. 19 and the March 2 game at Pittsburgh.

The noon starts are a Dec. 12 trip to Georgetown, a Jan. 9 home game against N.C. State and a Jan. 23 visit to Syracuse.

UNC’s first four home games all begin at 7 p.m. before the Marshall game shifts the rhythm on Nov. 20.

The Duke games also have their place on the calendar. The first meeting, set for Feb. 13 in Durham, is a 5:30 p.m. start on ABC, as previously announced. The rematch on Senior Night at the Smith Center will tip either at 6 or 6:30.

There’s also a scheduling collision on Dec. 6 that leaves Carolina fans with a choice. The women host Elon at 2 p.m. on ACC Network, while the men host Butler at 3 p.m. on ESPN2.

A couple of other games may be tougher for some viewers to track down. The Oct. 18 exhibition against Indiana in Indianapolis is on Big Ten Network Plus, and the game at Georgetown streams on Peacock.

Carolina will appear three times on The CW: the Dec. 21 home game against The Citadel at 8 p.m., plus 2:15 p.m. home starts against Stanford on Jan. 16 and Georgia Tech on Feb. 6.

The schedule also includes seven games without an ESPN channel designation selected yet.

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