College basketball is creeping back into view, and UNC has finally put its first non-conference slate on the board for the Michael Malone era.
The Tar Heels’ 2026-2027 schedule brings 14 non-conference games, with nine of them coming at the Dean Smith Center. Chapel Hill will be busy right away, too: UNC’s first seven games, stretching from Nov. 2 through Nov. 23, are all set to be played at home.
Before the real thing begins, the Tar Heels will go through a three-game preseason run. That starts Oct. 9 against Southern California in Greensboro, N.C., continues Oct. 18 against Indiana in Indianapolis, Ind., and wraps up Oct. 27 with Charlotte in Chapel Hill. Five days later, the regular season opens.
The first official game of the Michael Malone era comes Nov. 2 against Western Carolina, and it launches a six-game homestand. UNC won’t leave North Carolina until early mid-December.
Here’s the non-conference slate as released:
Nov. 2 vs. Western Carolina
Nov. 6 vs. Wofford
Nov. 10 vs. Wyoming
Nov. 13 vs. Georgia
Nov. 20 vs. Marshall
Nov. 23 vs. Monmouth
Nov. 27 vs. West Virginia in Charlotte (Dick Vitale Invitational)
Dec. 1 vs. Arkansas (ACC-SEC Challenge)
Dec. 6 vs. Butler
Dec. 12 at Georgetown
Dec. 15 vs.
NC State in Greensboro, N.C. (Tobacco Road Classic presented by Old Dominion Freight Line)
Dec. 19 vs. Kentucky in New York City (CBS Sports Classic)
Dec. 21 vs. The Citadel
Jan. 30 vs. Illinois in Nashville, Tenn.
(Nashville Hoops Showdown)
A few dates jump off the page. There’s the Dick Vitale Invitational against West Virginia, the annual ACC-SEC Challenge matchup with John Calipari’s Arkansas Razorbacks, the Greensboro meeting with NC State, and the CBS Sports Classic date with Kentucky on Dec. 19.
The schedule also brings a different wrinkle late in the calendar. UNC will face Illinois on Jan. 30 in Nashville as part of the Nashville Hoops Showdown. In recent memory, the Tar Heels haven’t had many, if any, non-conference games after conference play is underway, which makes that date stand out.
For now, though, the bigger picture is simple: Carolina basketball is almost here again, and the first look at the Malone era is now on the books.
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