North Carolina’s 2026-27 non-conference slate keeps getting heavier, and now another date is on the books. The Tar Heels will face West Virginia on Friday, Nov. 27 in the second annual Dick Vitale Invitational at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte.
The game had been reported back in May by Rocco Miller, but the official announcement gives Michael Malone another notable early checkpoint in his first season as UNC’s head coach. It also adds one more marquee matchup to a schedule that already looks built to test the Tar Heels before ACC play begins.
The Dick Vitale Invitational is returning after debuting last season, when Duke met Texas at the Spectrum Center. ESPN Events and the Charlotte Sports Foundation created the event as an annual tribute to Vitale, celebrating his influence on college basketball and his charitable work in the fight against cancer.
For North Carolina, the matchup comes with a strange little wrinkle: the Tar Heels have never beaten West Virginia. UNC is 0-5 all-time against the Mountaineers, and the programs have not played in more than six decades. Their last meeting came in December 1965, when West Virginia won 102-97 during the early part of Dean Smith’s tenure.
That history gives this neutral-site game a little extra bite, even before you get to the basketball itself.
West Virginia is coming off a 21-14 season, finishing 9-9 in Big 12 play before winning the College Basketball Crown. The Mountaineers are also expected to bring in a highly regarded crop of newcomers for 2026-27, which makes this a meaningful early-season measuring stick for Malone and a North Carolina roster that will look different.
The game also fits the broader shape of UNC’s non-conference approach. With the regular season stretching to 32 games and the ACC schedule set at 18, the Tar Heels have 14 non-conference games to sharpen themselves and strengthen their NCAA Tournament case.
A Big 12 opponent at the Spectrum Center checks a lot of boxes. It gives UNC a quality test, another neutral-site résumé game, and a chance to play in Charlotte - a city that won’t exactly feel neutral with Chapel Hill nearby and Carolina’s fan base spread across the state.
It also gives the Tar Heels a shot at something no UNC team has done before: beat West Virginia.
Tip time and television details have not been announced.
Beyond the West Virginia game, UNC has some level of clarity on 12 of its other 13 non-conference matchups, including seven that the program has already listed on its 2026-27 schedule.
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