Entering the new season ranked #1 in the AP polls, North Carolina’s men’s basketball team faces a challenging list of out-of-conference opponents looking to knock the Tar Heels off the top spot.
While the team’s non-conference slate last year featured a string of wins against opponents outside of the Power Five, UNC has managed some of the country’s strong programs, including 0-3 marks against Purdue, Tennessee and Kentucky. struggled against
After appearing in the National Championship Game, Tar Heels will look to improve their early season play against several Big Ten teams and face tough competition at the Phil Knight Invitational.
Here’s a preliminary look at these contests.
Phil Knight Invitation
After attending last season’s Hall of Fame tip-off, the Tar Heels will be traveling to Portland for a second run of the Phil Night Invitational from November 24-27.
The last time the Tar Heels played in this event five years ago, the team advanced to the championship game before falling to Michigan State. The Spartans are one of the teams in this year’s tournament, but other quality programs also offer challenging tests.
Following their matchup with Portland, North Carolina will face either Iowa State or Villanova, two teams that had success in the NCAA Tournament last season. Other potential opponents include Alabama, UConn and Oregon, each looking to take the next step towards national relevance.
Indiana
After the tournament, UNC has little time to prepare for the grueling road test of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge on November 30th at 13 Indiana.
Under first-year head coach Mike Woodson, the Hoosiers set a 21-14 record and fell to the round of 64 after beating the program’s five-year NCAA Tournament drought. Davis – A preseason All-American, averaging 18.3 points, 8.1 rebounds and 2.3 blocks in his junior year at Bloomington.
Assembly Hall is widely regarded as one of the most hostile road environments in college basketball, so the game should provide Tar Heels with additional experience for tougher tests ahead.
Ohio
On December 17, North Carolina will head to Madison Square Garden to face Ohio State in another marquee matchup.
The Tar Heels last faced the Buckeyes early in the 2019-20 season, when Ohio State came to Chapel Hill and won convincingly 74-49. Senior forward Armand Bako and alumni wing Leaky Black are the only ones left from that season’s roster, but the team will look for another result at the CBS Sports Classic.
Ohio State is a program that has regularly earned a top 25 spot, and the Buckeyes received 23 votes to feature in this year’s preseason ballot. The team lost major contributors Malachi Branham and his EJ Liddell in his NBA Draft, but forward Zeddkey is back to give the team a credible post presence.
Michigan
The final non-conference test of the season will take place on December 21 as the Tar Heels head to Charlotte to face the Wolverines in the first Jumpman Invitational.
UNC beat Michigan in last year’s ACC/Big Ten Challenge with a quality victory 72-51 at Smith Center. The Wolverines were struggling with a 4-3 record after the loss at the time, but the team responded with impressive play in the postseason, losing narrowly to Villanova in the Sweet 16.
Michigan’s offensive game plan runs through junior big man Hunter Dickinson. In his sophomore season, Dickinson also showed his skill with an impressive string of passes with 2.3 assists, while he led the team with 18.6 points and 8.6 rebounds per game.
In last year’s trip, the Virginia native struggled in foul trouble and finished with four points and five rebounds. could be one of those one-to-one combinations worthy of
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