The UNC men’s basketball has exactly one college they’ve played more than once but have never beaten. The Heels have never defeated West Virginia in men’s basketball; they sport a 0-5 record against the Mountaineers all-time. In light of this fact, Thursday’s announcement that the Heels will square off against WVU in a nonconference matchup in the upcoming season is a bit more significant than your usual schedule drop.
The Heels will face off against West Virginia on Friday, November 27th as part
of the Dick Vitale Invitational. The game will be held at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte, so there should be a good home crowd to help the Heels get off the schneid against the Mountaineers. The last game between the two squads was in December of 1965, when Dean Smith still was on the sidelines. West Virginia won the game 102-97 (as an aside, I’ve seen three different dates mentioned for this game; it seems to have taken place of December 31st, but I’ve also seen it listed as December 30th and December 21st).
This will be an early test for new head coach Mike Malone and the revamped Tar Heels squad. The Mountaineers were just ok last season, finishing 21-14 with a 9-9 record in the Big 12 (although notably, they won the College Basketball Crown tournament). They do have one of the best recruiting classes in school history coming into the program. Both school’s coaches will probably view the game as a chance to gel against another power conference team.
Tip times and where the game will be available to be seen on TV or streaming have not been released yet. Here’s hoping that if the Heels pull off the win, the state of West Virginia won’t threaten to sue anyone.
