Tar Heel Nation, you're now officially one step closer to the start of college basketball season. On Wednesday, UNC released its 2026-27 ACC opponents, officially completing its schedule.
North Carolina still is waiting on game times, but those are bound to come in the near future. The Tar Heels now know who and where they're playing, all the way from preseason to the regular season finale vs. Duke
.UNC's first conference opponent is technically NC State, but that is officially a "non-conference" game in mid-December. North Carolina will welcome Cal on Wednesday, Dec. 30 to kick off ACC play, then begin 2027 at Boston College (January 2) and Louisville (Jan. 5).
The Tar Heels will host NC State on Jan. 9, then travel to Florida State four days
later. UNC returns home to host Stanford (Jan. 16) and Virginia (Jan. 19), travels to Syracuse (Jan. 23), then is back in Chapel Hill vs. SMU (Jan. 26) to close out the month.
Mark your calendars 📅 pic.twitter.com/BXaZ7OHdJd
— Carolina Basketball (@UNC_Basketball) September 9, 2026
North Carolina starts February at Notre Dame (second), followed by consecutive home games vs. Georgia Tech (sixth) and Louisville (eighth). UNC makes its lone trip to Duke on Feb. 13, is off during the following week, then travels West down I-40 to Wake Forest on Feb. 20.
The Tar Heels host Miami (FL) on Feb. 22, then close that month at Virginia Tech (27th). North Carolina starts March at Pitt (second), then welcomes Duke on the sixth.
Now that you know the ACC schedule, let's take a deeper dive into our five takeaways. Who else is excited for Year One in the Michael Malone era?
No Clemson for first time since the pre-ACC days
If you looked at UNC's ACC opponents, you may have noticed the lack of a former annual rival. For the first time since 1950-51, the Tar Heels won't play Clemson.
North Carolina beat the Tigers in Chapel Hill last season, but lost an ACC Tournament rematch. UNC could very well face Clemson in the conference tournament again, but this is certainly a schedule oddity.
First game vs. NC State is non-conference
After just one matchup during their 2025-26 campaigns, the Tar Heels and Wolfpack will play twice this coming season.
Weirdly enough, North Carolina's first matchup vs. NC State is non-conference. That will be played Tuesday, Dec. 15 in Greensboro as part of the Tobacco Road Classic.
UNC hosts the Wolfpack on Saturday, Jan. 9, 2027 in the Dean Dome, but doesn't travel to Raleigh.
Michael Malone's first ACC game will be at home
Closing out the 2026 portion of its schedule, UNC welcomes Cal to the Dean Dome on Dec. 30. This will be new head coach Michael Malone's first ACC basketball game.
The Golden Bears are on an upward trend, making the NIT in March for their first postseason appearance since 2017.
UNC's longest road trip is just two games
Every team hopes to start and end its season at home. North Carolina gets to do exactly that in ACC play, beginning with Cal on Dec. 30 and ending with Duke on March 6.
The Tar Heels hit the road plenty during conference play, but their longest road trip is two games, which will happen three times.
UNC's first 2-game road trip starts 2027, with games at Boston College (Jan. 2, 2027) and Louisville (Jan. 5). North Carolina hits the road for two straight games again in February (13th at Duke, 20th at Wake Forest), then shortly after at Virginia Tech (Feb. 27) and Pitt (March 2).
This article originally appeared on Tar Heels Wire: Five takeaways from UNC's 2026-27 ACC basketball schedule
