Heel Tough Blog: 2025-26 ACC Basketball Opponents Are Set

@UNC_Basketball

After securing a home and home with Georgetown, while in the process of finalizing their non-conference season, the ACC unveiled the opponents for the upcoming ACC basketball season. This is the first season with the new scheduling the model the conference is operating under, as the conference moved from 20 games to 18 games, and instead of playing multiple schools twice, teams will now only play two schools twice a season, their main rival, and another program, rotating on an every year basis. That means years of playing Duke and NC State twice every season are no more, as Carolina is only slated to play Duke twice every season, instead of both the Blue Devils and the Wolfpack. Furthermore, every year there will be one ACC school that every team won’t play, and this year that school happens to be Boston College. Here’s a breakdown of Carolina’s opponents for the 2025-26 ACC season:

Home and Away Opponents:

• The two teams that Carolina will face in Chapel Hill and on the road are the Duke Blue Devils and the Syracuse Orange. 

Home Only Opponents:

• In the seven home games outside of the games against Duke and Syracuse, Carolina will host Pittsburgh, Florida State, Clemson, Wake Forest, Virginia Tech, Louisville, and Notre Dame. The game that stands out is obviously the game against Louisville, after the Cardinals made the NCAA Tournament last year, Pat Kelsey has reloaded and has the Cardinals poised to compete atop of the conference in just his second season. 

Road Only Opponents:

• In the seven road games outside of the games at Duke and Syracuse, Carolina will travel to California, Stanford, SMU, Miami, Georgia Tech, NC State, and Virginia. After not traveling to either California, Stanford, or SMU last season, Carolina will travel to all three next season, making it the first time they play road conference games against those three schools. The road date at NC State will have a heightened sense of urgency given that it’s the only matchup of the season, and Will Wade has rebuilt the program in his first off-season with the program. If Ven-Allen Lubin transfers to NC State, the game at the Lenovo Center will be as anticipated as any road game at NC State this century. 

Dates and times for these games will be announced at a later date this summer. 

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