Despite holding their first practice of the 2023-24 season yesterday, the Tar Heels still didn’t know their ACC slate for the upcoming season. Well, that finally changed tonight, as the league office unveiled the full schedule for all the ACC teams for the upcoming basketball season. As you know by now, the ACC plays 20 conference games, that begin as early as December, and run through the first week of March. With that in mind, here is a look at Carolina’s ACC schedule month by month for the upcoming basketball season:
December:
The first conference game for the Tar Heels will take place in Chapel Hill on December 2nd, when Carolina will host a Florida State program, looking to bounce back after a disappointing 2022-23 season. Ironically, that will be the only ACC game that Carolina plays before the calendar turns, with a December filled with trips to Atlanta, Charlotte, and more as they finish out another strong non-conference schedule.
January:
If the Tar Heels are going to compete for the regular season ACC title, we will find out in early January, as they start the new year off with three straight road games at Pittsburgh, Clemson, and rival NC State. This is the first time in a non-Covid season that UNC will play three straight road conference games since 2016 when they went 1-2. Following the three road games, Carolina will play their next two ACC games at home, when they host Syracuse and Louisville. It is important to remember that Syracuse is transitioning out of the Jim Boeheim era, but will still play that famous 2-3 zone. Three of the final four games of the month will also come on the road, as Carolina will travel to Boston College, a return trip to Florida State, and Georgia Tech, with the only home game coming at home against Wake Forest.
February:
The second month of the year begins with the first of two contests with the Duke Blue Devils, as Carolina will welcome them on the first Saturday in February. Following the first matchup with Duke, Carolina will host Clemson in the second of the two matchups with the Tigers. After those two home dates, it’s back-to-back road games, as Carolina will travel to Miami, and a return visit with Syracuse. After the trip to New York, Carolina will close out the month with two home games against Virginia Tech, and Miami, with a road trip to Charlottesville in between.
March:
The final month of the regular season, features two games against rivals, as Carolina will begin the month hosting NC State, but that won’t serve as Senior Night. Instead, Notre Dame will be Carolina’s Senior Night opponent, which will be the final time Armando Bacot, and potentially R.J. Davis will play in the Smith Center. And the final game of the ACC slate will be a trip back to Cameron Indoor Stadium, to face off against the Blue Devils, on the second Saturday of March.
Now that you have the month-by-month slate for the ACC slate, here are some important notes you should take away from the Tar Heels 2023-24 ACC schedule:
Home and Home Opponents: The teams that Carolina will play both in Chapel Hill and on the road this year include Duke, NC State, Florida State, Clemson, Miami, and Syracuse.
Home Only Opponents: The list of teams that Carolina will only play in Chapel Hill this year are Notre Dame, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest, and Louisville.
Road Only Opponents: The teams that Carolina will play on the road this year are Georgia Tech, Virginia, Boston College, and Pittsburgh.
Saturday/Monday Turnarounds: UNC will have two 48-hour turnarounds, as they will play at Boston College on January 20th, and will host Wake Forest on January 22nd. The other one comes in February when they travel to Virginia on the 24th, and Carolina hosts Miami on the 26th.
After going 11-9 in the ACC last season, the Tar Heels will look to put together a better conference record, as they hope to return to the NCAA Tournament, after missing out on the Big Dance last season.