North Carolina officially released its complete 2026-27 men’s basketball non-conference schedule on Thursday, and while Tar Heel fans were already familiar with nearly the entire slate, the announcement filled in two remaining blanks.
The final unknown regular-season opponent is Monmouth, while UNC will also take advantage of a new NCAA rule by playing a third preseason exhibition — this one against Charlotte and new 49ers head coach (and Tar Heel national champion) Wes Miller.
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Carolina will host Monmouth at the Dean E. Smith Center on Monday, Nov. 23, slotting the Hawks between home games against Marshall on Nov. 20 and a neutral-site matchup with West Virginia in the Dick Vitale Invitational in Charlotte on Nov. 27. The Monmouth announcement completes a 14-game non-conference schedule that will combine with UNC’s 18-game ACC slate to give the Tar Heels a 32-game regular season.
That 32-game total is itself noteworthy. Beginning with the 2026-27 season, Division I programs can play up to 32 regular-season games, an increase from the previous maximum of 31. For Carolina, the equation will be straightforward: 14 non-conference games plus 18 ACC games.
But the more intriguing reveal Thursday might be UNC’s third exhibition.
The Tar Heels will host Charlotte on Tuesday, Oct. 27, after previously announced preseason contests against USC in Greensboro on Oct. 9 and Indiana in Indianapolis on Oct. 18. Carolina is able to schedule all three because another new NCAA rule, effective Aug. 1, allows teams to play as many as three preseason scrimmages or exhibitions against four-year colleges. A year ago, the limit was two.
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And there is an obvious Carolina connection waiting on the opposite sideline.
Charlotte hired Wes Miller as its new head coach in March after his five-year run at Cincinnati. Miller played at North Carolina from 2004-07 and was a member of Roy Williams’ 2005 national championship team before eventually beginning a coaching career that has included head-coaching stops at UNC Greensboro, Cincinnati, and now Charlotte.
That should make the Oct. 27 exhibition far more interesting than the typical preseason tune-up. Miller will return to the Smith Center as a head coach while Michael Malone’s first Tar Heel team gets one final live-game opportunity before the regular season begins six days later against Western Carolina.
The completed non-conference schedule gives Carolina an interesting blend of home games, neutral-site showcases and challenging high-major opponents. After opening Nov. 2 against Western Carolina, UNC hosts Wofford, Wyoming and Georgia before facing Marshall and Monmouth. The Tar Heels then play West Virginia in Charlotte, host Arkansas in the ACC-SEC Challenge and Butler, travel to Georgetown, meet NC State in Greensboro, face Kentucky at Madison Square Garden, host The Citadel and finally play Illinois in Nashville on Jan. 30.
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UNC will play 10 of its non-conference or preseason games in Chapel Hill, but several of the season’s marquee opportunities will come away from home — including West Virginia, NC State, Kentucky and Illinois.
Most of Thursday’s announcement simply made official what had already been reported piece by piece throughout the offseason. But with Monmouth now filling the final regular-season vacancy and Charlotte completing the new three-game exhibition slate, Michael Malone’s first UNC schedule is finally complete outside of the dates and locations for ACC play.
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PRESEASON | Friday, 10/9 | vs. USC | Greensboro, NC | First Horizon Coliseum
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PRESEASON | Sunday, 10/18 | vs. Indiana | Indianapolis, IN | Gainbridge Fieldhouse
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PRESEASON | Tuesday, 10/27 | vs. Charlotte | Chapel Hill, NC
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Monday, 11/2 | vs. Western Carolina | Chapel Hill, NC
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Friday, 11/6 | vs. Wofford | Chapel Hill, NC
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Tuesday, 11/10 | vs. Wyoming | Chapel Hill, NC
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Friday, 11/13 | vs. Georgia | Chapel Hill, NC
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Friday, 11/20 | vs. Marshall | Chapel Hill, NC
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Monday, 11/23 | vs. Monmouth | Chapel Hill, NC
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Friday, 11/27 | vs. West Virginia | Charlotte, NC | Spectrum Center | Dick Vitale Invitational
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Tuesday, 12/1 | vs. Arkansas | Chapel Hill, NC | ACC/SEC Challenge
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Sunday, 12/6 | vs. Butler | Chapel Hill, NC
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Saturday, 12/12 | at Georgetown | Washington DC
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Tuesday, 12/15 | vs. NC State | Greensboro, NC | First Horizon Coliseum | Tobacco Road Classic
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Saturday, 12/19 | vs. Kentucky | New York, NY | Madison Square Garden | CBS Sports Classi
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Monday, 12/21 | vs. The Citadel | Chapel Hill, NC
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Saturday, 1/30 | vs. Illinois | Nashville, TN | Bridgestone Arena | Nashville Hoops Showdown
