As the UNC basketball team inches closer to the start of its 2025-2026 season, anticipation continues building in Chapel Hill.
With the exception of Seth Trimble, James Brown and Zayden High, everyone is a newcomer to the Tar Heels’ star-studded roster.
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North Carolina hit the transfer portal hard: bringing in 7-foot center Henri Veesaar, likely starting point guard Kyan Evans, hometown kid Jarin Stevenson, plus a pair of shooting guards in Jonathan Powell and Jaydon Young. Hubert Davis continued to showcase his recruiting prowess, with UNC’s 2025 recruiting class including Top-10 recruit Caleb Wilson, plus a pair of combo guards in Derek Dixon and Isaiah Denis.
The Tar Heels previously teased fans about their upcoming season, releasing a few non-conference matchups. North Carolina released the rest of their non-conference opponents on Friday, now allowing fans to prepare which nights they’ll be in the Dean Dome, on the road, or on their couches.
Outside of a road clash with Kentucky, a neutral-site battle with Ohio State, plus a pair of Fort Myers (Fla.) Tip-Off games against Michigan State and St. Bonaventure, you’ll notice one eye-popping characteristic about UNC’s non-conference schedule: every matchup is in the Dean Dome.
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The Tar Heels’ first official home game will be Monday, November 3 against Central Arkansas, which became Division I in 2010. Four days later, North Carolina will host a highly-anticipated matchup against Kansas, which won in Allen Fieldhouse last year.
Radford (Nov. 11), NC Central (Nov. 14) and Navy (Nov. 18) are all winnable games, then UNC faces a strong Atlantic 10 program in St. Bonaventure, followed by a Thanksgiving Day game against Tom Izzo’s Spartans. Rupp Arena will be rocking on December 2, as will the Dean Dome on December 7 against Georgetown.
USC-Upstate, ETSU and ECU are all teams the Tar Heels should beat handily, while Ohio State will provide a strong challenge.
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This article originally appeared on Tar Heels Wire: UNC basketball non-conference schedule includes Kansas, Kentucky, MSU
