For North Carolina’s ACC sports fans, with the exception of the Duke faithful, the light at the end of what seems to be a long, dark tunnel of a football season is quickly approaching.
The ACC released the 2024-25 men’s and women’s basketball schedules on Sept. 24 with times and broadcast details, completing the schedules for each of the four Tobacco Road programs and giving fanbases with bleak gridiron hopes something to look forward to in the near future.
The new season will officially tip off on Nov. 4, but ACC play won’t start until Dec. 7 for the men and Dec. 8 for the women.
This year, the men’s conference slate for each team will consist of two home-and-away games against each of a school’s two current partners, one repeat opponent (home and away), seven home-only opponents and seven away-only opponents.
UNC, which has Duke and NC State as its home-and-away partners, will play Pitt for its repeat opponent. The Panthers will host the Tar Heels for the season’s first meeting on Jan 28. at 9 p.m., and the second game will follow shortly on Feb. 8 with the start time yet to be announced.
Pitt, coached by Jeff Capel, has given UNC problems the last few seasons. The Panthers won’t have Blake Hinson and Bub Carrington lighting it up in the backcourt this year, but as they try to leave no doubt on their tournament status come spring, this game could still be a good test for a UNC squad full of fresh faces.
Of course, the Tar Heels’ matchups with Duke on Feb. 1 and Mar. 8 will be their biggest games of the year, but their road test against Wake Forest on Jan. 21 at 9 p.m. should also be another big-time ACC matchup. The Demon Deacons will return veteran experience, including Hunter Sallis, Cameron Hildreth and Efton Reid III, and they’ll also be on a quest to prove they’re worthy of a tournament appearance.
Wake Forest’s trip to Clemson on Dec. 21 at 2:30 p.m. should be a fun watch as the Demon Deacons try to boost their resume against a team building on an Elite Eight appearance last year.
For the second year in a row, Duke and NC State will meet just one time during the regular season on Jan. 27 at 8:30 p.m. This could be one of the biggest games in the ACC should the Blue Devils live up to the hype of their No. 1 incoming recruiting class and the Wolfpack carry over the momentum of its Final Four run into this season.
That stretch of the season could be a good test for Cooper Flagg and the highly-touted Duke freshmen as the meeting with NC State is sandwiched between a date at Wake Forest on Jan. 25 and the first matchup with UNC.
The Wolfpack will get to host UNC first on Jan. 11 at 4 p.m., and they’ll travel to Chapel Hill on Feb. 19 at 7 p.m.
For the women’s schedule, each team will only play a home-and-away with one opponent.
NC State, which is coming off a Final Four appearance, will have Wake Forest as its home-and-away partner, playing in Winston-Salem on Jan. 30 at 6 p.m. and at home on Feb. 27 at 7 p.m. There are bigger games on the Wolfpack’s schedule though, as they’ll get to avenge their ACC tournament championship loss to Notre Dame when they host the Irish on Feb. 23 at noon, and they’ll get another round with Stanford at home on Jan. 12 at 3 p.m.
UNC will host Duke on Jan. 9 at 7 p.m., then the two rivals will play again in Durham on Feb. 27 at 7 p.m. for their home-and-away series. Led by senior guard Reigan Richardson, Duke is looking to take the next step towards another solid run in the NCAA tournament. A Jan. 19 home game against Stanford, a Feb. 3 matchup at NC State and back-to-back games at Notre Dame and against Louisville on Feb. 17 and 20, respectively, should be strong tests for the Blue Devils.
With the loss of guards Deja Kelly and Paulina Paris to the transfer portal, the Tar Heels will look to regroup, get healthy and build off of last year’s up and down season. Things won’t be easy as UNC will host Notre Dame on Jan. 5, Florida State on Jan. 26, NC State on Feb. 16, and it will travel to Stanford on Feb. 2 and Louisville on Feb. 23.
