North Carolina basketball will play at Indiana in November as part of the ACC-Big Ten Challenge, another high-profile non-conference matchup on the Tar Heels’ schedule for next season.
ESPN announced the pairings for the annual challenge event on Friday, and UNC will travel to face the Hoosiers on Nov. 30 at Assembly Hall.
North Carolina also is scheduled to meet Ohio State on Dec. 17 in the CBS Sports Classic at Madison Square Garden and Michigan on Dec. 21 in the Jumpman Invitational in Charlotte.
Alabama, Connecticut, Iowa State, Michigan State, Oregon, Villanova and Portland present other matchup possibilities early next season. Those teams join North Carolina in the Phil Knight Invitational tournament Nov. 24-27.
The Tar Heels (29-10 last season) have starters Armando Bacot, Caleb Love, RJ Davis and Leaky Black returning from their Final Four core, and additions such as Northwestern graduate transfer Pete Nance and incoming freshman Seth Trimble. They figure to open next season as the ACC favorite and perhaps even the preseason No. 1 team nationally.
Indiana went 21-14 last season under first-year coach Mike Woodson, losing to Saint Mary’s in a blowout in the NCAA Tournament after winning a First Four game against Wyoming.
Duke hosts Ohio State in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge next season on the same night, a Wednesday, that UNC plays at Indiana. N.C. State is the odd team out of this year's event; the Big Ten only has 14 teams, while the ACC has 15. Here’s a look at the challenge schedule:
2022 ACC-Big Ten Challenge
Minnesota at Virginia Tech
Pittsburgh at Northwestern
North Carolina at Indiana
Michigan State at Notre Dame
Boston College at Nebraska
Adam Smith is a sports reporter for the Burlington Times-News and USA TODAY Network. You can reach him by email at asmith@thetimesnews.com or @adam_smithTN on Twitter.
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