Tag: 2024-2025 UNC men’s basketball schedule

Hawai’i to debut new uniforms vs UNC on Friday night

When you’re watching UNC-Hawai’i on Saturday morning, you’ll be looking at some fresh new uniforms for the hosts.

The North Carolina Tar Heels are preparing to face a tough road test in the wee morning hours on Saturday, heading across the Pacific Ocean for a 12:30 a.m. matchup with the Hawai’i Rainbow Warriors.

UNC (2-1) has a very brief history with Hawai’i (4-0), winning each of the first five matchups, with the last one coming in 2016 at Hawai’i. North Carolina fans remember that 2016-2017 campaign very well, with a sixth National Championship captured in April against Gonzaga.

The Tar Heels will be looking for their third win of the year, while the Rainbow Warriors look to remain undefeated.

When Hawai’i takes the court Saturday morning, it’ll be doing so with some brand-new uniforms, reminiscent of the tropical oasis it is.

The Rainbow Warriors beat Life Pacific handily to open their season, then topped San José State two days later on Nov. 10. Hawai’i played Pacific the next day, winning 76-66, then held off Weber State in overtime last Sunday.

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There’s no telling which uniforms UNC will don, but it’ll be tough to beat those the Rainbow Warriors will sport.

One thing we do know about North Carolina, though: it has to be careful on Saturday morning. This game is a tune-up for the Maui Invitational that starts Monday, but it also could be a trap game.

The Tar Heels started to round into form in a massive win against American, with Jalen Washington and Drake Powell leading the charge. Elliot Cadeau scored 15 first-half points and was one off his career-high, while Cade Tyson started to showcase why Hubert Davis went out and got him in the transfer portal.

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Tip-off time announced for UNC-Florida Jumpman Invitational men’s basketball clash

UNC-Florida is one of the coming college basketball season’s highest-anticipated matchups. We now know what time the two historic programs tip off.

Despite winning the ACC Regular Season Title and carrying ACC Player of the Year RJ Davis on its roster last season, the UNC men’s basketball team wasn’t able to capture its seventh NCAA Championship.

North Carolina lost a high-scoring 89-87 battle against Alabama in the Sweet 16. The Tar Heels did plenty of things wrong in their loss, but it will sadly be remembered for an ill-advised 3-point attempt from reserve forward Jae’Lyn Withers

Florida was another team with plenty of talent on its roster, but the Gators lost to Colorado in the Round of 64.

In one of the most anticipated matchups of the 2024-2025 college basketball season, UNC will play Florida in the Jumpman Invitational on Tuesday, Dec. 17.

North Carolina discovered its date three months ago, but now knows the time it’ll be playing at: 7 p.m. Eastern. This means that if you’re a Tar Heels basketball fan, start making plans to be free for some college hoops that night.

There isn’t a ton of history between UNC and the Gators, but the two programs did last meet on Nov. 28, 2014 in the Bahamas. North Carolina won this game, 75-64.

The Tar Heels play Florida as part of a grueling non-conference slate, which also includes Dayton, Alabama, UCLA and 2022 NCAA Champion Kansas,

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Which incoming Tar Heel is a mocked lottery pick in 2025 NBA Draft?

The UNC basketball squad has a potential 2025 NBA lottery pick in Drake Powell on its roster.

It’s the middle of August, which means the UNC men’s basketball team is just over three months away from kicking off its 2024-2025 season.

The Tar Heels enjoyed a historic season last year, capturing their first regular season ACC Title since 2019 and making the Sweet 16. North Carolina was aided by the likes of Armando Bacot, RJ Davis, Harrison Ingram and Cormac Ryan, amongst others.

Bacot, Ingram and Ryan are all gone, so who will replace their production this winter?

Look no further than incoming 5-star freshman and McDonalds All-American Drake Powell, the hometown kid who played his high school basketball just minutes from the Dean Dome.

Powell is projected to stand out during his first collegiate year – so much, that Bleacher Report has Powell going fifth overall in its latest 2025 NBA Mock Draft.

“Drake Powell received some quality experience this summer at Jayson Tatum’s Elite Camp and the Nike Skills Academy,” Bleacher Report’s Jonathan Wasserman wrote. “He’s going to build a real case for starter minutes, with more versatility at both ends, than North Carolina wings Ian Jackson and Cade Tyson. Head coach Hubert Davis will be able to slide Powell into multiple positions and roles. He’s extremely well-rounded and is capable of making plays on and off the ball with his pull-up, passing, improved catch-and-shoot game and athleticism. Powell is going to make his mark this coming season by impacting games in different ways.”

Powell’s star-studded prep career included two state championship appearances at Northwood (NC) High School, where he averaged 16.6 points per game across four varsity seasons. If you go back and watch some of Powell’s highlight tapes, you’ll see his game is far advanced beyond his age.

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RJ Davis projected to have one of the highest scoring totals in college basketball

How will RJ Davis follow up his 2024 ACC Player of the Year campaign?

RJ Davis took his game to another level last year – and it paid off with a historic season for the UNC men’s basketball team.

The Tar Heels won their first ACC Regular Season Title since 2019, going 29-8 (17-3) to achieve the feat. North Carolina nearly added on its first ACC Tournament Championship since 2016, but fell victim to a red-hot NC State squad.

UNC earned a Top Regional Seed in the NCAA Tournament, beating Wagner and Michigan State in its first two matchups. The Tar Heels then battled Alabama in a high-scoring contest, but lost in what’s unofficially known as the “Grant Nelson Game.”

As we alluded to earlier, Davis’ production played a big part in North Carolina’s success. He was named ACC Player of the Year by averaging a career-high 21.2 points per game, which included 32 games in double-figures and a 42-point outing against ACC rival Miami (FL).

The experts are projecting Davis to have yet another strong season, as his expected 19 points per game for the 2024-2025 season is seventh in the nation.

Davis won’t have the likes of Armando Bacot or Harrison Ingram to assist him, but he will have the likes of incoming transfer Cade Tyson and Ven-Allen Lubin. UNC also brings in 5-star freshmen Drake Powell and Ian Jackson.

Will Davis be able to lead the Tar Heels further this upcoming season?

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Tar Heels could be adding a former Yellow Jacket in basketball transfer portal

The UNC men’s basketball team offered yet another forward in the transfer portal.

The UNC men’s basketball team looked to the transfer portal to fill a couple starting spots for its upcoming season, which starts on Monday, Nov. 4 against Elon at the Dean Dome.

North Carolina originally snagged Cade Tyson from Belmont, then later Ven-Allen Lubin from Vanderbilt.

It doesn’t appear that head coach Hubert Davis is done fine-tuning the Tar Heels’ 2024-2025 roster.

On Saturday Aug. 10, it was reported that UNC reached out to Georgia Tech transfer Tyzhaun Claude. A Goldsboro, North Carolina native, Claude spent his first three seasons at Morehead State before transferring to Western Carolina.

Claude appeared in 32 games (four starts) for the Yellow Jackets last year, averaging 4.8 points and 5.2 rebounds per game. Claude’s best collegiate season was the year before at Western Carolina, where he broke out to average a career-high 15.4 points per game.

If the Tar Heels are able to land Claude, who stands 6’7″, he’d likely be a reserve forward.

Snagging Claude isn’t a must-get for UNC, but he also couldn’t hurt. North Carolina doesn’t have a ton of depth at small forward, as 5-star freshman Ian Jackson and Drake Powell are likely to split time at that spot.

Good teams always have depth, something the Tar Heels have struggled with in recent years. Here’s to hoping Claude chooses UNC.

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UNC hoops add LaSalle to its 2024-2025 non-conference schedule

The UNC men’s basketball team is finalizing its non-conference schedule.

Even with Harrison Ingram entering his name into the 2024 NBA Draft, there’s still a ton of optimist surrounding the UNC men’s basketball program months ahead of the 2024-2025 campaign.

Seth Trimble, a major part of the Tar Heels’ guard rotation, recently announced his return to Chapel Hill after a brief stint in the transfer portal. 5-star recruits Ian Jackson and Drake Powell, both McDonalds All-Americans, both join the roster.

Oh – there’s also a strong possibility reigning ACC Player of the Year RJ Davis returns.

All the above moves point to yet another strong season in North Carolina, with eyes set on a seventh NCAA Championship after last year’s Sweet 16 exit.

Speaking of next year, UNC’s non-conference schedule is nearing finalization, with the Tar Heels set to face the Atlantic 10’s LaSalle Explorers on Saturday, Dec. 14 in Chapel Hill.

LaSalle, coming off its fourth consecutive losing campaign, has yet to make the NCAA Tournament since its surprise Sweet 16 run in 2013. The Explorers’ best year since that run, record-wise, came during a 17-16 campaign in 2014-2015.

LaSalle does have a bright future ahead, though, as longtime Penn and Temple coach Fran Dunphy heads the program. Dunphy appeared in the NCAA Tournament 17 times with Penn and Temple, with his team’s best result being three Round of 32 appearances.

This would be the first ever matchup between North Carolina and LaSalle.

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