The UNC and Tennessee men’s basketball teams don’t play each other a lot, but when they do, it’s favored the former.
The Volunteers’ 89-72 victory, on Nov. 21, 2021 in the Basketball Hall of Fame Tip-Off, was their first against the Tar Heels since Jan. 31, 1949.
For reference, that’s back when players used to wear shorter shorts.
UNC and Tennessee actually played each other in back-to-back seasons during the last decade – once in Chapel Hill, then the following year in Knoxbille. Carolina squeaked by the Volunteers at home, 73-71, on Dec. 11 in 2016, then won another close, 78-73 contest in Knoxville on Dec. 17, 2017.
UNC leads the all-time series 10-2, with the two programs’ first matchup being back on Feb. 21, 1921. This was back in the low-scoring days of college basketball (unless you’re a UVA fan now), as the Tar Heels took a 40-21 victory. This started a streak of five consecutive series wins for Carolina, which lost to Tennessee in 1949.
After its first loss in the series, UNC won five straight matchups – again – between the 2000 and 2017 season.
Tomorrow night in Chapel Hill (7:15 p.m. ET,ESPN) might be the most highly-anticipated matchup in this series, as both teams as ranked (UNC 17th, Tennessee 10th). A win for either side goes a long way, as it would easily be the most impressive, regular-season victory in 2023 so far.
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