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University of North Carolina Athletics
Lucas: Schedule Rapid Reactions
September 16, 2021 | Men's Basketball, Featured Writers, Adam Lucas
Quick takeaways from the release of Carolina's 2021-22 schedule.
By Adam Lucas
1. We already knew the nonconference opponents and dates, and the Atlantic Coast Conference opponents, so tonight's release is mostly about seeing how the conference opponents fall.
2. With that in mind, the first look has to be at how many short turnarounds the Tar Heels will face. There are three Saturday-Monday combinations this year. The toughest appears to be the first one, when Carolina hosts NC State on Jan. 29 at 8 p.m., and less than 48 hours later plays at Louisville on Jan. 31. The short turnarounds are always tougher when the back end is on the road, because then there is travel involved on the "off" day. Facing an in-state rival followed by a road trip to a good team is a tough assignment.
3. Carolina's other Saturday-Monday turnarounds are Feb. 19 at Virginia Tech followed by a Feb. 21 home date with Louisville, and a Feb. 26 road trip to NC State followed by a Feb. 28 home matchup with Syracuse. That's Carolina's only meeting with the Orange this season, which means all of the preparation for Jim Boeheim's zone defense will have to be done in one day. Carolina was 2-1 in Saturday-Monday turnarounds last year (with one Monday game postponed) and 2-4 during the 2019-20 campaign.
4. That Dec. 5 ACC opener at Georgia Tech looms as a big early season test. The Tar Heels don't have great recent history with early season trips to Atlanta, including a loss last season. But Jose Alvarado is (finally) gone and Carolina will have already played seven games. Getting a road conference win before Christmas would be a great start to Hubert Davis' first season as head coach.
5. For the past 15 years, it's been safe to assume the Tar Heels will still be working on their rotation in December and January, causing some occasional early-season head-scratchers. We don't really know what will happen under Davis. Carolina has plenty of early season tests, including games against Purdue and either Tennessee or Villanova in Connecticut, a hoem game against Michigan, and a meeting with UCLA in Las Vegas. That's a stacked nonconference schedule even before you consider ACC games against Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech before January 1.
6. And on January 1, the Tar Heels will be at Boston College for a noon tipoff. That feels like a very strange game, and it's part of three road games in the first four conference games for the Tar Heels. Carolina also played three of the first four ACC games on the road last year, going 2-2.
7. It feels like leagues have finally started to understand that announcing football game times further in advance makes it easier for fans to attend and helps attendance. Unfortunately, we're now dealing with the same issue in basketball. Three of Carolina's final four Saturday games are listed as TBA.Â
8. As problematic as that development might be, it's a positive trend that both Carolina-Duke games continue to be on Saturday. The regular season finale at Cameron Indoor Stadium on March 5 at 6 p.m., which should be Mike Krzyzewski's final game at Cameron Indoor Stadium (barring an NIT appearance), promises to be a major national sports story.
9. It's always important when evaluating the schedule to check the road-only ACC opponents. This year's single road trips are to Notre Dame, Miami, Wake Forest and Clemson. There are no easy league road trips, of course, but that's a relatively manageable quartet, especially since the visit to South Bend will likely be with few students on campus.
10. In contrast, the home-only matchups are Virginia, Florida State, Pitt and Syracuse. Ask yourself how you'd feel if those were the road-only games. That's a fortunate foursome to not have to visit on the road.
11. Carolina doesn't play a weekend home game after Feb. 12. Those are traditionally the best Smith Center crowds of the year. The Tar Heels will need weeknight energy in the building against Pitt, Louisville and Syracuse. On the other hand, look for that Dec. 29 home date with Virginia Tech--at a time, sigh, to be announced--to be a sneaky tough ticket. The Hokies will be good, have a decent amount of fans in the area, and the home game between Christmas and New Year's is traditionally a sought-after ticket for those with family in town.
12. Ultimately, tonight's schedule release means one thing only: we're going to get a much more normal basketball season--crossing our fingers--this year. Late Night will be October 15Â and then it's time for some Tar Heel basketball.
1. We already knew the nonconference opponents and dates, and the Atlantic Coast Conference opponents, so tonight's release is mostly about seeing how the conference opponents fall.
2. With that in mind, the first look has to be at how many short turnarounds the Tar Heels will face. There are three Saturday-Monday combinations this year. The toughest appears to be the first one, when Carolina hosts NC State on Jan. 29 at 8 p.m., and less than 48 hours later plays at Louisville on Jan. 31. The short turnarounds are always tougher when the back end is on the road, because then there is travel involved on the "off" day. Facing an in-state rival followed by a road trip to a good team is a tough assignment.
3. Carolina's other Saturday-Monday turnarounds are Feb. 19 at Virginia Tech followed by a Feb. 21 home date with Louisville, and a Feb. 26 road trip to NC State followed by a Feb. 28 home matchup with Syracuse. That's Carolina's only meeting with the Orange this season, which means all of the preparation for Jim Boeheim's zone defense will have to be done in one day. Carolina was 2-1 in Saturday-Monday turnarounds last year (with one Monday game postponed) and 2-4 during the 2019-20 campaign.
4. That Dec. 5 ACC opener at Georgia Tech looms as a big early season test. The Tar Heels don't have great recent history with early season trips to Atlanta, including a loss last season. But Jose Alvarado is (finally) gone and Carolina will have already played seven games. Getting a road conference win before Christmas would be a great start to Hubert Davis' first season as head coach.
5. For the past 15 years, it's been safe to assume the Tar Heels will still be working on their rotation in December and January, causing some occasional early-season head-scratchers. We don't really know what will happen under Davis. Carolina has plenty of early season tests, including games against Purdue and either Tennessee or Villanova in Connecticut, a hoem game against Michigan, and a meeting with UCLA in Las Vegas. That's a stacked nonconference schedule even before you consider ACC games against Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech before January 1.
6. And on January 1, the Tar Heels will be at Boston College for a noon tipoff. That feels like a very strange game, and it's part of three road games in the first four conference games for the Tar Heels. Carolina also played three of the first four ACC games on the road last year, going 2-2.
7. It feels like leagues have finally started to understand that announcing football game times further in advance makes it easier for fans to attend and helps attendance. Unfortunately, we're now dealing with the same issue in basketball. Three of Carolina's final four Saturday games are listed as TBA.Â
8. As problematic as that development might be, it's a positive trend that both Carolina-Duke games continue to be on Saturday. The regular season finale at Cameron Indoor Stadium on March 5 at 6 p.m., which should be Mike Krzyzewski's final game at Cameron Indoor Stadium (barring an NIT appearance), promises to be a major national sports story.
9. It's always important when evaluating the schedule to check the road-only ACC opponents. This year's single road trips are to Notre Dame, Miami, Wake Forest and Clemson. There are no easy league road trips, of course, but that's a relatively manageable quartet, especially since the visit to South Bend will likely be with few students on campus.
10. In contrast, the home-only matchups are Virginia, Florida State, Pitt and Syracuse. Ask yourself how you'd feel if those were the road-only games. That's a fortunate foursome to not have to visit on the road.
11. Carolina doesn't play a weekend home game after Feb. 12. Those are traditionally the best Smith Center crowds of the year. The Tar Heels will need weeknight energy in the building against Pitt, Louisville and Syracuse. On the other hand, look for that Dec. 29 home date with Virginia Tech--at a time, sigh, to be announced--to be a sneaky tough ticket. The Hokies will be good, have a decent amount of fans in the area, and the home game between Christmas and New Year's is traditionally a sought-after ticket for those with family in town.
12. Ultimately, tonight's schedule release means one thing only: we're going to get a much more normal basketball season--crossing our fingers--this year. Late Night will be October 15Â and then it's time for some Tar Heel basketball.
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