Lucas: Schedule Rapid Reactions

By Adam Lucas

1. As always when the new schedule is released, check first for the quick turnarounds. This year's schedule includes just two. The first features both halves at the Smith Center, which is a huge benefit. Carolina hosts Clemson on Feb. 11 and then hosts Miami on Feb. 13. The second two-fer is tougher, as the Tar Heels host Virginia on Feb. 25 and then play at Florida State on Feb. 27. That's a difficult combination of a tough opponent to prepare for—and a team that should be one of the ACC frontrunners—and then a plane trip the next day to another likely league challenger.

For that reason, the closing kick is formidable. The Tar Heels play two on the road (at NC State and at Notre Dame, a venue where they have struggled recently) and then go through Virginia, FSU and Duke in the span of a week.

2. A travel stretch that would stagger even an NBA team is the centerpiece of the nonconference schedule and now includes a league battle. The Tar Heels make a cross-country trip to participate in the PK85 in Portland. The championship game is played late on Sunday night. Logistics are still being determined, but 72 hours later Carolina is due in Bloomington to face Indiana. And 72 hours after that, the Heels open Atlantic Coast Conference play in Blacksburg against Virginia Tech.

The slight head-shaker here is that Dec. 1 is a reading day for the University, and Dec. 2 and 3 are exam days. But television contracts, as we have learned, don't pause for exams.

3. The road ACC opener against the Hokies means Carolina has opened the ACC season on the road in four of the last five seasons.

4. Not on this year's schedule: that post-Christmas/pre-New Year's home game that turns into a sneakily hot ticket as everyone home for the holidays tries to make a Smith Center trip. Instead, Carolina will travel to Pitt on either Dec. 30 or 31.

5. We won't know for sure until the season plays out, but it appears as though the ACC schedule is challenging. There are three teams universally expected to be league contenders. The Tar Heels are one of them, of course, and they have home-and-home matchups with the other two—Virginia and Duke. The Heels don't get a home game against FSU (but they don't have to play a road game at Miami) and also don't get a return matchup for that December visit to Blacksburg.

6. The senior day showdown against Duke will be epic. The combination of a beloved senior class and an important rivalry game against a potential league contender on a Saturday should make for a special afternoon or evening in the Smith Center.

7. There will likely be some disappointment about the lack of marquee home nonconference games. That's a combination of a new neutral site game (in Charlotte against Michigan), this year's ACC/Big Ten Challenge game being on the road, and the expanded ACC schedule eating up some prime weekends that might ordinarily have hosted one of those games. The only weekend December date that the Tar Heels play at home is a contest against Georgia Tech. Save your lungs, though. Those back-to-back Saturdays hosting Virginia and Duke to close the home regular season slate are likely to be important, intense games.

8. It's unfortunate for fans that basketball is following the trend of football and releasing a schedule without game times. Expect those slots to be filled in over the next few weeks, but some won't arrive until we're well into the season. It simply makes it hard to plan for fans who might only be able to make one or two Chapel Hill trips per season.

9. You'll frequently hear Hubert Davis this preseason--including on Friday's edition of the Carolina Insider podcast, where we'll air an extended interview with him that you'll only hear there--talk about wanting his team to look out the front windshield of the car rather than in the rearview mirror. In other words, focus on what's ahead, not what they've already accomplished. But before you officially turn that page, a reminder that Together, the behind the scenes look at the 2021-22 season, will be released next month and is available wherever you buy books, including here and here.

10. The most important part of the schedule release: it means we're that much closer to what should be a fun season of Carolina Basketball. As a reminder, Live Action with Carolina Basketball will be held Sept. 30 in the Smith Center.

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