Carmichael Comments: The Schedule Is Here

Classes on the UNC campus are back in full swing, the temperatures are (finally) dipping from the summer heat, and the official start of fall is right around the corner. All these markers are important signposts on the road to the tipoff of the highly-anticipated 2022-23 season for Carolina women's basketball.

At long last, another important checklist item is complete – a full, 29-game schedule, complete with 18 ACC games. The conference released the league schedule for each of its 15 member schools on Wednesday morning. For the second straight year, the 18-game schedule will see Carolina take on regional foes Duke, NC State, Virginia, and Virginia Tech twice each, with one game on each team's home court. The sites of the remaining 10 matchups – one apiece against the other, more distant ACC teams – will flip from last season. That means the Tar Heels will host Boston College, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Notre Dame, and Wake Forest this season, while traveling to Clemson, Louisville, Miami, Pittsburgh, and Syracuse.

Over the summer, we analyzed the 11 non-league games with a Carmichael Comments offseason edition, but if you missed the highlights, just know it's an impressive schedule featuring five Power Five opponents, up to three fellow 2022 Sweet 16 participants, and six chances to see Carolina play at home in Carmichael Arena. The slate will certainly prepare Carolina for the ACC schedule, which yet again promises to entertain and challenge night after night.
I've looked through the schedule inside and out, and here are my takeaways.

After-Christmas Tipoff
The ACC docket for the Tar Heels begins on Dec. 29 against Florida State, Carolina's latest conference opener since the 2019-20 campaign. Based on the calendar, the ACC will have a "window of games" prior to the holiday break, but that's the Tar Heels' designated bye. The obvious positive there is that Carolina won't have to cram in an ACC game prior to the Jumpman Invitational showdown with Michigan on Dec. 20 in Charlotte, and the team can enjoy and focus on what promises to be a special week in the Queen City. The flip side of the coin is a stretch of 18 games in nine weeks – two games per week – from Dec. 29 through the regular season's conclusion.

Challenges to Start
When the Tar Heels return from their homes after the holidays, they'll need to get right to work, and for good reason: each of Carolina's first four ACC opponents qualified for the 2022 NCAA Tournament. The quartet begins with the Seminoles, who fell to Missouri State in the First Four, but begin life with Brooke Wyckoff as their new head coach. Wyckoff, a former FSU player and longtime assistant, was the interim head coach for the 2020-21 season, but will be the permanent leader when she walks into Carmichael Arena in the waning days of 2022. Then, the Tar Heels venture to Blacksburg, Va. to ring in 2023 with a New Year's Day game at Virginia Tech. The two programs played three extremely competitive games last season, and Cassell Coliseum is always a tough place to play. Plus, Virginia Tech will be looking to bounce back from an upset loss to Florida Gulf Coast in the first round of last year's NCAA Tournament. The Hokies are ranked No. 11 in the ESPN way-too-early top 25. From there, Carolina trades in the likely chill of the Blue Ridge Mountains for the warmth and sunshine of South Florida, as the Heels head to Coral Gables, Fla. to play Miami on Jan. 5. It's nice to have the Miami trip prior to the start of classes for the spring semester. The Hurricanes went from a bubble team in February to a tournament team thanks to a surprising run to the ACC Tournament Championship Game last March. They then fell to South Carolina in the NCAA Tournament's Second Round. Katie Meier, now the longest-tenured ACC head coach, begins her 18^th season at Miami, and is certain to remind her team of Carolina's dominant 85-38 win in Chapel Hill last season. The challenging stretch concludes with a return to Carmichael Arena to take on fellow Sweet 16 qualifier Notre Dame on Jan. 8. The Irish squeaked past the Tar Heels in Indiana last season, and saw their year come to a close at the hands of ACC foe NC State in March. Niele Ivey's team sits at No. 9 in the ESPN way-too-early top 25 poll.

January Home Cooking
The Notre Dame game marks the first of five always-popular Sunday ACC home games at Carmichael Arena, three of which will occur on consecutive weeks in January. Following the showdown with the Irish, the Tar Heels make their annual trip to Charlottesville, Va. to play Virginia on Jan. 12, but return for an ACC-season long three-game homestand (there are two three-game homestands in non-conference play, one each in November and December). The first two games of the homestand come against Carolina's two fiercest rivals, NC State (Jan. 15) and Duke (Jan. 19). It's the first time since the final two games of the 2018-19 regular season that the Tar Heels will play the Wolfpack and Blue Devils in consecutive games, and the first time since January 2018 that the games will both be at home. These two games are always fan favorites, and it's especially exciting to have the NC State game on a Sunday. Can't wait to see the Carolina fans and students pack Carmichael Arena twice in five days!

And there will be a lot riding on each game, too. NC State reached the Elite Eight last year but will boast a new-look roster this season that still receives attention across the ACC and the nation. The Wolfpack is No. 8 in the aforementioned ESPN way-too-early top 25 poll. Duke, meanwhile, has rebuilt its roster again with several highly-touted transfers. The Tar Heels will be looking for their first three-game win streak against Duke since 2008-2009, and to achieve the feat at home would be even more special.

As if that wasn't enough, another 2022 NCAA Tournament team awaits in another Sunday home game on Jan. 22, when first-round participant Georgia Tech comes to Carmichael. The Yellow Jackets and their stingy defense snapped a lengthy losing streak to the Tar Heels last year in Atlanta, so this matchup promises to be another competitive battle.

Big Cats, Big Road Week
With three straight home games, the seesaw has to tip back the other way at some point, and it does Jan. 26 and 29. Carolina will play two road games in a Thursday-Sunday ACC week for the first time since January 2021, venturing to Pittsburgh for a Jan. 26 matchup with the Pitt Panthers and the Upstate of South Carolina for a Jan. 29 clash with the Clemson Tigers. The last time Carolina faced such a challenge, with two separate flight trips in one ACC week, was 2013 with trips to Boston College and Georgia Tech. By the way, it's the third straight odd year (2019, 2021, 2023) in which the road games at Clemson and Pitt are consecutive games on the schedule, but the first game of the stretch has been on a Sunday in both previous instances. Even though Pitt and Clemson have not been ACC contenders in recent years, the road challenge for Carolina remains formidable.

Another Road Back-to-Back
After a quick stopover in Chapel Hill to host Virginia – the Tar Heels' first repeat opponent of the season – on Feb. 2, it's another stretch of back-to-back flight trips. The first Sunday of February sends Carolina to the banks of the Ohio River for another critical test with perennial power Louisville. The Tar Heels memorably handed the then- No. 3 Cardinals a loss in Carmichael Arena this past February, Louisville's first to Carolina in UofL's ACC tenure. Louisville will be dangerous yet again, with a No. 7 ranking in the ESPN way-too-early top 25 and many key pieces back. From there, Carolina will head back out on the road for a Feb. 9 trip to the renamed JMA Wireless Dome (née Carrier Dome) in Syracuse. The Orange are under the direction of first-year Head Coach Felisha Legette-Jack, a former player at Syracuse in the 1980s. All in all, the stretch from Jan. 26-Feb. 9 features four road games in five contests.

Feeling Comfy in Your Own Bed
Remember earlier when I was talking about seesaws? Well, it again balances out in the five-game conclusion to the regular season. In that stretch, the Tar Heels won't have to leave the Triangle, and will be able to spend nearly three straight weeks in their own beds. Quite obviously, that's a rarity in college basketball. On Feb. 12, Carolina hosts Boston College for the penultimate Sunday home game of the year, a perfect appetizer for the big football game that night (or, if you're more into commercials, the annual celebration of the 30-second advertisement). The ensuing Thursday (Feb. 16) marks the annual trip to NC State's Reynolds Coliseum for the second of the rivalry matchups with the Wolfpack on the season. The games between the two historic rivals separated by roughly half an hour are always electric in Raleigh.

The Tar Heels' fifth and final ACC Sunday home game comes on Feb. 19, the one and only showdown with Tobacco Road rival Wake Forest this year. The Deacs are led by first-year Head Coach Megan Gebbia, but return many pieces from a WNIT team in 2021-22. They'll be the final first-time opponent for Carolina this year.

The regular season ends with two repeat opponents, but a pair of games that will likely have enormous impacts on the ACC race and postseason implications. Carolina's home finale for the regular year comes on Thursday, Feb. 23 with a visit from Virginia Tech. It's the projected final regular-season home game for Eva Hodgson, Malu Tshitenge, and Ariel Young. With the Tar Heels and Hokies both expected to contend at the top of the ACC, this night is sure to be a memorable one for a variety of reasons. Then, as is customary, the regular season ends with the second women's basketball edition of the greatest rivalry in college sports between Carolina and Duke. This year, it's Cameron Indoor Stadium's turn to host the finale on Feb. 26.

The ACC Tournament will return to Greensboro from Mar. 1-5, with the NCAA Tournament tipping off with the First Four on Mar. 15-16 and moving to the entire bracket on Mar. 17. Once again, the top 16 seeds will earn the right to host the first weekend of March Madness play. The Sweet 16 and Elite Eight will be contested in Greenville, S.C. and Seattle, Wash., with the Final Four in Dallas, Tex.

That's all for now! Go Heels!

-Matt