UNC Men’s Basketball 2025-2026

[NYCBlueBlood]

And the past couple years we had more OOC games vs. top-25 teams than usual. Going back further between Roy’s first year (2004) and 2015, this is what it looked like (we played no games vs. top-25 opponents in 2008!):
2004 - 3
2005 - 1
2006 - 2
2007 - 2
2008 - 0
2009 - 2
2010 - 4
2011 - 3
2012 - 2
2013 - 2
2014 - 3
2015 - 4

In Roy's years, we had more than enough games against top 25 opponents in our ACC schedule. We typically had 3 or 4 teams in or around the top 10, with half the conference in or around the top 25 (I'm going off the top of my head, so consider all this approximate). Our pre-conference schedule really only mattered for preparing us for conference play. Now with the ACC so soft, we need quality wins in pre-conference play to bolster our tournament resume.

 

[Icky Mettle]

In Roy's years, we had more than enough games against top 25 opponents in our ACC schedule. We typically had 3 or 4 teams in or around the top 10, with half the conference in or around the top 25 (I'm going off the top of my head, so consider all this approximate). Our pre-conference schedule really only mattered for preparing us for conference play. Now with the ACC so soft, we need quality wins in pre-conference play to bolster our tournament resume.

Agreed. Still kinda surprised med though. I thought we always played pretty tough non-conference schedules.

 

[Peppers49]

Agreed. Still kinda surprised med though. I thought we always played pretty tough non-conference schedules.

I would say those were still decently tough non-con schedules. Just did a quick scan of KU’s schedules during that era for comparison and it looks pretty comparable.

I think this recent push to stack the non-con is a product of conferences like the ACC losing prestige and a shift in how the selection committee judges resumes. If you’re a team that expects to get a top seed, realistically the best strategy is to give yourself more chances against other top teams and hope that you win a decent chunk of them. Those wins go a long way, and the losses aren’t as penalizing.

 

[HeelInTheOzarks]

With regard to our OOC schedule this upcoming season, it appears we are playing three teams ranked in the preseason top-25. Obviously, it’s possible some of those teams drop out of the top-25 and possible that other teams we play end up in the top-25. But it made me wonder how many top-25 teams we’ve played in our OOC schedule over the past 10 years. Here it is (this is based on ranking at the time the game was played):
2025 - 5
2024 - 5
2023 - 3
2022 - 4
2021 - 2
2020 - 3
2019 - 4
2018 - 2
2017 - 3
2016 - 2

Until recently it didn’t matter as much because more than 2-3 ACC games would be Q1 level