UNC basketball schedule: 3 takeaways as Hubert Davis' squad looks to dethrone Duke as ACC champions

North Carolina's 2025-26 ACC schedule was released on Wednesday and will feature home-and-away games against Duke and Syracuse.

The Tar Heels will also have seven home games and seven away games against 14 ACC teams this season. Hubert Davis' men take on Clemson, Florida State, Louisville, Notre Dame, Pitt, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest at the Dean E. Smith Center.

They will be on the road to play California, Georgia Tech, Miami, NC State, SMU, Stanford and Virginia.

Moreover, North Carolina will have three nonconference games lined up this season. The Tar Heels will compete in the 2025 Fort Myers Tip-Off against St. Bonaventure on Nov. 25 and Michigan State on Nov. 27.

They will also have a pre-Christmas showdown with Ohio State for the CBS Sports Classic on Dec. 20 at the State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia.

North Carolina looks to regain its status as the top team in the ACC and improve on its first-round finish in the 2025 NCAA Tournament. Hubert Davis' wards placed fifth in the 2024-25 ACC regular season, six games behind conference champions and perennial rivals Duke.

They lost to the Blue Devils twice in the regular season and failed to gain revenge in the ACC Tournament, losing to them in the semifinals.

Here are the three takeaways from North Carolina's conference schedule in the 2025-26 season:

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3 key takeaways from North Carolina's ACC conference schedule in the 2025-26 season

#1 Hubert Davis and his men will play Kiyan Anthony and the Boozer twins twice this season

The newly released ACC schedule meant that North Carolina will have the burden of facing three prominent second-generation athletes twice this season.

Syracuse will have four-star freshman Kiyan Anthony, the son of Orange legend and former NCAA champion Carmelo Anthony, on its roster. Duke, meanwhile, will parade twins Cameron and Cayden Boozer, the sons of Duke forward and NBA veteran Carlos Boozer.

Hubert Davis and his men will have their hands full against these second-generation players, as they were highly regarded and won several individual and team awards in high school.

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#2 North Carolina won't play Boston College

The schedule format this season meant that North Carolina won't play one ACC program. This year, the Tar Heels won't face Boston College, a school with which they have a high winning record.

North Carolina is 21-8 over Boston College in their head-to-head that began on January 16, 2023. Last season, the Tar Heels beat the Eagles, 102-96, with RJ Davis leading the offensive charge with 22 points and five assists.

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#3 The Tar Heels won't have a home game against NC State

The Tobacco Road rivalry will be one-sided in terms of schedule as North Carolina won't have a home game against perennial rival NC State. Hubert Davis' men are scheduled to play an away game against Will Wade's team this season.

This is significant because it's the first time the Tar Heels won't host the Wolfpack for the first time since 1919 (per UNC Athletics).

North Carolina leads the all-time series 168-81, including an 83-23 record at home. Last season, the Wolfpack lost both games to the Tar Heels in their home-and-away series by an average margin of 13 points.