UNC’s 2021-22 basketball schedule is out. Here are the games you won’t want to miss

North Carolina’s Hubert Davis will reacclimatize himself to the ACC as the Tar Heels new head coach — even though the majority of schools now in the league were not members when he played.

The ACC released is schedule on Thursday night with many college basketball fans automatically jumping to see UNC’s two scheduled games against Duke — they are Feb. 5 and March 5 — in what will be the last times coach Mike Krzyzweski roams the sidelines as the Blue Devils head coach.

The Heels’ ACC opener is at Georgia Tech on Dec. 5. Carolina will play the Yellow Jackets, Virginia Tech, Boston College and Louisville in both home and road games to go with its annual meetings with Duke and N.C. State twice a year.

Carolina’s one-visit games at home include Florida State, Virginia, Syracuse and Pittsburgh. It’s road-only games are Wake Forest, Clemson, Miami and Notre Dame.

Here’s a look at the Tar Heels’ schedule highlights:

UNC’s can’t miss basketball game

This isn’t really a question most seasons it’s either one or both of the Duke games. But this season there will be an added buzz to both meetings because it’s Krzyzewski’s farewell. For Carolina fans, Krzyzewski’s final trip to the Dean E. Smith Center on Feb. 5, will be the one they circle as a last chance to boo the man or appreciate his role in making the rivalry what it has become. (There will be a curious eye kept on what kind of parting gift the school comes up with as well.) The Heels return trip to Cameron Indoor Stadium is on March 5. Not to be overshadowed by Krzyzewski’s career ending is the beginning of Davis’ as head coach in this rivalry.

Toughest stretch

The Heels’ toughest stretch may be the five games that end January and begin February. They’ll have rival N.C. State at home on Jan. 29, travel to Louisville on a short turnaround for a Jan. 31 tip. They’ll dive into the first iteration of the Duke game on Feb. 5. Then head to Clemson on Feb. 8, a place where they lost last season, before getting potential league contender Florida State at home on Feb. 12.

Easiest stretch

Miami, Wake Forest and Boston College will each be in various stages of rebuilding, and fortunately for the Heels, those three games fall between Jan. 18-26. It’s early enough in the schedule where, if the Heels win those game, they can build some momentum as the schedule gets tougher. The potential fault line is that the games against the Hurricanes (Jan. 18) and Demon Deacons (Jan. 22) are on the road.

UNC basketball’s non-conference test

The Tar Heels face UCLA, which returned most of its key players from last year’s Final Four run, in the CBS Sports Classic on Dec. 18. They have other games that will be measuring stick games like Purdue on Nov. 20 in the Hall of Fame Tipoff in Uncasville, Conn., and potentially ranked teams Villanova or Tennessee in their second game of the event.

UNC schedule

Nov. 5 Elizabeth City state (exhibition)

Nov. 9 Loyola (Md.)

Nov. 12 Brown

Nov. 16 at College of Charleston

Nov. 20 vs Purdue

Nov. 21 vs. Tennessee or Villanova

Nov. 23 UNC Asheville

Dec. 1 Michigan

Dec. 5 at Georgia Tech

Dec. 11 Elon

Dec. 14 Furman

Dec. 18 vs UCLA

Dec. 21 Appalachian State

Dec. 29 Virginia Tech

Jan. 1 at Boston College

Jan. 5 at Notre Dame

Jan. 8 Virginia

Jan. 15 Georgia Tech

Jan. 18 at Miami

Jan. 22 at Wake Forest

Jan. 26 Boston College

Jan. 29 N.C. State

Jan. 31 at Louisville

Feb. 5 Duke

Feb. 8 at Clemson

Feb. 12 Florida State

Feb. 16 Pittsburgh

Feb. 19 at Virginia Tech

Feb. 21 Louisville

Feb. 26 at N.C. State

Feb. 28 Syracuse

March 5 at Duke