UNC Basketball: Tar Heels Schedule Tune-Up for Maui Invitational

The UNC basketball team will head to Hawaii early to play the Rainbow Warriors ahead of the Maui Invitational.

UNC basketball guard Elliot Cadeau / Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports

After their originally scheduled matchup was canceled due to the COVID-impacted 2020-21 season, it seems that Hawaii and the UNC basketball program will finally get to face off after all for the first time this decade.

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On Wednesday, CBS Sports' Jon Rothstein confirmed that the two teams are set to play each other on Nov. 22, just a few days before the Tar Heels begin their first quest in the Maui Invitational since 2020.

UNC is 5-0 in the all-time series against the Rainbow Warriors. The last meeting came on Nov. 16, 2016, when the then-defending national champion Tar Heels won on the road, 83-68.

Last season, Hawaii recorded its second straight 20-win season, finishing 20-14 while also adding a respectable 11-9 conference record in the Big West. They faced off with a lone ACC opponent last season, dropping a home game to Georgia Tech, 73-68.

🗣️ “This group…stuck all year through adversity. And there’s something big about that in terms of what these six seniors have done to leave a legacy forever.” - @EranGanot #ManaOhana x #GoBows pic.twitter.com/1W2Wz4b9To

— HAWAII BASKETBALL (@HawaiiMBB) March 16, 2024

The road matchup with the Rainbow Warriors is another piece of the Tar Heels’ non-conference schedule, including home dates with Elon and La Salle, as well as a highly anticipated trip to Lawrence, Kan., to take on the fellow blueblood Jayhawks.

UNC basketball’s non-conference slate is taking shape:

• Nov. 4 vs. Elon

• Nov. 8 at Kansas

• Nov. 22 at Hawaii

• Nov. 25-27, Maui Invitational (field consists of UNC, Auburn, Colorado, Dayton, Iowa State, Memphis, Michigan State, and back-to-back national champ UConn)

• Dec. 14 vs. La Salle

Dates are not yet set for the Tar Heels' CBS Sports Classic bout against UCLA and the Jumpman Invitational showdown with Florida. Meanwhile, the opponent and date for UNC basketball in the ACC-SEC Challenge remain unknown.

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Stay tuned to All Tar Heels on SI for more UNC basketball news.