West Virginia and North Carolina Eyeing Neutral-Site Clash on Black Friday

We're getting to that portion of the offseason where college basketball teams around the country are starting to schedule games for the 2026-27 season. The Mountaineers already have a few on the books, and now appear to have a big-time matchup in the works with North Carolina.

According to Rocco Miller of The Field of 68, the two programs are finalizing an agreement to play in the 2nd annual Dick Vitale Invitational on November 27th (Black Friday) at Spectrum Center in Charlotte, North Carolina, which, of course, is the home of the NBA's Charlotte Hornets.

A massive opportunity for Ross Hodge

One way to get the nation's attention is by taking down a blue blood like North Carolina within the first month of the season. Obviously, the Tar Heels are going through a bit of a transition with Mike Malone replacing Hubert Davis as head coach, but still, they have the talent to be a top 25 team and possibly one that threatens Duke for the ACC crown.

With the work that Hodge and his staff were able to do on the recruiting trail in both the transfer portal and at the high school level, it's reasonable to think that this is a winnable game for WVU, especially considering UNC is in year one with an entirely new roster.

One-sided series so far

West Virginia, surprisingly, has owned the Tar Heels, albeit in just five all-time matchups. The Mountaineers have won all five games, three of which came by double digits. A lot has happened since the two programs last met, which happened all the way back on December 31st, 1965. The Tar Heels have won five national championships and produced the greatest basketball player ever in Michael Jordan. West Virginia has bounced around to several different leagues, going from the A10, the Big East, and now the Big 12. They've appeared in one Final Four and won a Big East Conference title, both of which took place in 2010.

Previous Matchups

December 31, 1965: West Virginia 102, North Carolina 97
December 21, 1957: West Virginia 75, North Carolina 64
February 6, 1952: West Virginia 80, North Carolina 65
January 15, 1951: West Virginia 62, North Carolina 49
December 28, 1950: West Virginia 58, North Carolina 50

Games officially on the West Virginia schedule

TBA at Pitt

Players Era Tournament (Matchups + dates TBA)

Nov. 2 vs. Niagara, 7 p.m. ET

Dec. 19 vs. Wake Forest, TBA (Greensboro, NC)

Add us as a preferred source on Google