GREENSBORO — NC State and UNC will play a nonconference men’s basketball game in Greensboro, ensuring that the longtime rivals will have two regular-season meetings after the ACC ended their annual home-and-home meetings.
The game, called the Tobacco Road Classic, is scheduled for Tuesday, Dec. 15 at First Horizon Coliseum (formerly Greensboro Coliseum) and will be sponsored by Old Dominion Freight Line. WRAL reported in June that the teams were working on the game. Greensboro will host the 2027 men’s basketball ACC Tournament. Tickets go on sale Sept. 10th.
It is the first of a two-game series in Greensboro between the teams.
“If you’re a traditionalist, Greensboro is the heart of the ACC basketball world,”
The rivals met just once during the 2025-26 season, the first time in more than a century they played just one time. The teams are scheduled to play just once — in Chapel Hill – during the 2026-27 season.
The 18-team ACC moved from 20 conference games to 18 conference for the 2025-26 season, putting a second meeting between the teams in jeopardy. UNC’s annual rival is Duke, while NC State’s is Wake Forest. Each team plays one other ACC foe two times, but that opponent changes year to year.
Both teams have new coaches. NC State hired alum Justin Gainey, a former Tennessee assistant, after Will Wade left for LSU after just one season in Raleigh. North Carolina hired former NBA coach Michael Malone after firing Hubert Davis in March.