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Here’s some nice ACC news: with only one meeting on the schedule again this year, UNC and NC State agreed to play a non-conference game in Greensboro. That’s a great idea. ACC rivalries should be honored.
UNC and NC State are calling this the Tobacco Road Classic, and it’s scheduled for December 15, 2026.
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UNC coach Michael Malone said “the fans have spoken, the administrators have spoken, the legislators have spoken that this game matters.”
For his part, Justin Gainey, who grew up in High Point and attended Greensboro Day School, said “what an opportunity to come back to tournament town.”
He means that it’s being played in the Greensboro Coliseum, although that, too, has been bastardized: it’s now the First Horizon Coliseum.
It’s obviously too late for this, but Duke and Wake Forest also play just once this season, and it would’ve been great to have all four Big Four teams in action on the same court.
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For that matter, it could become an event to schedule games between the various teams that will only play once.
To be clear, we’re only suggesting this for the old-school, pre-expansion ACC teams. No one cares if they don’t play Notre Dame or Cal.
But games between Duke and Clemson, or Wake Forest and Virginia? UNC and Wake Forest?
Those would be a lot of fun. It would be a fun thing to market, and ESPN, we’re sure, would be delighted to market it.
By the way, we just realized that, although it’s not an official conference game, Malone and Gainey will each get their first dose of ACC competition in this game. When was the last time both schools had a new coach in the same year?
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Apparently, the 1946-47 season, when both schools were in the Southern Conference. UNC hired Tom Scott, and NC State hired Everett Case.
He had a spectacular start to his career, which led UNC to hire Frank McGuire in 1952. The ACC was founded in 1953, and Case and McGuire started a heated rivalry.
In 1959, Duke hired Vic Bubas. Between those three coaches, and having the ACC…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/great-acc-news-unc-state-105500015.html
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Publish date : 2026-08-20 10:55:00
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