The next play: ACC basketball teams in action, big-time football, and the Canes come home
While every college basketball season is awaited with much anticipation in the Triangle, this one carries a different type of hype.
In Chapel Hill, UNC will play its first game since Roy Williams retired and Hubert Davis replaced him. Down the road in Durham, Duke begins its final season under coach Mike Krzyzewski with Jon Scheyer already in place to take over as head coach next season.
In Raleigh, coach Wes Moore’s N.C. State women’s basketball team seeks its third consecutive ACC championship with a team considered a Final Four contender.
Those are the highlights of the week ahead in the Triangle sports world, which will also include the Carolina Hurricanes returning home and a major football showdown that should decide who wins the ACC Atlantic Division.
College basketball is here
The official opening night for college basketball, both men’s and women’s play, is Tuesday night.
No. 9 Duke will be in New York to face No. 10 Kentucky as part of the Champions Classic doubleheader at Madison Square Garden. Michigan State and No. 3 Kansas meet at 7 p.m. with the first game of Krzyzewski’s 42nd and final season at Duke following. The Blue Devils return home later in the week to play Army West Point Friday night and Campbell Saturday night at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
No. 19 North Carolina opens the new season, with its new coach, at the Smith Center Tuesday night at 7 p.m. against Loyola (Md.). At PNC Arena in Raleigh, N.C. State’s season begins the season with Bucknell at 8 p.m.
The biggest game of the night on the women’s side also occurs in Raleigh but at Reynolds Coliseum. The Wolfpack, ranked No. 5 nationally, face top-ranked South Carolina at 5 p.m. in a game televised by ESPN.
The UNC women play at 4:30 p.m. against N.C. A&T at Carmichael Arena while Duke opens the season at home with Winthrop at 7 p.m.
Red-hot Canes return home
Following a road trip with games at Chicago, Florida and, on Tuesday night, Tampa Bay, the Metropolitan Division-leading Hurricanes have a brief two-game homestand that includes back-to-back games.
The Philadelphia Flyers come to PNC Arena for a 7 p.m. game on Friday with the St. Louis Blues coming to town to play the Hurricanes Saturday at 7:30 p.m.
Big game for Wake, N.C. State
Atlantic Division-leading Wake Forest will get a chance to strengthen its hold on first place when the Demon Deacons play at N.C. State on Saturday night at Truist Field in Winston-Salem.
At the same time, the Wolfpack have a chance to derail Wake Forest’s march to an ACC championship appearance and stay in the running for its first division championship with a win over the No. 10 Demon Deacons.