UNC, NC State and Duke open their basketball seasons tonight. What you need to know

The 2021-22 college basketball season opens today and every team in the Triangle (and most teams in North Carolina) are playing.

Here’s what you need to know to prepare for a wild night of basketball in North Carolina:

▪ The UNC women open their season against in-state opponent North Carolina A&T at 4:30 p.m. (ACCNX)

▪ N.C. State hosts top-ranked South Carolina in women’s basketball at 5 p.m. at Reynolds Coliseum in Raleigh. (ESPN)

▪ UNC begins the Hubert Davis era by hosting Loyola Maryland at 7 p.m. (ACCN)

▪ Kara Lawson’s first season as Duke women’s basketball coach ended after four games. The Blue Devils begin Year 2 by hosting Winthrop at 7 p.m. (ACCNX)

▪ Davidson, in coach Bob McKillop’s 33rd season, hosts Delaware at 7 p.m. (ESPN+)

▪ Charlotte hosts Monmouth at 7 p.m. (CUSA.TV)

▪ The N.C. State men will host an 8 p.m. tip against Bucknell at PNC Arena. (ACCNX)

▪ In New York City, Duke tips off Mike Krzyzewski’s final season against Kentucky at Madison Square Garden at 9:30 p.m. (ESPN)

North Carolina college basketball teams in the AP Top 25

Duke men: No. 9

UNC men: No. 19

N.C. State women: No. 5

Stories to prepare you for college basketball in North Carolina

Duke

Coach K’s plan for his life after coaching has been decades in the making

A dog named Blue: Coach K’s final season will look different without his coaching companion

Paolo Banchero’s ability to welcome — and ignore — pressure helps power Duke basketball

UNC

How the Hubert Davis era at UNC unofficially began with speech after NCAA loss

If a UNC men’s basketball turnaround is imminent, Caleb Love will be a big reason why

NC State

Everything you need to know as NC State opens the 2021-22 college basketball season

Manny Bates is a pivotal piece to an NC State basketball bounce-back season in 2021-22

NC State women’s basketball opens season ranked in the top 5

‘We want more’: How the NC State women plan to approach a new basketball season

This story was originally published November 9, 2021 at 10:28 AM.

Matt L. Stephens

The Charlotte Observer

Matt L. Stephens is the Senior Sports Editor for The Charlotte Observer and oversees sports coverage for the Raleigh News & Observer, The State in Columbia, S.C., and McClatchy’s other properties across the Southeast. Before coming to Charlotte in July 2019, Matt was an award-winning editor, columnist and investigative reporter at The Denver Post and Fort Collins Coloradoan.