Courtney Banghart Keeps Rigor In Mind With UNC’s Non-Conference Schedule

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Five of the teams North Carolina played in last season’s non-conference schedule reached the 2025 NCAA Tournament, and UNC went 4-1 in those games. This year, the team will face seven tournament teams from last year before ACC play starts.

The Tar Heels will see UCLA, Texas, Fairfield, Kansas State, Columbia, South Dakota State and UNCG in its non-conference schedule. Courtney Banghart spoke last week about putting the schedule together, specifically about crafting a rigorous enough slate to secure a top seed in the postseason.

“You used to worry about what the other team had and say, ‘Okay, we want to catch them when they’re bigger or smaller, or slower or faster,’ whatever, based on where you are,” Banghart said. “Now, with the transfer portal, it’s really hard to do that. So instead, what we’re looking at is, ‘Who are on those one, two, three and four lines?’ If you do well in your league, you’re going to end up fine. So how can you schedule in the non-conference that will prepare you for the league, but also let you play some one, two, three and four lines that will be good comparison points as you get deeper into the season.”

UCLA and Texas headline the group as the Power Four tournament teams in UNC’s slate.

Texas will host the Tar Heels on Dec. 4 in the ACC/SEC Challenge. The Longhorns reached the Final Four last season before losing to South Carolina. Vic Schaefer’s team went 35-4 in the 2024-25 season and tied South Carolina with a 15-1 SEC record.

North Carolina will face UCLA in Las Vegas on Nov. 13 in the WBCA Challenge. UCLA reached the Final Four as well, losing to the eventual champion UConn Huskies. The Bruins finished the regular season ranked as the No. 1 team in the country and entered the tournament as the No. 1 overall seed. UCLA delivered a 34-3 record last season. UNC picked up Bruins guard Elina Aarnisalo in the transfer portal.

North Carolina opens the season at home on Nov. 3 against North Carolina Central, and it will stay in Chapel Hill to host Elon on Nov. 6. After playing UCLA, UNC will face Fairfield on Nov. 15 in Las Vegas in the second game of the WBCA challenge.

UNC will head to Greensboro for the second year in a row to face North Carolina A&T on Nov. 20, and the Tar Heels will return home to play UNCG on Nov. 23.

North Carolina will face three NCAA Tournament teams in Cancun from Nov. 27-29, as it will face Kansas State, Columbia and South Dakota State in that three-day stretch. UNC won the Battle 4 Atlantis Tournament last season by defeating Ball State, Villanova and Indiana.

Columbia was in Chapel Hill for the NCAA Tournament in March when UNC hosted the first two rounds. The Lions lost to West Virginia, who UNC eventually beat in the Round of 32. South Dakota State also reached the second round before losing to UConn. Kansas State made it the furthest of the trio, reaching the Sweet Sixteen before losing to USC.

UNC will close out its non-conference schedule by hosting Boston University (Dec. 7), UNCW (Dec. 17) and Charleston Southern (Dec. 21).

In addition to its non-conference slate, UNC will face South Carolina in a preseason exhibition game on Oct. 30 in Atlanta. The Gamecocks have defeated North Carolina in their last four meetings, the most recent being the 2024 Round of 32 game in which South Carolina dominated in Columbia. This year’s neutral site exhibition is the first time the teams are playing the game outside of their respective home states since 2014, when UNC defeated the Gamecocks in the Sweet Sixteen.

“These two teams have been really good for a couple years,” Banghart said. “There’s a lot of excitement. And Atlanta feels like the right place for both of us, in terms of where we have donors and where we have alums. In an area where, instead of Greensboro or Charlotte or us or them, kind of another area to allow some of our great fans of our brand to be there. So it just made sense for both of us and it comes with some perks as well for our programs.”

North Carolina finished the season with a 29-8 record and ranked fifth in the ACC with a 13-7 record. The team earned a No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament and lost to Duke in the Sweet Sixteen. UNC is 125-64 through six seasons with Banghart at the helm. The Tar Heels have made the NCAA Tournament five seasons in a row.

UNC lost Alyssa Ustby, Maria Gakdeng, Lexi Donarski and Grace Townsend to expired eligibility, and Trayanna Crisp departed through the transfer portal. UNC added Aarnisalo and Nyla Harris (Louisville) through the transfer portal, and it brings in freshmen Nyla Brooks, Taliyah Henderson and Taissa Queiroz. Queiroz enrolled early and was with the team during the spring semester, but did not play.

Banghart’s Tar Heels hosted the first two rounds of the tournament for the first time since 2015. In efforts to do so again, the team will need to put together another strong ACC season while taking care of business in non-conference play.

“I think with our group graduating three significant multi-year starters, I wanted to make sure that we understand the rigor and the pace and the physicality and the value of the possession earlier so that we can keep honing,” Banghart said about the non-conference schedule. “I know the (ACC) will be really competitive. So it was a deep dive into who we are, and then looking at the seed lines and how you stay in that top four seed line is critical.”

UNC Women’s Basketball 2025-26 Non-Conference Schedule

Oct. 30 – vs. South Carolina (Exhibition in Atlanta)
Nov. 3 – vs. NC Central
Nov. 6 – vs. Elon
Nov. 13 – vs. UCLA (WBCA Challenge in Las Vegas)
Nov. 15 – vs. Fairfield (WBCA Challenge in Las Vegas)
Nov. 20 – at North Carolina A&T
Nov. 23 – vs. UNCG
Nov. 27-29 – Cancun Challenge with Kansas State, Columbia, South Dakota State (Mexico)
Dec. 4 – at Texas (ACC/SEC Challenge)
Dec. 7 – vs. Boston University
Dec. 17 – vs. UNCW
Dec. 21 – vs. Charleston Southern