CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (WNCN) – A highly-anticipated Sweet 16 rematch between North Carolina and Alabama leads the slate of games for the 2024 ACC/SEC Challenge.
The matchups for this year’s iteration of the challenge were unveiled on Wednesday, according to a report by CBS Sports’ Jon Rothstein.
UNC is set to host Alabama at the Dean E. Smith Center in Chapel Hill on Wednesday, Dec. 4.
This marks the third time in three years that both programs have played against each other, with the Crimson Tide coming out on top in each game. During Thanksgiving weekend in 2022, Alabama won 103-101 in a four-overtime thriller in the Phil Knight Invitational.
Both teams would end up meeting again in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament earlier this year, which resulted in Nate Oats’ team upsetting the No. 1 seeded Tar Heels in an 89-87 victory. UNC leads 7-6 in the all-time series against the Crimson Tide.
Alabama will be viewed as one of the early preseason favorites to win the national title, returning numerous players from a team that advanced to the Final Four.
Meanwhile, the Tar Heels enter next season with high expectations of their own, retaining several pieces from a team that earned the ACC regular-season title, such as All-American guard RJ Davis, as well as bringing in a top-10 recruiting class and two additions from the transfer portal with forwards Ven-Allen Lubin (Vanderbilt) and Cade Tyson (Belmont).
UNC will face at least two SEC teams in the 2024-25 non-conference schedule, along with Florida in the Jumpman Invitational in Charlotte on Dec. 17.
This is the second year of the SEC-ACC Challenge. Other notable matchups involving Triangle teams include Auburn-Duke and Texas-North Carolina State.