UNC, Kansas men's basketball to play home-and-home games

Kansas guard Remy Martin shoots around North Carolina forward Armando Bacot during the second half of a college basketball game in the finals of the Men’s Final Four NCAA tournament, Monday, April 4, 2022, in New Orleans. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

by: Hannah Leyva

Posted: Jul 24, 2023 / 12:33 PM EDT

Updated: Jul 25, 2023 / 11:56 AM EDT

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (WNCN) — Two of the most storied programs in men’s college basketball have agreed to host games against each other in upcoming seasons.

North Carolina and Kansas have agreed to a home-and-home series, with the Jayhawks hosting UNC in Lawrence in the 2024-25 season and the Tar Heels welcoming the Jayhawks to Chapel Hill in 2025-26.

The two teams will play at Allen Fieldhouse on Friday, Nov. 8, 2024. They’ll then meet for a rematch at the Smith Center on Friday, Nov. 14, 2025.

Though the two blue blood programs have a long, intertwined history — one that most recently includes facing each other in the 2022 national championship game in New Orleans — they have not traveled to each other’s campuses often. UNC men’s basketball’s first and only trip to Allen Fieldhouse took place in 1960. The Jayhawks have never played in Chapel Hill.

“These two games should be exciting for players and coaches on both teams and a win for fans of college basketball,” UNC head coach Hubert Davis said in a press release. “It’s an opportunity for two great programs to play in each other’s home arenas, which are among the best and most historic in our game.”

Carolina and Kansas have played each other 12 times, including seven times in the NCAA Tournament, with each school winning six games. In addition to the 2022 tournament final, they also faced off in the 1957 triple-overtime national championship game featuring Wilt Chamberlain and in three national semifinals (1991, 1993, and 2008).

According to a UNC athletic department’s press release, the matchup between the two schools is the most frequently-played in the Final Four.

Combined, the Tar Heels and the Jayhawks have won 10 national championships, made 37 Final Fours, and recorded a total of 247 wins in 103 NCAA Tournament appearances.

The two programs have previously played each other in the state of North Carolina, but on neutral sites: on December 11, 1959, at Reynolds Coliseum in Raleigh, and on November 28, 1981, at the Charlotte Coliseum in Michael Jordan’s first game as a Tar Heel.