History of Tennessee vs. North Carolina

It was recently announced that the Tennessee Volunteers would play the North Carolina Tarheels in the ACC/SEC challenge. Here is the history between the two teams.

On Wednesday, it was announced that the Tennessee Volunteers would travel to Chapel Hill to take on the North Carolina Tar Heels. The game will be a part of the inaugural ACC-SEC challenge that will take place on November 28th-29th. 

The Vols and Heels are scheduled to tip off at 7:15 p.m. E.T. on Wednesday, November 29th. This upcoming game in the fall will be the 13th time the two teams have met, with the matchup being played 12 times previously. The Volunteers are 2-10 against North Carolina. Of the 12 prior matchups, half have been on many neutral sites. This includes Maui for the early invitational tournament, the Sweet 16 in Austin, Texas, and even twice in Atlanta for the Southern Conference tournament in the 1930s. 

All of those listed neutral-site games have been losses for Tennessee. They have lost to UNC on a neutral site for every game except one. The one win came in the most recent matchup between the two teams during the Hall of Fame tip-off game in Uncasville, Connecticut. It happened on November 21st, 2021, and the Vols won 89-72. Zakai Zeigler led the way for the team scoring 18 points on 70% shooting from the field. Many consider it his breakout game for his career in orange and white. Like the upcoming game, the other six games between Tennessee and North Carolina have happened in Knoxville or Chapel Hill. The Vols' one other win against UNC came against them in Knoxville during the 1948-49 season. They beat the Heels by a staggering 28 points. 

North Carolina has won the two other games in Knoxville, with the most recent win at Tennessee coming during the 2017-18 season, where Joel Berry II had 21 points in the Tar Heel victory. All three previous games in the series in Chapel Hill have been losses for the Volunteers. The most recent loss came in the 2016-17 season, where UNC won by two points, 73-71. Former Tennessee guard Lamonte Turner had a shot blocked that ended the game. 

You Might Also Like:

• Chronicling Tennessee's NBA Draft Success Under Rick Barnes
• Lake Days & Authenticity: Detailing Tennessee's Unique Approach To Official Visits
• 2025 Four-Star DL Christian Garrett Getting First Look At Tennessee

Join the community:

Follow Evan Crowell on Twitter: @EvanVCrowell

You can follow us for future coverage by clicking "Follow" on the top right-hand corner of the page. Also, be sure to like us on Facebook @VolunteerCountry & follow us on Twitter at @VCountryFN.